Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

National Museum of Natural History

NMNH-2026-00475.jpg

Here’s How the Smithsonian’s 70-Year-Old Bull Bison Got a Blow-Out

Conservators at the National Museum of Natural History recently spruced up a bison specimen for the new exhibition “Bison: Standing Strong”

5625-216.jpg

To Recreate a 17th-Century Masterwork, an Entomologist at the National Museum of Natural History Got Creative with Butterflies, Bees and a Bit of Rosemary

The display will be featured in a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art as part of a historic collaboration along the National Mall

A man in a grey short sits in a lab setting, in front of a microscope and a computer screen.

Meet the National Museum of Natural History Volunteer Preserving Prehistory One Microfossil at a Time

Carlos Savignano is part of a dedicated group of FossiLab volunteers preparing Smithsonian fossils for display and future research

NMNH-2025-00316.jpg

How Do You Clean an 11-Ton Elephant? One Brushstroke at a Time

The National Museum of Natural History recently spruced up its iconic African elephant mount, which has greeted visitors since 1959

40026390_10155892595418230_743929077726969856_n.jpg

The Name Game: A 'Celebrity' Cephalopod Specimen Correctly Identified More Than 80 Years After Discovery

Collected by the iconic American writer John Steinbeck, the octopus has received a number of scientific monikers

NMNH-2008-19316_DarwinGodwit-000002.jpg

How A 190-Year-Old Shorebird Preserves Darwin’s Legacy

In honor of Charles Darwin’s 215th birthday, meet the only original Darwin specimen in North America

Two black and white orcas jump out of the blue water

NMNH in Review: A ‘Killer’ Arrival at the Smithsonian

After stranding on a Florida beach, an orca’s odyssey to the museum will offer rich research opportunities

A black plate of whale baleen is lit up against a dark background with brown hair-like material coming from the bottom of the specimen.

How a Whale Skull at the Smithsonian Became a Beacon for Marine Mammal Conservation

Take a dive into the museum’s marine mammal collection and learn how a rare North American whale is racing against extinction

A shelf of brown boxes with white bones peeking out of the top has small black beetles crawling all over them.

Meet the Smithsonian’s Spookiest Staffers: Flesh-Eating Beetles

This Halloween season, learn how the National Museum of Natural History’s dermestid beetle colony transforms decaying animal carcasses into spotless skeletons.

Categories
Archive