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No re-opening date for the Smithsonian Institution (above: vintage postcard of the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C) is announced. Officials say they are monitoring the situation.

Smithsonian Museums to Close Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

In an official statement, the Institution announced temporary closures beginning Saturday, March 14

The research vessel in December, two months after mooring to an ice floe nicknamed “the Fortress.”

Planet Positive

Why the MOSAiC Expedition’s Research Is So Vital to Climate Change Research

On a ship frozen in the Arctic, scientists have spent all winter to shed light on exactly how the world is changing

Programming across the Smithsonian Institution, including the April Earth Optimism seminar and Smithsonian magazine's Museum Day, is canceled through May 3 due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

All Smithsonian Museums and National Zoo Remain Open Through Friday; Events Canceled

With Washington, D.C. COVID-19 state of emergency, Smithsonian officials say museums to close Saturday, March 14; events canceled through May 3

You can see evidence of community even during gameplay. At its core, derby requires communication; it’s a true team sport.

The Rough-and-Tumble Sport of Roller Derby Is All About Community

Participants promote a family-oriented fellowship of friends who like to beat each other up while wearing skates

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Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit Was Made by a Bra Manufacturer

This wearable spacecraft let humans take one giant leap away from Earth

Jupiter's moon Europa may have the ingredients necessary for hosting life: liquid water, an energy source and organic compounds.

We’re Better Equipped to Find Extraterrestrial Life Now Than Ever Before

Astronomers have more places to look for signs of intelligent life and more advanced tools to find it

In 1985, Riddles was the first to cross the finish line after 18 days, 20 minutes and 17 seconds. Her win produced a new generation of women mushers competing in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Facing Blizzards and Accidents, Iditarod’s First Woman Champion Libby Riddles Persisted

A sled in the Smithsonian collections marks the historic race

Why do sea turtles eat plastic? The smell.

Sea Turtles Might Be Eating Old Plastic Because It Smells Like Shrimp

Over time, trash that has been floating in the ocean gets covered in algae and other micro-organisms

The Roman Pool at Hearst Castle

Six Castles You Can Visit in the United States

You don’t have to travel to Europe to see turrets, gate houses and other architectural features reminiscent of the Middle Ages

Double Self-Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1902

John Singer Sargent ‘Abhorred’ Making His Lavish Portraits, So He Took Up Charcoal to Get the Job Done

Sargent made his portraits in charcoal—a medium that allowed completion in less than three hours rather than the weeks it took for his full-length oils

Left, a photograph of Helen Hamilton Gardener circa 1920. Right, an image of the Smithsonian's NAWSA exhibition, featuring the table upon which the "Declaration of Sentiments" was written.

Women Who Shaped History

The Woman Who Pushed the Smithsonian to Preserve the Victory for Suffrage

After lobbying in support of the 19th Amendment, free thinker Helen Hamilton Gardener strove to preserve the movement’s legacy in the public memory

Ostrich eggshell beads were exchanged between ancient hunter-gatherers living in distant, ecologically diverse regions of southern Africa, including deserts and high mountains.

Humans Have Been Taking Out Insurance Policies for at Least 30,000 Years

A study of beads made from ostrich eggshells suggests the humans of the Kalahari Desert region formed social networks to help each other

In this photo taken on March 6, 2020, primary school teacher Billy Yeung records a video lesson for his students, who have had their classes suspended due to coronavirus, in his empty classroom in Hong Kong.

Education During Coronavirus

What Happened When Hong Kong’s Schools Went Virtual to Combat the Spread of Coronavirus

A temporary solution during months-long school shutdowns, the online classrooms may be an experiment the rest of the world can learn from

The "knapsack problem" is a widespread computing challenge—and no, it doesn't have to do just with literal backpacks.

How the Mathematical Conundrum Called the ‘Knapsack Problem’ Is All Around Us

A litany of issues in business, finance, container ship loading and aircraft loading derive from this one simple dilemma

Local Basque traditional dancers perform at the annual Basque Festival in Winnemucca, Nevada.

How a Remote Nevada Town Became a Bastion of Basque Culture

Tiny Winnemucca, with its high concentration of Basque restaurants, is doing its part to preserve Basque traditions

Mapping the Gay Guides’ main function is preserving and publicizing an overlooked, under-studied chapter in LGBTQ history.

This Interactive Map Visualizes the Queer Geography of 20th-Century America

Mapping the Gay Guides visualizes local queer spaces’ evolution between 1965 and 1980

Washing your hands doesn't just lift germs off your skin. It can destroy some of them, too—including the virus behind COVID-19.

Why Is Washing Your Hands So Important, Anyway?

A dive into the science behind why hand-washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer work so well

The Microbus revolutionized the automobile industry just as America's social revolution was beginning.

How the Volkswagen Bus Became a Symbol of Counterculture

Seventy years ago, the German car manufacturer started producing the Microbus—the first van and a striking vehicle for protest

The original call for submissions that was mailed out for the 1977 iteration of "What is Feminist Art?"

More Than 40 Years Later, Artists Answer a Still-Relevant Question: What Is Feminist Art?

An exhibition from the Archives of American Art asks artists—and the viewer—to ponder what makes art feminist, and how that definition has evolved

Silhouette of Horace Greeley made by profile artist William H. Brown in 1872, the year Greeley died. Greeley changed journalism in America, considering himself to be a “Public Teacher” who exerted “a resistless influence over public opinion … creating a community of thought of feeling … giving the right direction to it.”

How Horace Greeley Turned Newspapers Legitimate and Saved the Media From Itself

The 19th-century publisher made reform-minded, opinion-driven journalism commercially viable

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