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National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Voices

Two women stand in a field, holding bundles of grasses with a rainbow coloring the sky in the background.

To Bridge Heritage and Science, the Smithsonian’s Inclusive Education Programs Empower Learners Through Culture and Community

Through Indigenous weaving workshops and environmental science projects, the Smithsonian engages in co-learning projects to support culturally responsive education

Emma Saaty | November 27, 2024

A slab of multicolored, sedimentary rock is pictured with vibrant trees and water surrounding it.

Meet the Scientist Venturing to Remote Canada in Search of the Earth’s Oldest Rocks

Smithsonian researcher Wriju Chowdhury is part of an expedition searching for 4-billion-year-old crystals that could uncover the secrets behind Earth’s early history

Emma Saaty | August 1, 2024

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

Meet the Smithsonian Fellow Alumni Helping to Save the Planet

This Earth Day, learn about early-career researchers who are tackling issues from green technology to lichen biodiversity and coral rehabilitation

Emma Saaty | April 22, 2024

I - NMNH-2022-00416_crop.jpg

Peer Through the Glare to Glimpse the Night Sky in New Smithsonian Exhibition

‘Lights Out’ explores how ecology and culture revolve around the night and how light pollution is threatening this essential darkness

Jack Tamisiea | March 23, 2023
In an aerial shot of the desert, a dry lakebed is surrounded by swaths of white salt flats.

Clay-Encrusted Microbes Provide Clues to How Early Life Developed on Earth and Potentially Mars

Smithsonian scientists study saline lakes in the Chilean desert to travel back in time to ancient Earth and beyond

Emma Saaty | February 9, 2023
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

Kirk Johnson highlights the vital climate context museum collections provide at international COP conferences

Jack Tamisiea | December 13, 2022
A big-eared, large-nosed, frown-mouthed furry grey and white medium-sized animal sits in the "v" of a small tree, holding one of the branches. In front of the animal is a woman with black hair wearing business clothes and smiling as she snaps a selfie.

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Unlocking Crucial Conservation Clues in the Genetic Code of Koalas

For Save the Koala Day, learn how conservation geneticist Rebecca Johnson’s work helps protect these iconic marsupials

Jack Tamisiea | September 30, 2022
6) Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland.JPG

When Was the World Our Oyster? We Asked the Anthropologist Investigating Sustainable Oyster Practices Through History

Smithsonian anthropologist Torben Rick studies how different communities sustained oyster populations for centuries, and how that changed in the wake of colonization

Megan Kalomiris | August 25, 2022
A small, tan fox with large, pointed pink ears blends into its sand-colored enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Five Wild Ways Animals Beat the Summer Heat

As we enter the dog days of August, learn how several animals stay cool

Megan Kalomiris | August 3, 2022
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

The findings illustrate how people-focused initiatives benefit both society and nature

Jack Tamisiea | July 21, 2022
A flower with bright pink petals and a yellow interior blooms on the surface of a water near several green and brown lily pads.

New Smithsonian Exhibition Explores the Intersection of People and Nature

See the historic giant hornet ‘nest zero’ and explore how communities near and far interact with nature in ‘Our Places’

Jack Tamisiea | June 28, 2022
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

Geobiologist Courtney Wagner uses giant magnets and microscopic fossils to make sense of ancient climate change

Jack Tamisiea | June 8, 2022
Baby turtles emerge and scatter from a small hole in the sand

Meet Some of the Animal World’s Marvelous Moms

Celebrate Mother’s Day by exploring how five species look after their little ones

Madison Goldberg | May 5, 2022
A large elm tree with branches full of green leaves stands in the sunlight

How a Historic Smithsonian Elm Thrives, Over 150 Years After its Planting

Caring for the tree safeguards a beloved part of D.C.’s urban forest, past and present

Madison Goldberg | April 28, 2022
A chimpanzee sits among leaves

Explore How Chimpanzees Perceive Gender and More Natural History Programs This April

Tune in to programs about tiny human relatives, fungus-farming ants and more through the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Jack Tamisiea | April 1, 2022
Yoshino cherry tree

The Hybridized Nature of Washington's Iconic Cherry Trees

For the 110th anniversary of their arrival to DC, we explore the biology of these charismatic clones

Jack Tamisiea | March 25, 2022
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

Tune in to programs on the future of biodiversity, how to talk about climate change and more through the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Madison Goldberg | February 28, 2022
Two small fossil fragments of ancient brittle stars appear green as they rest on Ben Thuy's fingertip.

Scientists Describe Two New Species of Ancient Brittle Star

The newly unearthed fossils reveal an evolutionary path likely shaped by environmental crisis

Madison Goldberg | January 20, 2022
A humpback whale breaches the surface of the ocean on a sunny day.

World's Biggest Whales Eat Three Times More Food Than Scientists Thought

New study also finds that recovery of whale populations could increase nutrient circulation and help boost ocean functions

Tess Joosse | November 3, 2021
Categories
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  • Smithsonian Marine Station - Fort Pierce (10)
  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (1)
  • Specimen Spotlight (13)
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