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National Museum of Natural History

State shells pictured in a circular arrangement against a gray background.

New Smithsonian Exhibition to Showcase Objects From All 50 States

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Fetching Fossils and Unwrapping Mannequins: Here’s What Happens When a Museum Exhibition Closes

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Check Out These Wondrous Objects on Display Before They Return to the Museum’s Collection

A blue bird with white and grey spots lies against a white background.

Celebrate the Holiday Season with the Museum’s Stunning Collection of Blue Specimens

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

The Chaco Canyon chocolate-drinking jars have a distinct shape, with connections to similarly shaped Mayan vessels. After testing distinguishable jar fragments from an excavated trash pile in in the canyon, archaeologists determined all of the drinking jars were used to consume cacao. (A336494, A336499, A336493, James Di Loreto, Smithsonian)

What Chocolate-Drinking Jars Tell Indigenous Potters Now

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