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Exterior view of the entrance of Fa-Hien Lena cave in Sri Lanka, where archaeological evidence suggests humans lived about 45,000 years ago.

Ancient Monkey Bone Tools Shake Up the Narrative of Early Human Migration to the Rain Forest

New evidence pushes back the date for human settlement in jungles, challenging the idea that our ancestors preferred the savannas and plains

The museum's new display takes a look at the implied expectation that women will always take care of the housework.

Women Who Shaped History

In the Home, a Woman’s Work Is Never Done, Never Honored and Never Paid For

Two historic firsts at the American History Museum; a woman steps into the director’s seat and a new show examines the drudgery of housework

Onlookers watch as police remove the bodies of the victims of an execution-style murder from the scene at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago.

Six of the Most Famous Mob Murders of All Time

The death of Gambino crime family head Frank Cali brings to mind these mafia killings from years past

Whose blend is the best?

Bermuda

The Story Behind Bermuda’s Rum Swizzle (Recipe)

While the Dark ‘n’ Stormy may get all the attention by visitors, the swizzle is what locals drink

Last year, author Claire Evans visited the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to join in conversation with Ellen Ullman, a former software engineer.

Why the Story of Woman Versus Machine Is Still Being Written

Author Claire Evans is on a mission to elevate women and the contributions they’ve made in the field of technology

'Hanging of the San Patricios following the Battle of Chapultepec' by Samuel E. Chamberlain depicts a multiple execution in the aftermath of one of the battles of the Mexican-American War.

During the Mexican-American War, Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the ‘Saint Patrick’s Battalion’

Anti-Catholic sentiment in the States gave men like John Riley little reason to continue to pay allegiance to the stars and stripes

As humans began eating softer foods, overbites may have become more common and pronounced.

The Ability to Pronounce ‘F’ and ‘V’ Sounds Might Have Evolved Along With Diet

As our ancestors began eating softer agricultural foods, the shape of the human jaw and the sounds we make may have changed as well

Gladys Bentley’s powerful voice, fiery energy on the piano and bold lyrics made her a star of New York City nightclubs.

Women Who Shaped History

The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules

For the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s

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Ingenious Women

Ingenious Women: A Podcast Series on Women Who Changed the World

In partnership with Wondery’s American Innovations, we celebrate the many contributions of women inventors throughout U.S. history

Margaret Hamilton stands next to a stack of program listings from the Apollo Guidance Computer in a photograph taken in 1969.

Women Who Shaped History

Margaret Hamilton Led the NASA Software Team That Landed Astronauts on the Moon

Apollo’s successful computing software was optimized to deal with unknown problems and to interrupt one task to take on a more important one

A drinking horn made from the horn of an aurochs bull.

Testing the DNA in Museum Artifacts Can Unlock New Natural History, but Is it Worth the Potential Damage?

Museums house a wealth of rare animal specimens, such as arctic clothing, medieval parchment and Viking drinking horns, but DNA testing can be destructive

Festivalgoers attend the Trade Show during the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals this week in Austin, Texas.

Seven Innovations That Made a Splash at This Year’s SXSW

The massive Austin event has become the place for unveiling cutting-edge tech, from educational apps to virtual reality art

Miners marched to Lattimer, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1897, to protest harsh working conditions.

How a 1897 Massacre of Pennsylvania Coal Miners Morphed From a Galvanizing Crisis to Forgotten History

The death of 19 immigrants may have unified the labor movement, but powerful interests left their fates unrecognized until decades later

In theory, all you’d need to do is give a blood sample and his test would indicate whether you have allergies to a certain substance or not.

Teen Inventor Designs Noninvasive Allergy Screen Using Genetics and Machine Learning

Seventeen-year-old Ayush Alag is one of 40 finalists in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in front of a very-'90s strip mall

Pop History

‘Captain Marvel”s Missed Opportunity With Nostalgia

The ‘90s lives in the new superhero film but doesn’t tell us much about the decade

An ultraviolet image of the Andromeda galaxy, the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way, taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer space telescope. Like our own galaxy, Andromeda is a spiral galaxy with a flat rotating disk of stars and gas and a concentrated bulge of stars at the center.

Streams of Stars Snaking Through the Galaxy Could Help Shine a Light on Dark Matter

When the Milky Way consumes another galaxy, tendrils of stellar streams survive the merger, containing clues about the universe’s mysterious unseen matter

The new designs call for the reopening of a long shuttered underground passageway that connects the garden to the museum plaza, as well as plans for a new area for large-scale contemporary works, performance spaces and intimate settings for the museum’s masterpiece collections.

American South

Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden to Undergo First Redesign in More Than 40 Years

Hiroshi Sugimoto’s design provides easier access from the National Mall and space for larger installations

A young boy talks to U.S. Army military police as the exhibit visited Toledo, Ohio.

Americans Flocked to See This Controversial Exhibit of Berlin’s Art Treasures in the Wake of World War II

Discovered in a salt mine in Nazi Germany, these artworks toured the United States in a questionable move that raised serious ethical concerns

A composite color image of the Western Hemisphere captured by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite from 22,300 miles above the surface, January 15, 2017.

The Risks, Rewards and Possible Ramifications of Geoengineering Earth’s Climate

Injecting aerosols into the stratosphere could help cool the planet, but scientists have yet to study exactly how such solar geoengineering would work

Stalactites reflect in the water at Crystal Caves in Bermuda.

Bermuda

These Caves in Bermuda Inspired the ‘80s TV Show ‘Fraggle Rock’

When imagining a setting and plot for the children’s show, Michael K. Frith looked to Crystal Caves on the island where he grew up

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