Articles

In an explosion of green and gold, Elaine de Kooning's portrayal of President John F. Kennedy holds pride of place at the National Portrait Gallery in its exhibition "America's Presidents."

Why Elaine de Kooning's Portrait of JFK Broke All the Rules

After the assassination, the grief-stricken artist painted the president’s image obsessively; finally saying she caught only "a glimpse" of him

Sea turtle eggs, rumored to have aphrodisiac properties, are frequently poached from Costa Rican beaches

3-D Printed Sea Turtle Eggs Reveal Poaching Routes

Scientists put GPS locators inside plastic eggs to find trafficking destinations in Costa Rica

Singer Jenny Lind was widely known as the "Swedish Nightingale."

When Opera Star Jenny Lind Came to America, She Witnessed a Nation Torn Apart Over Slavery

Born 200 years ago, the Swedish soprano embarked on headline-grabbing tour that shared the spotlight with a political maelstrom

A Virginia woman votes early in the 2020 general election.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How Women Vote: Separating Myth From Reality

Suffragists said women voting would transform politics. Here’s how women have wielded the ballot in the past century, according to a political scientist

Ethan Hawke plays abolitionist John Brown in Showtime's "The Good Lord Bird."

'The Good Lord Bird' Paints a Different Portrait of Abolitionist John Brown

In a year of anti-racism protests, the new Showtime series focuses on the polarizing abolitionist who led a raid on Harper's Ferry

It's a boy! DNA taken from a cheek swab of the 3.6-pound giant panda cub confirms the animal's sex.

Pandamonium

Why It Takes a DNA Test to Determine a Panda Cub's Sex

The National Zoo announces the 6-week-old giant panda is a boy

With the support of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a new archive is being established to collect the history of the Lumbee community (above from left are members of the intertribal Baltimore American Indian Center: Louis Campbell, Lumbee; Celest Swann, Powhatan; E. Keith Colston, Lumbee / Tuscarora).

A Native American Community in Baltimore Reclaims Its History

Thousands of Lumbee Indians, members of the largest tribe east of the Mississippi, once lived in the neighborhoods of Upper Fells Point and Washington Hill

Eleanor Roosevelt talks to a child at the ceremonies inaugurating the slum clearance in Detroit, Michigan.

Women Who Shaped History

Why Eleanor Roosevelt's Example Matters More Than Ever

A new biography shows how decency, determination and generosity of heart can change the world

A female megalodon model, based on a set of teeth discovered in the Bone Valley Formation in Florida, hangs in The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

How Cannibalism in the Womb May Have Made Megalodon a Titanic Terror

A new analysis of shark body size offers clues as to why the 50-foot-long prehistoric shark grew so large

Design I/O’s “Connected Worlds,” an interactive exhibit at The New York Hall of Science, New York, New York

Top Designers Strut Their Stuff at Cooper Hewitt Gala

Kickstarter, Gowanus Canal Sponge Park, TELFAR and others take home awards

The moon at night, as seen from Germany

Why Astronomers Want to Build a SETI Observatory on the Moon

Researchers say the location would offer a quiet spot from which to hear a signal from an intelligent civilization

"Jumbo Bunkhouse"

Let These Photos Take You to Alaska's Abandoned Mining Towns

Photographer Paul Scannell recounts stories of perilous treks and quiet reflection on his journey to capture the ruins of the northern frontier

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is name after NASA's first chief of astronomy.

How NASA’s New Telescope Will Help Astronomers Discover Free-Floating Worlds

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to detect small, distant planets without stars

Smithsonian Associates will offer a virtual tour of George Washington's Alexandria on October 16 that spotlights churches, houses, taverns and other sites associated with the first president, as well the newly revitalized waterfront.

Smithsonian Voices

A Virtual Tour of Old Town Alexandria and 27 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in October

Join programs, multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours

Native American veterans of the Vietnam War stand in honor as part of the color guard at the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. November 11, 1990, Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian Voices

Native Americans Have Always Answered the Call to Serve

National Veterans of Foreign Wars Day, September 29, recognizes the men and women who have served honorably in the U.S. military overseas

These six video webinars presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explore the life cycle of modern outbreaks.

Smithsonian Voices

Six Videos From the Natural History Museum That Put the Pandemic in Context

Explore the life cycle of modern outbreaks, from infection to immunity and vaccines to combat them

The Tokay gecko is a species native to Southeast Asia, where a large percentage of traded reptiles come from

A Quarter of All Reptile Species, Many of Them Endangered, Are Sold Online

A new study finds 75 percent of the species sold are not regulated by any trade agreement

Operation Fantasia aimed to destroy Japanese morale by exposing soldiers and civilians to a Shinto portent of doom: kitsune, or fox-shaped spirits with magical abilities.

The Unsuccessful WWII Plot to Fight the Japanese With Radioactive Foxes

An outlandish idea codenamed ‘Operation Fantasia’ aimed to demoralize the Axis power by mimicking legendary spirits

The Sun-n-Sand Motor Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, is included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's new list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Eleven Historic Places in America That Desperately Need Saving

The National Trust for Historic Preservation names these sites as the most endangered cultural treasures in our country

The Yonahlossee salamander is a woodland species from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States

Smithsonian Voices

Here's How You Can Help Amphibians in the Fight Against Extinction

We now know that the killer chytrid fungus originated in Asia and that humans unintentionally spread it around the world

Page 131 of 1262