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In planning to re-open, Zoo staff have spent several weeks consulting scientific experts and preparing rigorous healthcare guidelines.

The National Zoo Will Reopen to the Public on July 24

Two bison, an Andean bear and a baby wallaby are among the new animals ready to welcome visitors back

In April, people queued at a testing tent in East New York in Brooklyn. COVID-19 rates are highest among black New Yorkers in Kings County.

Race in America

What ‘Racism Is a Public Health Issue’ Means

Epidemiologist Sharrelle Barber discusses the racial inequalities that exist for COVID-19 and many other health conditions

Cryptids like Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch or the mis-translated "Abominable Snowman" abound in folk tales.

Why Bigfoot and the ‘Abominable Snowman’ Loom Large in the Human Imagination

In cultures around the world, folklore of a ‘Wild Man’ share a common narrative

The congressman, pictured here in 2009, was instrumental in the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Smithsonian Leaders Reflect on the Legacy of Civil Rights Icon John Lewis

The congressman and civil rights activist died on Friday at age 80

How will SARS-CoV-2 evolve?

Covid-19

How Viruses Evolve

Pathogens that switch to a new host species have some adapting to do. How does that affect the course of a pandemic like COVID-19?

Black-tailed prairie dogs are prolific diggers and construct complex burrow systems.

Smithsonian Voices

Why Prairie Dogs Are Ecological Heroes

Although many people view prairie dogs as pests, ecologists absolutely dig them

Socrates Sculpture Park is located in Queens—New York's most diverse borough, and also the hardest hit by COVID-19.

Covid-19

Are Sculpture Parks Having a Moment in the Sun?

Many art museums are still closed due to COVID-19, but open gardens and parks on their grounds are attracting eager visitors

The neotropical rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus, inhabits at least 11 South American countries. This species of viper is widespread and thrives in dry climates.

Smithsonian Voices

The DNA of the Viper Reveals an Ancient Map of South America

Although vipers are famous for their venomous bites, it turns out these snakes have another story to tell

One of the Last Living Manhattan Project Scientists Looks Back at the Atomic Bomb Tests

Peter Lax was just a teenager when he went to Los Alamos to join the team that developed the deadly weapon

Anthropologist S. Ann Dunham (above, left) documented traditional crafts in Indonesia. Her field notes are now digitized and the Smithsonian is looking for digital transcribers.

Help Transcribe Field Notes Penned by S. Ann Dunham, a Pioneering Anthropologist and Barack Obama’s Mother

Newly digitized, Dunham’s papers reflect her work as a scholar and as a scientist and as a woman doing anthropology in her own right

Quantum physicist Amruta Gadge became the first to create a Bose-Einstein Condensate—the exotic, elusive fifth state of matter—remotely.

Covid-19

Five Scientific Achievements That Happened During Coronavirus Lockdown

Quarantine did not stop these innovators from discovering new species, creating the elusive fifth state of matter remotely, and more

The Washington National Cathedral shrouded in scaffolding post-earthquake.

The Decades-Long Journey to Restore the National Cathedral

Craftspeople in the building arts are practicing “social distancing stone masonry” in safeguarding this cultural heritage

Men and women lining up during the 1902 Coal Strike for their allotment of coal.

The Coal Strike That Defined Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency

To put an end to the standoff, the future progressive champion sought the help of a titan of business: J.P. Morgan

In the early months of the pandemic, plastic bags quickly returned to grocery stores in states that previously banned their use while use of reusable bags was prohibited to supposedly reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Has Resurrected Single-Use Plastics—Are They Back to Stay?

Studies show that these products are not necessarily safer than reusable alternatives with respect to viral spread

Trixie Friganza, noted feminist, suffragist and inspiration for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Women Who Shaped History

The Feminist History of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’

Trixie Friganza, an actress and suffragist, inspired the popular song of the seventh inning stretch

A US flag flies over the captured U-858 as it receives a K-ship escort to Lewes, Delaware.

Smithsonian Voices

How Navy Blimps Beat Back German U-Boats During the Battle of the Atlantic

The destruction to convoys caused by marauding U-boats diminished dramatically once K-ships started keeping a constant vigil

John Rogers and his colleague Shuai Xu’s tech startup Sonica Health is submitting the device with a pulse oximeter and its algorithms to the FDA for approval later this month.

Covid-19

This Band-Aid-Like Patch Could Detect Early COVID-19 Symptoms

Northwestern University scientist John Rogers has developed a wearable that adheres to the throat and relays data to a physician

Our bodies carry many bacteria and fungi, not all of them harmful.

What Quarantine Is Doing to Your Body’s Wondrous World of Bacteria

The germs, fungi and mites that grow on our hands, face, armpits and elsewhere have become stranded during the age of social distancing

The Anacostia Community Museum wants to know not just how you’re surviving this moment, but how you’re being resilient.

In This Historical Moment, Here’s How to Collect Your Thoughts

The Anacostia Community Museum wants your story for its new archive #Moments of Resilience

A survey of nearly 1,000 environmental education and outdoor science schools that serve primarily K-12 learners shows that 63 percent of such organizations are uncertain whether they will ever open their doors again, if pandemic restrictions last until year’s end.

Education During Coronavirus

Will COVID-19 Spell the End of Outdoor and Environmental Education?

The pandemic has been devastating to the field, according to a recent survey

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