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National Museum of Natural History

A gray and white bird perches among leafy branches

Celebrate Black Birders Week and More Natural History Programs This May

Tune into programs about ancient mummies, resilient coral and the evolution of skin tone

Pink Hyperiid

Say Hello to the Scientist Using DNA to Track Plankton Diversity

Ecologist Paula Pappalardo hones strategies for identifying these critical ocean organisms

Composite image of ten different species of zooplankton on black background.

An Ode to Zooplankton, the Hidden Heroes of the Sea

These charismatic animals power the marine world as we know it.

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?

The water on our planet flows along a path that links the land, ocean, atmosphere and living things

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

Composite photo of seven different colorful and partially transparent deep-sea animals on black background

Massive Yet Misunderstood, What Is the Ocean's Midwater?

Discover what lives in the largest and least understood ecosystem on Earth

Two people an augmented-reality experience wear headsets while reaching out to "touch" a holographic killer whale.

Smithsonian's New Holographic Experience Dives Into Marine Conservation

“Critical Distance" explores why southern resident orca whales are endangered and how marine conservation can help.

Chris Meyer, a marine invertebrate zoologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, dives around French Polynesia with equipment used to track coral reef health. (Jenny Adler)

Meet the Reef Expert Collecting Environmental Time Capsules

Collecting DNA in waters worldwide can help scientists figure out which places are the most important for conservation.

Head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station, Valerie Paul, collects blue-green algae samples to study the chemicals they emit. Those chemicals can endanger coral reefs, but also have biomedical potential. (Raphael Ritson-Williams)

Meet the Marine Scientist Studying How Algae Communicates

Valerie Paul's work adds to scientists’ knowledge about the ways marine biochemicals can potentially help restore coral reefs and create new biomedicine.

This jellyfish, Scolionema suvaense, was raised in the National Museum of Natural History’s Invertebrate Zoology “AquaRoom.” Here, the species is sinking through food with its tentacles spread wide. (Allen Collins, Smithsonian)

Live Jellyfish Make a Splash in Marine Education

Smithsonian's AquaRoom helps scientists learn more about these animals’ lives and educate future generations about their marine neighbors.

Discover why and how seabirds, like the parasitic jaeger, migrate in a virtual program on June 8. (Per Harald Olsen/NTNU, CC BY 2.0)

Five Free Natural History Programs Streaming in June

Stream these free programs from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History this June.

Coral reef health is an important indicator of the ocean’s well-being. Scientists can study corals to learn more about how climate change is affecting the oceans. (Wise Hok Wai Lum, CC-BY-SA-4.0)

DNA Makes Waves in the Fight to Save Coral Reefs

Environmental DNA could help scientists understand and anticipate the threats coral reefs face.

The cyanobacteria species that produces gatorbulin-1, tentatively identified as Lyngbya confervoides, forms these reddish-green, hair-like structures which are a collection of connected single cells rather than a true multicellular organism. (Raphael Ritson-Williams)

Scientists Find Blue-Green Algae Chemical with Cancer Fighting Potential

The discovery shows how studying marine biodiversity can enhance biomedical research.

The Pacific bigfin squid (Magnapinna pacifica) in the Smithsonian collections that Mike Vecchione and Richard E. Young used to describe the deepest-known species of squid. (Richard E. Young)

Get to Know the Scientist Discovering Deep-Sea Squids

For this month's "Meet a SI-entist," we chatted with the Smithsonian's curator of cephalopods to learn more about these wonderfully weird animals on World Octopus Day.

Giant squids can grow to over 40 feet long. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has a giant squid specimen on display in the Sant Ocean Hall and several others in its collections. (John Steiner, Smithsonian)

How Scientists Learn What Lives in the Deep Ocean

By collecting, storing and analyzing specimens and DNA from the deep sea, researchers are improving their knowledge about marine biodiversity in the deep ocean.

Not much is known about the megamouth, which was first observed by scientists in 1976. A new specimen (not pictured above) has traveled to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where researchers will study it to learn more about its behavior and life cycle. (Zola Chen)

Rare Megamouth Shark Arrives at the Smithsonian

Studying and eventually preserving the megamouth will help researchers learn more about the puzzling species, allowing them to examine the sharks’ impact on the ocean ecosystem and food chain.

As the ocean continues to warm, scientists look to the past for answers on how to manage today’s environmental problems. (Sophie McCoy/NOAA)

Get to Know the Scientist Reconstructing Past Ocean Temperatures

Meet the scientist reconstructing past ocean temperatures to solve today's environmental problems.

A Bryde's whale from a community in the Gulf of Mexico. The rare whales face a myriad of threats including pollution and being hit by ships. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Saving This Rare Whale Skeleton was a Dirty Job

The Smithsonian welcomes a rare whale skeleton that was found dead on an island in the Florida Everglades. The specimen is expected to help scientists better define and understand the endangered species.

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History traveled the world and made many new discoveries this year—including 18 new species of pelican spiders. (Nikolai Scharff)

Check Out Some of Our Most Popular Discoveries From 2018

Celebrate the new year with some of our most popular scientific discoveries from 2018.

A fossil sea turtle skull excavated from Angola’s coastal cliffs. A cast of this fossil will be featured in “Sea Monsters Unearthed,” opening November 9 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. (Hillsman S. Jackson, Southern Methodist University)

Q&A: Sea Monsters in Our Ancient Oceans Were Strangely Familiar

Stunning fossils reveal that Angola's ancient ocean ecosystem was at once strange and familiar.

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