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Articles

"Halo 2600" game map.

Smithsonian Voices

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting and Preserving Video Games

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a researcher develops strategy for digital preservation

Fred Newton promotes his record-breaking journey.

The Man Who Swam the Full Length of the Mississippi River

How Fred Newton found himself neck-deep in history

The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

Concert attendees cheer at an event in Porto, Portugal, on August 15, 2020.

Covid-19

What Super-Spreading Events Teach Us About Protecting Ourselves From COVID-19

Scientists are increasingly finding that a small number of people may be the source of many cases

Karen Orozco Gutierrez and Ann Banks returned to Alabama to visit the area where Banks' ancestors had enslaved people, including Orozco Gutierrez's ancestor Milton.

Two Women, Their Lives Connected by American Slavery, Tackle Their Shared History

One descended from an enslaver, the other from the people he enslaved. Together, they traveled to the Deep South to learn their families’ pasts

Meroe, 150 miles north of Khartoum, served as a necropolis for the kings and queens of Kush for close to 600 years.

Why Sudan’s Remarkable Ancient Civilization Has Been Overlooked by History

The African nation’s pyramids and other archaeological sites are only now emerging from the shadow of its more storied neighbor to the north

Catherine “Cat” Carnes, a registered nurse from Oklahoma, came to Brooklyn to volunteer after seeing “the news day after day and watching the nurses literally cry out for help in New York City.”

Covid-19

Sixteen Snapshots of Life in New York City Under Quarantine

An outdoor photography exhibition at the New-York Historical Society is helping New Yorkers process the Covid-19 pandemic

In the 1913 march for women's suffrage, Inez Milholland (right) led the procession on Pennsylvania Avenue, while black suffragists like the women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority were relegated to the back.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

What 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Looks Like Through the Eyes of 100 Women Artists

A new book fills its pages with an illustrated, intersectional exploration of the past century

Read excerpts from women senators' testimonials below.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Women Senators Reflect on the 100th Anniversary of Suffrage

Twenty-four lawmakers shared testimonials with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

The rusted pirate fishing vessel STS-50 evaded authorities time and time again—until its luck ran out.

The Hunt for the Modern-Day Pirates Who Steal Millions of Tons of Fish From the Seas

These criminal actors threaten fragile species, forcing an international coalition to track them down

Everyone, it seems, has tried sourdough during the lockdown. But that ubiquitous jar of starter contains a dynamic microbial ecosystem that scientists are only beginning to understand.

The Scientific Secrets Behind Making Great Sourdough Bread

Scientists explain how simple steps can change a starter’s microbial community and allow bakers to up their game

Allied freighters ablaze in the harbor of Bari, Italy, after the German attack.

How a Chemical Weapons Disaster in WWII Led to a U.S. Cover-Up—and a New Cancer Treatment

The physician who led the investigation into a deadly explosion in Italy found the truth, and some hope

More than $8 million worth of books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh were stolen or destroyed.

The Inside Story of the 25-Year, $8 Million Heist From the Carnegie Library

Precious maps, books and artworks vanished from the Pittsburgh archive, and the caper’s final chapter was just written

The new artworks unveiled in the garden, including We Come in Peace by Huma Bhabha, 2018, offers visitors the opportunity to "engage with timely issues through art," says the museum's director Melissa Chiu.

Two Monumental Sculptures Welcome Visitors Back to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

Both artworks evoke peace in the time of pandemic

Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, exit the Baptist church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, in 1976.

An Interview With ‘Playboy’ Magazine Nearly Torpedoed Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Campaign

The pious Georgia Democrat spoke earnestly of his views on sex, a bridge too far for an emerging behemoth voting bloc: conservative Christians

Protected land near Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, above, was one of the sites studied in the new analysis of tree lines in the Canadian Rockies.

Because of Climate Change, Canada’s Rocky Mountain Forests Are on the Move

Using century-old surveying photos, scientists have mapped 100 years of change in the Canadian Rockies to document the climate-altered landscape

Women vote at the polls in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Wyoming, women were voting fifty years before the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the American West Led the Way for Women in Politics

Western territories and states were the first to expand voting rights for women

A Diné child begins her much-anticipated school year online in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Smithsonian Voices

Here’s What Going Back to School Looks Like in Indian Country During the Pandemic

Native students, teachers, parents and school administrators share their concerns

Since late July, Mei Xiang has been sleeping more, eating less, nest-building and body-licking—all signs that she is preparing for a newborn.

Pandamonium

Is There a New Baby Panda Due at the National Zoo?

An ultrasound today revealed that the National Zoo’s resident giant panda, Mei Xiang, could be expecting

Fannie Farmer oversees one of her students, Martha Hayes Ludden, at the Boston Cooking School in 1900.

How 12 Female Cookbook Authors Changed the Way We Eat

A new book examines the recipes of a dozen cooks who made groundbreaking contributions across the food industry

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