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National Museum of Natural History

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For 25 Years, the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program Has Kept Weekly Tabs on Volcanic Eruptions Around the World. Here’s How They Do It

Since 2000, specialists at the National Museum of Natural History have produced the world’s foremost report on active volcanoes

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

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

A white, fluffy dog stands in front of a brown mural with other dogs

NMNH in Review: Top Discoveries by Museum Scientists in 2023

Indigenous woolly dogs, ground sloth pendants and more headline-grabbing findings by scientists at the National Museum of Natural History

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New Museum Display Showcases the Mineral Building Blocks of Cellphones

The story behind the specimens at the center of the museum’s new exhibition “Cellphone: Unseen Connections”

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The Story Behind the Smithsonian’s Newest Gem: the Exquisite Lion of Merelani

The stunning tsavorite gemstone arrives at the museum with a well-documented history

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Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Venturing to Volcanoes to Understand the Origins of Earth’s Surface

Elizabeth Cottrell collects rocks and analyzes samples in the lab to help reveal what makes Earth so unique

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

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

The research puts modern oceanic climate change in context

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

Geolgist Cari Corrigan poses for a picture in the snow next to an American flag and a sign that reads "Geographic South Pole."

Get to Know the Geologist Collecting Antarctic Meteorites

Cari Corrigan gathers meteorites from the South Pole to help researchers understand the mineral makeup of asteroids and planets

Turquoise and diamond encrusted diadem on a black background that lightens to gray in the center.

How Turquoise Replaced Emeralds in This Royal Diadem

Once gifted by Napoleon, the heirloom is now bejeweled in December’s birthstone

From forests to fish to flakes of snow, the science behind ice cream reaches beyond the cone. (Taryn Ellio)

The Strangely Scientific Endeavor of Making Ice Cream

Ice cream's texture is the result of the same processes that govern concepts like forest recovery, rock formation and sub-zero survival in animals.

Zircons are the oldest minerals in the world and come in colors like the rich blue above. Researchers have now used these gemstones to identify when modern plate tectonics began. (Ken Larsen)

New Study on Zircons Finds Plate Tectonics Began 3.6 Billion Years Ago

The research reveals how one of Earth’s defining geologic features likely formed — and set the stage for the emergence of life

Many organisms like coral — and even people — create their own minerals to perform basic life functions. Geologists can study these biominerals to learn more about Earth. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

How Biominerals are Stepping Stones for Climate Change Research

Studying biominerals can help geologists learn more about how Earth might transform from climate change in the coming decades

This is a giant spindle magnetofossil, created by a mysterious creature over 50 million years ago. So far, the iron fossils have only been found during two periods of intense global warming. (Kenneth Livi, Courtney Wagner, and Ioan Lascu)

New Way to Study Magnetic Fossils Could Help Unearth Their Origins

Now that scientists can detect these fossils in geologic materials faster, they will be able to look for past evidence of the fossils more efficiently.

A meteorite in the process of being recovered by volunteers in the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program. The shiny fusion crust on this meteorite suggests it may be an achondrite. (ANSMET)

What Antarctic Meteorites Tell Us About Earth’s Origins

Each year, Smithsonian scientists collect hundreds of meteorites from Antarctica that reveal details about the origins of Earth and our solar system.

The original photos from late 1800s by famous snowflake photographer Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, are stored in the Smithsonian Archives. His pictures were instrumental in helping scientists examine snow’s crystalline properties. (Erin Malsbury, Smithsonian Open Access, Wilson A. Bentley)

Why Scientists Find Snowflakes Cool

Mineralogists study snowflakes to learn more about how water in its solid phase behaves.

Smithsonian Geologist Liz Cottrell answers your questions in the National Museum of Natural History’s YouTube series, “The Doctor Is In.” (Smithsonian Institution)

How to Identify Rocks and Other Questions From Our Readers

Don't miss the season finale of the National Museum of Natural History's popular YouTube series, the "Doctor Is In."

Smithsonian Geologist Liz Cottrell answers your questions in the National Museum of Natural History’s YouTube series, “The Doctor Is In.” (Smithsonian Institution)

How Do Volcanologists Predict Eruptions and Other Questions From Our Readers

In this week's episode, find out which state is the best for collecting rocks, what to use when you’re out of toilet paper in the wild and how volcanologists predict eruptions using gas emissions.

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