Articles

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

On Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a rare animal is thriving—for now

This year's titles include Daughter of the Dragon, Whalefall and Witness.

The Best Books of 2023

Smithsonian Scholars Recommend Their Favorite Books of 2023

Curators and staffers satisfied their endless curiosity with novels, short stories, biographies, art collections and journalistic reporting

Stark-Star grapes—native to North America, and considered a “champion cultivar” by Jerry Eisterhold, founder of TerraVox Winery.

The Man Who’s Saving America’s Forgotten Grapes

Bordeaux. Napa Valley. Missouri? This vintner wants to put this once-booming wine region back on the map

Left, a 1932 self-portrait by Lee Miller. Right, a 1943 portrait of Miller by American photojournalist David Scherman.

Women Who Shaped History

How Lee Miller, a Magazine Model and Muse, Became a Daring World War II Photographer

The bold journalist, who made a splash on both sides of the lens, is the subject of a new biopic starring Kate Winslet

Icaria was guided by a single principle: “to each following his needs, from each following his strengths,” as Cabet put it.

Untold Stories of American History

The 19th-Century Novel That Inspired a Communist Utopia on the American Frontier

The Icarians thought they could build a paradise, but their project was marked by failure almost from the start

A glass of homemade eggnog dusted with cinnamon is a mouthwatering prospect to some—and an abomination to others.

The Uniquely American History of Eggnog, Everyone's Favorite—or Least Favorite—Holiday Quaff

This Yuletide mainstay continues to warm cockles and ventricles everywhere

The horned marsupial frog, which carries its eggs in a pouch on its back, lives in the canopy of tropical rainforests.

The Surprise Reappearance of a Rare Frog Has Scientists Leaping to Protect Its Habitat

The marsupial frog, which incubates its young in a pouch on its back, was thought to be extinct in some countries

Why can't machines process CO2 the way trees do?

Why Can't Machines Process CO2 Like Trees? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

An original Michtom teddy bear once held by two of Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandchildren, Mark and Anne.

The Teddy Bear Was Once Seen as a Dangerous Influence on Young Children

Inspired by a moment of empathy from President Theodore Roosevelt, the huggable toy had a rocky start before it became the stuff of legend

The products range from measuring games to coding activities—and even include a robot that introduces children to artificial intelligence.

Ten Engineer-Selected STEM Toys to Give as Gifts in 2023

From coding to building to circuitry, these educational activities support basic skills to serve children in science, engineering and beyond

Hoyma, which means “home” in Syðrugøta’s local dialect of Faroese, has featured 20 concerts by ten different artists who set up in the living rooms of ten different family homes in Syðrugøta.  

Northern Europe and the British Isles

Hoyma Is Bringing Music Home in the Faroe Islands

For one fall night, it is tradition for a handful of houses in Sydrugota, on the island of Eysturoy, to open their doors and host intimate concerts

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, a new film that arrives on Netflix on December 20

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre's Marriage in 'Maestro'

The Bradley Cooper-led film is a dramatization of the storied composer and conductor's complex love life

Smithsonian's picks for the best books about food of 2023 include Invitation to a Banquet, For the Culture: Black Women and Femmes in Food and More Than Cake.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2023

Travel to Rome, Alaska, West Africa and beyond with this year’s best cookbooks, memoirs and historic deep dives

In 1958, dozens of red-breasted flycatchers, like the one pictured here, flew off course and visited the United Kingdom.

One Reason Migrating Birds Get Lost Is Out of This World

Solar energy can alter the Earth’s magnetic field and likely lead the animals astray

This turkey, with his impressive wattle and snood, has nothing to fear during the Thanksgiving holiday. He gives thanks every November that he lives the secure life of a beloved pet.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Give Thanks for These 15 Photos Celebrating Thanksgiving

Gather together and commemorate the holiday of gratitude

President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally ride through the streets of Dallas, Texas prior to the assassination on November 22, 1963.

Inside the Autopsy Room: The Details Doctors Gathered About JFK’s Assassination

Sixty years ago, three pathologists at the National Naval Medical Center examined the president's fatal wounds

An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, India. The country has the highest rate of snakebite deaths in the world.

An Inside Look at the Effort to Curb Deadly Snakebites in India

With around 58,000 human deaths from snakebites each year in the country, a lot more must be done to save lives

Vanessa Kirby, who plays Joséphine in Ridley Scott's Napoleon, says the empress “was just this massive contradiction.” ­

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Empress Joséphine in Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon'

A new Hollywood epic traces Napoleon Bonaparte's rise and fall through his checkered relationship with his first wife

A screenshot of the 3D model

An Interactive 3D Model of the JFK Assassination Site, Grassy Knoll and All

A Danish graphic designer has pieced together historic photos and maps to create an interactive digital diorama of the fateful moments

The Dallas County Administration Building, formerly the Texas School Book Depository, as photographed in 2015

The Architectural History of the JFK Assassination Site

How November 22, 1963, changed Dallas' Dealey Plaza forever

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