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Articles

Colorized Footage Is a Vivid Reminder that History Didn’t Happen in Black and White

A new Smithsonian Channel series takes a fresh, vibrant look at five decades of historical footage

Marlene Dietrich by Paul Cwojdzinski on the SS Europa, 1933, Cherbourg, France, 1933

The Pioneering Androgyny of Classic Hollywood Star Marlene Dietrich

The film icon embraced bisexuality, glamorous mystique and provocation

Moby Dick (1956), Antonio Fernández Reboiro
, Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), 1968


The Cuban Government Brought New Life to Hollywood Movies With These Vivid Posters

The U.S. embargo didn’t keep Cubans from watching movies they loved

Portraits of Faith

Portraits of Faith

In a world changing faster than ever, the enduring appeal of religious tradition shines in these photographs

Vodou adherents, or Vodouisants, also call their faith sevis lwa, or “service to the spirits.”

Portraits of Faith

Explore the Timeless World of Vodou, Deep Within the Caves of Haiti

Photographer Troi Anderson captures the religion that has been misunderstood for centuries

It is not uncommon for highlands churches to be situated within caves. Mekina Medhane Alem, built of wood and layered stone, contains 800-year-old paintings but is believed to be centuries older.

Portraits of Faith

A Legendary Photographer Visits an Isolated Christian Community in Ethiopia

High in the mountains of eastern Africa, an ancient way of life continues apace

A skull believed to have belonged to a companion of St. Ursula. The bones of other saints are said to lie under the gemstones and gold fabric.

Portraits of Faith

A Pittsburgh Church Holds the Greatest Collection of Relics Outside of the Vatican

Behold the treasures of this tiny neighborhood church

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Do Other Animals Have Baby Teeth and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Petitioning with your feet display

New Exhibition Asks “What Kind of Nation Do We Want to Be?”

The American History Museum opens a trio of timely new shows on democracy, religion and immigration

Coastal regions and islands are vanishing due to a lethal combination of erosion, sea rise and subsidence, or the slow sinking of land over time. The network of 1200 coral islands and atolls that makes up the Maldives in the Indian Ocean is ground zero.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What Are All The Ways That Land Can Disappear Beneath Your Feet?

From sinkholes to liquefaction, we look at how solid earth can shrink and elude our grasp

A new emoji representing menstruation may be coming to a phone near you.

Breaking Down Menstruation Taboos With Emojis

A nonprofit believes that changing the digital conversation around periods could help girls around the world

How Do Sea Lions Swim, Glide and Sometimes Even Nab Humans?

These living torpedoes pull themselves through the water using their front flippers, unlike other ocean creatures

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Armenia

See Yerevan Through a Local’s Lens

Eduard Kankanyan’s visual journals offer a view into Armenia’s capital that most travelers don’t see

John Trumbull's painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.

At Its Core, the Declaration of Independence Was a Plea for Help From Britain’s Enemies

The intended audience for the document could be found in the royal houses of France and Spain

Abraham Lincoln by Mathew B. Brady, Feb. 27, 1860

How One Mathew Brady Photograph May Have Helped Elect Abraham Lincoln

Before chronicling the Civil War, the nation’s first photojournalist took these portraits

Crispy squares with whole crickets and falafel with ground crickets are two of the inventive offerings being served at Canada's Insectarium this summer.

Canada

This Summer, Try Termite Chocolate Sprinkles on Your Ice Cream

Canada’s Insectarium invites visitors to dine on insects as part of a special menu

Elizabeth Streb’s troupe is part of a new wave of circus performers. “The drama is in danger,” says Streb. “I’m trying to make people wonder, What’s going to happen next?”

Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!

As Ringling Bros. packs up its tent for good, all sorts of newfangled spectacles have sprung up to take its place

Nicolas Party at work on sunrise, sunset, 2017 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Muralist Nicolas Party Samples Great Artists of the Past Like a Visual DJ

The Hirshhorn’s installation, inspired by Barack Obama’s “sun will rise” promise of continuity, highlights fantasy landscapes, beauty of nature

Seattle’s Space Needle Is Getting a Makeover to Enhance Panoramic Views

A cocktail of steroids and vitamin C, often found in citrus and leafy green produce, might hold the key to treating sepsis. Or, clinical trials might prove it overhyped.

New Research

Could Vitamin C Be the Cure for Deadly Infections?

A new protocol that includes this common nutrient could save millions of lives—and has already sparked a raging debate among doctors

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