Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

A large, brown tooth sits on top of a colorful map of the California coast

Summer Summary: A Mysterious Fossil Tooth, Metallic Planet and Marine Hitchhikers

Catch up on the museum discoveries you may have missed over the past few months

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Dino-Sore: Smithsonian Paleontologist Diagnoses Ancient Ailments in the Museum’s Dinosaurs

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Smithsonian Scientists Discover One of the Earliest Mammal Ancestors That Ate Its Veggies

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

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2022 in Review: Smithsonian Staff Sifts Through an Ocean of Fossils

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

A tan-colored skull and spine sticks out of a sandy surface. The jaws of the elongated skull are studded with sharp teeth that are angled at the viewer.

This November, Be Thankful for Specialty Spirits and Ancient Sea Monsters

Elephant-like mammoth and mastodons trudge across a pond while a group of giant camels stop for a drink. In the background are snow-capped mountains. Crouching in the grassy foreground are a pair of sabertooth cats.

What the Demise of Mammoths Can Teach Us About Future Extinctions

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A Final Meal for the Ages

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

White-colored, fossil ammonite laying horizontally on top of a rock with a black background

What's Next for the 1.2 Million Prehistoric Fossils Now at Smithsonian

This fossilized dinosaur head and vertebrae were discovered in 1883 but only recently gained its name, Smitanosaurus agilis. (Smithsonian)

Scientists Give Old Dinosaur a New Name

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History sequenced the genomes of 363 bird species in 2020. (Brian Schmidt, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2020

The Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems working group combines expertise from paleontologists and ecologists to improve our understanding of ancient and modern ecosystems. (Mary Parrish, Smithsonian)

Interdisciplinary Study Shows How Species Interactions Affect Evolution

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that are similar to objects in the show “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” (Smithsonian)

Six Avatar-Themed Items in the Smithsonian Collections

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

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History discovered all sorts of cool things in 2019 including the first North American medicinal leech (Macrobdella mimicus) in more than 40 years. (Anna Phillips, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2019

On opening day of the new fossil hall, visitors flocked to the windows of the FossiLab to see fossil preparation in action. (James D. Tiller, Smithsonian Institution)

Smithsonian Puts Backstage Fossil Preparation Center Stage in its New Fossil Hall

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I Spy… A Giant Squid Eye

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

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