Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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Top Discoveries at the National Museum of Natural History in 2024

Fungus-farming ants, fossilized footprints and a prehistoric critter named after a Muppet are just a few of the year’s most notable findings

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Our Planet On the Big Screen: New Museum Exhibition Explores Ever-Changing Earth from Space and on the Ground

Trees line a winding river, and the blue sky is reflected in the water

Building a Library of Life: How Smithsonian Collections Are Revolutionizing Ocean eDNA Research

Yellow and white lichens are pictured against a back background on a tree branch.

Meet the Smithsonian Fellow Alumni Helping to Save the Planet

A giant eye sits in a clear, glass container next to a smaller octopus and squid in glass containers on either side of the eye.

I Spy… A Giant Squid Eye

A man wearing a ripped white shirt stands among thick greenery, holding a plastic sample bag

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Untangling the Branches of Hawaii’s Evolutionary Tree

A multitude of sea lions sit very close together on a crowded beach.

Reading Between the Bones: New Research Reveals an Unexpected Growth Spurt in California Sea Lions

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How Lugging a Liquid Nitrogen Tank into the Amazon Helped Spark Ornithology’s Genetic Revolution

A large research vessel with a cell tower on top sails across a dark blue stretch of ocean that expands towards a paler blue sky along the horizon.

Smithsonian Scientists Unearth Signs of an Ancient Climate Calamity Buried Beneath the Seafloor

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2022 in Review: The Year’s Top Discoveries by Museum Researchers

A man wearing a white hard hat, neon vest, dark gray pants and yellow gloves sits in a pit of dark rock. Just below his knees is a boulder with a piece of lighter gray fossil sticking out of the top.

Meet the Smithsonian Director Bringing a Deep Time Perspective to the International Climate Discussion

Under the waves swirls a bed of sea grass. Above the water is a coastal home attached to a dock.

New Study Puts Smithsonian Conservation Efforts to the Test

A variety of dark gray to black magnetofossils shaped like ovals, cubes and needles cluster around each other.

Meet the Scientist Who Uses Magnetic Fossils to Navigate Changing Oceans

A grey, orange, and brown expanse of layered rock formations under a gray sky.

Ancient Pollen Offers Clues to How Plants Adapted to Climate Change in the Past — and Potentially the Future

A green ridged cactus towers vertically over the camera with a deep blue sky in the background

How a Smithsonian Botanist Cracked the Cactus Code a Century Ago

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Say Hello to the Scientist Using DNA to Track Plankton Diversity

A small bonfire burns in the foreground with a sunset in the background.

Explore How Fire Shaped Human Evolution and More Natural History Programs This March

Rain falls from a small group of clouds over the open ocean as the sun shines behind the clouds.

From Clouds to Currents, What Is the Water Cycle?

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing global warming. This means glaciers in Antarctica are melting. Those same glaciers were originally made when carbon dioxide dropped 34 million years ago. (NASA/Jim Ross)

Drop in Greenhouse Gas Caused Global Cooling 34 Million Years Ago, Study Finds

Smooth pearls in the shape of orbs and ovals are usually created by bivalves, like mussels, in pearl farms. As with all gems, the less blemishes they have, the more valuable they are. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

The True Story Behind How Pearls Are Made

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Top Discoveries at the National Museum of Natural History in 2024

Newly Described Fossil From Wyoming Sheds Light on When Frogs and Toads Lost Their Teeth

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