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Drone image above the wreck of HMS Erebus

Divers Recover More Than 350 Artifacts From the HMS ‘Erebus’ Shipwreck

The treasure trove could help answer questions about what happened during the disastrous Franklin Expedition

Winston Churchill visits bomb-damaged Birmingham, England, during the Blitz.

How Winston Churchill Endured the Blitz—and Taught the People of England to Do the Same

In a new book, best-selling author Erik Larson examines the determination of the ‘British Bulldog’ during England’s darkest hour

“New Paths to Change: Undocumented Immigrant Activism, 2000 to the Present” is an curatorial effort to collect the stories community organizers across the nation (above: a 2017 immigration rally in San Francisco).

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting the Work of Immigrant Rights Activists

A new collecting initiative will tell the stories of the undocumented and their political organizing movements

By late December 1941, the initial contingents of diplomats arrived at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

When the Greenbrier and Other Appalachian Resorts Became Prisons for Axis Diplomats

During World War II, the U.S. government detained hundreds of German, Italian and Japanese diplomats in luxury internment camps

The History of the Hard Hat

With some canvas, leather, shelac and black paint, inventor Edward Bullard helped America usher in a new era of workplace safety

Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Angkor Wat May Owe Its Existence to an Engineering Catastrophe

The collapse of a reservoir in a remote and mysterious city could have helped Angkor gain supremacy

A female wolverine roams the Arctic tundra at the edge of the Brooks Range, on Alaska’s North Slope. 

Why Wolverines Are the Arctic Animal We Love to Hate

Scientists brave the deep snows and frigid cold of Arctic Alaska to study one of its most furtive and ferocious denizens

Oscillations originating deep inside the sun become detectable only on the surface.

How Do Scientists Record Sounds From the Sun? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions, we’ve got experts

When curators gather, the topics are lively. Did Dolley Madison save the day? Do astronauts eat freeze-dried ice cream? And where exactly did the Pilgrims land?

Smithsonian Curators Help Rescue the Truth From These Popular Myths

From astronaut ice-cream to Plymouth Rock, a group of scholars gathered at the 114th Smithsonian Material Culture Forum to address tall tales and myths

An author of blockbuster books and a pioneering photographer, she braved the wilderness to collect these moths and butterflies.

As Popular in Her Day as J.K. Rowling, Gene Stratton-Porter Wrote to the Masses About America’s Fading Natural Beauty

Despite her fame, you wouldn’t know about this beloved writer unless you visit the vanishing Midwestern landscape she helped save

Photographers gather at the eastern edge of El Capitan in February, eager to capture Yosemite's "firefall."

Nine Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

You have to be in the right place at the right time to see these awe-inspiring events

Left: Walker in 1912; Right: Octavia Spencer as the inspiring businesswoman in the Netflix series “Self Made,” which debuts this month.

Women Who Shaped History

Madam C.J. Walker Gets a Netflix Close-Up

A turn-of-the-century hair-care magnate who shared her wealth gets the spotlight

The circa 1968-96 Lunar con Tatuaje (Moon With Tattoo), made of stretched canvas and acrylic, is one of over 40 works in the retrospective.

New York Museum Highlights the Artwork of Zilia Sánchez

The Cuban American artist has long been a creative force. Now she’s having her big moment—in her tenth decade

Two Marines in the Marine Corps’ 5th Division cemetery on Iwo Jima pay their respects to a fallen comrade.

Recently Digitized Iwo Jima Footage Shows the Human Side of the Famous Battle

The archival clips show Marines mourning friends, enjoying downtime and more

Ken Gonzales-Day’s photograph of the Portrait of Shonke Mon-thi^ now resides in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Recognition of Major Osage Leader and Warrior Opens a New Window Into History

The story of Shonke Mon-thi^, a hidden figure in American history, is now recovered at the National Portrait Gallery

The HL Hunley pressed its torpedo against the side of the USS Housatonic until it detonated.

The New Explosive Theory About What Doomed the Crew of the ‘Hunley’

A blast-injury expert takes aim at the mystery of what sank the most famous—and lethal—submarine of the Civil War

Depictions of Madame Yale often suggested that she had a hand in crafting her concoctions.

Madame Yale Made a Fortune With the 19th Century’s Version of Goop

A century before today’s celebrity health gurus, an American businesswoman was a beauty with a brand

Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City (1946).

Women Who Shaped History

How the U.S. Government Deployed Grandma Moses Overseas in the Cold War

In 1950, an exhibition of the famed artist’s paintings toured Europe in a promotional campaign of American culture

On the right, corn plants inoculated with sugarcane microbes saw their biomass increase compared to those that were not inoculated (on the left).

How Sugar’s Bacteria Could Point the Way to More Efficient Agriculture

New research proves the power of beneficial bacteria and fungi that help sugarcane grow larger and rebound from stress faster

Captain Edward J. Dwight, Jr., the first African American selected as a potential astronaut, looks over a model of Titan rockets in November 1963.

Ed Dwight Was Going to Be the First African American in Space. Until He Wasn’t

The Kennedy administration sought a diverse face to the space program, but for reasons unknown, the pilot was kept from reaching the stars

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