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Liu Cun Yu, the director of the Beipiao Pterosaur Museum, poses in front of a full-scale model of a Moganopterus zhuiana, a species named after his wife.

The Great Chinese Dinosaur Boom

A gold rush of fossil-finding is turning China into the new epicenter of paleontology

Formerly an arcade and office building, dating to 1917, the structure underwent a city-led restoration and reopened last year as the Hotel Manzana Kempinski.

Tony Perrottet's Cuba

The Man Who Saved Havana

As its greatest old buildings were falling down, a fearless historian named Eusebio Leal remade the city into a stunning world destination

A U-Boat Class II submarine (this one depicted, UB-35, was the same class as UB-29) prowls the open seas.

The Hunt for the Notorious U-Boat UB-29

A wreck-diving archaeologist and his quest to discover a missing submarine

Years after she captured this tender, reflective image of the First Lady, photographer Diana Walker sent a print of the photograph to George H. W. Bush. “It does seem like so long ago, but seeing this image brings everything back into focus,” President Bush wrote in response: “The photo now hangs in my office in Maine, and I enjoy it every day.”

Smithsonian Curators Reflect on How Barbara Bush Will Be Remembered

As both the First Lady and the mother of a President, Mrs. Bush leaves a legacy of a national grandmother with an iron backbone

What’s the Difference Between Moths and Butterflies and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Carolina parakeet, so named for the region where it was discovered, was known for its “disagreeable screams” and great beauty.

Why Did the Carolina Parakeet Go Extinct?

It hasn’t been seen for a century. But will the bird species ever fly again?

Panama Canal construction in 1913 showing workers drilling holes for dynamite in bedrock, as they cut through the mountains of the Isthmus. Steam shovels in the background move the rubble to railroad cars.

How the Panama Canal Took a Huge Toll On the Contract Workers Who Built It

The project was a tremendous American achievement, but the health costs to the mostly Caribbean contract workers were staggering

These unusual cats may have some advantages for allergic owners, but to call them hypoallergenic would be a stretch.

There’s No Such Thing as a Hypoallergenic Cat

With its short tight curl, many claim that the Cornish Rex is proof that cats can be allergen-free. Nope

Albert and Elsa Einstein in Japan

When Albert Einstein Visited Japan

As he traveled through Asia, including a trip to Palestine, the brilliant scientist discovered much he didn’t understand

The tiny sensor

This Implantable Chip Could Monitor Alcohol Intake

Engineers have developed a tiny sensor that could potentially replace regular Breathalyzer or blood tests for patients in rehabilitation programs

Civil rights leader Rev. Ralph Abernathy, in short sleeves, leads the Poor People's March to the edge of the grounds of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, June 24, 1968. Abernathy and his followers from Resurrection City marched to the Agriculture Department and then to the Capitol.

Remembering Resurrection City and the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968

Lenneal Henderson and thousands of other protesters occupied the National Mall for 42 days during the landmark civil rights protest

Nizina Glacier became more accessible to paddlers around 2000, when melting ice formed a lake on which float-planes could land.

A Daring Journey Into the Big Unknown of America’s Largest National Park

If dangling from a rope inside a melting glacier is your idea of a vacation, then come with us to Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias

A Brief History of the Stoplight

How a bright idea shaped our cities and gave the go-ahead to our love affair with the car

Statue of James Marion Sims in front of the Alabama State Capitol.

A Statue of a Doctor Who Experimented on Enslaved People Was Removed From Central Park

The discussion over the memorialization of James Marion Sims offers the opportunity to remember his victims

“And I persevered,” says curator Debra Diamond of her find that lead to new scholarship, at the the TV Critics Association winter press tour.

A Curator’s College Find Is Revisited in the New PBS Showcase ‘Civilizations’

Debra Diamond’s story, says the show’s producer, exemplifies the ‘joy of discovery’ in a whole new way

Fossil ostracods on a slide from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The science team behind the recent Nature paper relied heavily on this collection for their analysis.

What the Large Penises of Tiny Crustaceans Tell Us About Evolution

Massive male sex organs have their perks, but in the long run, a little modesty pays

In the minutes after giving birth, 15-year-old Calaya cradled her newborn in her arms.

First Infant Gorilla Born at the Zoo in Nine Years; Watch a Video of the Birth

Little Moke and his first-time mother Calaya are doing well

These charms are among the 20 found on a bracelet donated by Holocaust survivor Greta Perlman

This Remarkable Charm Bracelet Chronicles a Life Inside a Concentration Camp

Greta Perlman survived the Holocaust. The mementos she saved offer clues about how Jews endured the indignities and horrors of the Nazis

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