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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

Viruses, notably influenza A and Morbillivirus, cause mass die-offs with striking head counts.

Mass Die-Offs of Marine Mammals Are on the Rise

Viral and bacteria outbreaks are increasingly causing fatalities in a variety of species, including seals and dolphins

Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) on Jackson Square, Oak Ridge. August 1945. The town of Oak Ridge was established by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Clinton Engineer Works in 1942 on isolated farm land as part of the Manhattan Project. The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor, used to show that plutonium can be extracted from enriched uranium. Tennessee, USA.

Looking Back on V-J Day 75 Years Later

How Americans celebrated the end of World War II

Queen Liliʻuokalani (above: circa 1891) became the first and only queen regnant of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1891 and shepherded the country through a period of intense growth.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the 19th Amendment Complicated the Status and Role of Women in Hawai’i

For generations, women played a central role in government and leadership. Then, the United States came along

A lifelike restoration using the remains of a baby woolly rhinoceros recovered from the Siberian permafrost. The specimen was nicknamed Sasha after the hunter who discovered it.

Climate Change, Not Hunting, May Have Doomed the Woolly Rhinoceros

Populations of the Ice Age icon were healthy right up until their extinction, suggesting they crashed precipitously as the planet warmed

The little red car with the yellow roof that is propelled by foot power has been a hit with young children since its creation in 1979.

A Brief History of the Cozy Coupe

Invented by a former auto designer, the foot-powered kids toy still outsells engine-powered cars

Man’s Robe (China), 1796–1820

Smithsonian Voices

What Can You Create With These Five Design Treasures From the Cooper Hewitt Collections?

Open Access means you can share, remix and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images

A customer talks to a waiter in a mask while eating his meal at a table divided with transparent panels in Bangalore, India.

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About Airborne Transmission of the New Coronavirus

Aerosol experts, from engineers to doctors, weigh in on the ability of tiny droplets to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19

John F. Kennedy addresses the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles after being nominated for President.

The Top 10 Political Conventions That Mattered the Most

As the two parties shift their conventions to be mostly virtual, we look at those conventions that made a difference in the country’s political history

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