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Wayne Thiebaud's "Jawbreaker Machine" (1963) is just one of the nine artworks reimagined as mini golf holes at "Art Course," an interactive exhibition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

This Summer, Play Nine Holes at This ‘Art Course’ in Kansas City

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art takes inspiration from its vast collection to create an art-inspired mini golf course

A digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depiction of a Giardia lamblia protozoan caught in a late stage of cell division, producing a heart-shaped form. Most protozoa, or singled-celled eukaryotes, reproduce asexually, but there is evidence to suggest Giardia lamblia can reproduce sexually as well.

The Evolution of Sex Could Have Provided a Defense Against Cancer Cells

The first sexually reproducing organisms may have found that the energy-intensive enterprise bolstered defenses against malignant cells

An illustration by J. Troncy of savagnin grapes from Ampelographie: Traite General de Viticulture.

Ancient Grape DNA Tells the Prolific History of Wine

Grape seeds dating back to medieval and Roman periods share many similarities with the wine grapes we enjoy today

The sequoia tree slab is an invitation to begin thinking about a vast timescale that includes everything from fossils of armored amoebas to the great Tyrannosaurus rex.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

A 16-Million-Year-Old Tree Tells a Deep Story of the Passage of Time

To explain the exceedingly long life of the planet, the Smithsonian’s new fossil hall designers began with this arboreal wonder

How do parts of ancient creatures, like this fossil skull of an extinct herbivore, Miniochoerus from 33 million years ago, manage to survive and end up in a museum exhibition?

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

How Do Fossils Form?

Learn from the Smithsonian’s curator of vertebrate paleontology Anna K. Behrensmeyer, a pioneer in the study of how organic remains become fossils

A candlelight vigil is tinged with a sense of resistance and resilience as activists honor the second anniversary of Stonewall, 1971.

LGBTQ+ Pride

The First Pride Marches, in Photos

A look back at a major turning point in the struggle for gay rights

Wyoming women voting.

Women Who Shaped History

Women Have Been Voting in Wyoming for 150 Years, and Here Is How the State Is Celebrating

To mark the anniversary, Wyoming is delivering an impressive lineup of events, from a reenactment of the first vote to female-focused exhibits and retreats

Irene Peden conducted groundbreaking work in Antarctica to measure the propagation of radio waves through the ice sheets, revealing properties of the ice below.

Women Who Shaped History

Trailblazing Engineer Irene Peden Broke Antarctic Barriers for Women

Originally told she could not go to Antarctica without another woman to accompany her, Peden now has a line of cliffs on the continent named in her honor

The nuance of the new exhibition, "Fossil Hall—Deep Time," plays out in elaborate art, entertaining digital displays and magnificent fossil displays. But don't miss the small stuff.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Here Are 12 Things You Might Miss in the Smithsonian’s New Fossil Hall

Hidden among the dinosaurs and megafauna, are these small details that make “Deep Time” all the more impressive

The spiral pattern of an Aloe polyphylla plant at the University of California Botanical Garden.

Decoding the Mathematical Secrets of Plants’ Stunning Leaf Patterns

A Japanese shrub’s unique foliage arrangement leads botanists to rethink plant growth models

Downtown New Canaan

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2019

From Neil Armstrong’s hometown to the heart of Oklahoma’s Osage County, these towns are ripe for exploring this year

The Museum of the Moon is just one of many events taking place across the United States celebrating the 50th anniversary of landing on the moon.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

A Cross-Country Guide to Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

It’s been half a century since humankind touched down on the surface of the moon, and we’re not done praising the feat

An ancient population of Arctic hunter-gatherers, known as Paleo-Eskimos, made a significant genetic contribution to populations living in Arctic North America today.

Ancient DNA Reveals Complex Story of Human Migration Between Siberia and North America

Two studies greatly increase the amount of information we have about the peoples who first populated North America—from the Arctic to the Southwest U.S.

Hundreds of spectators and D-Day veterans gather at Omaha Beach, the bloodiest site during the battle, for the 40th anniversary in 1984.

These Photos Capture the Poignancy of Past D-Day Commemorations

A look back at how the ceremonies marking major anniversaries of the Allied invasion of Europe have evolved.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the order of the day: "Full victory—nothing else" to paratroopers in England, just before they board their airplanes to participate in the first assault in the invasion of the continent of Europe.

Eleven Museums and Memorials Honoring the 75th Anniversary of D-Day

These events and exhibits shed light on the experiences of soldiers during the invasion of Normandy and the remainder of World War II

“In order to interpret the past," says Matternes (above), "you have to have a pretty good working knowledge of conditions in the present.”

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Meet the Master Muralist Who Inspired Today’s Generation of Paleoartists

The treasured Jay Matternes murals of lost Mesozoic worlds are featured in a new Smithsonian book

“The Soviet exhibition strives for an image of abundance with an apartment that few Russians enjoy,” reported the New York Times, “with clothes and furs that are rarely seen on Moscow streets.”

When the United States and Soviet Union Fought It Out Over Fashion

The Russians may have been winning the space race in the 1950s, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the sophistication of Western dress.

One of a handful of surviving Higgins boats is on display outside of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters and National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Invention That Won World War II

Patented in 1944, the Higgins boat gave the Allies the advantage in amphibious assaults

Artist's reconstruction of Fostoria dhimbangunmal, a newly described iguanodontian dinosaur.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Dinosaur Bones Shimmering With Opal Reveal a New Species in Australia

A discovery in an Australian opal mine remained unexamined for three decades—it turned out to be the most complete opalized dinosaur skeleton in the world

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Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth’s Past

From the formation of Earth through the changing climates and creatures of the past, the Smithsonian’s new Hall of Fossils explores our planet’s Deep Time

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