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Articles

A Minecraft rendering of the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. Participants in Minecraft: Education Edition online festivities will be able to let their own imaginations run wild this Museum Day.

Family Travel

Fans of Minecraft Are Sure to Dig this Nationwide Museum Fest

The indie hit is the perfect game for a day devoted to unearthing knowledge

Mei Xiang in 2016

No Panda Cub From the Zoo’s Mei Xiang This Year

After a summer of close monitoring, zoo officials announced the 19-year-old animal wouldn’t be giving birth

A rendering of the Survivor Stories theatre.

Cultural Travel

12 Must-See Fall Exhibits Around the World

Art, science and magic draws us to museums this fall

In an era of rapid change, the managers of our nation's wild spaces are asking: What counts as natural anymore?

The National Parks Face a Looming Existential Crisis

Political uncertainty and a changing climate converge to forge the park system’s biggest challenge yet

A reproduction 5th century Corinthian helmet given by a visiting Greek Army officer. It's become the logo for "The Art of War – Gifts of Peace" initiative.

At an Army Base in Kansas, There’s a Secret Collection of Incredible Finds

Are these priceless artifacts or worthless trinkets? No one knows for sure, but a local art gallery is pitching in to find out

Some parents cut a cake, while others release pink or blue balloons from a box.

What Does the Gender Reveal Fad Say About Modern Pregnancy?

A new ritual speaks to anxieties surrounding the medicalization of childbearing

An extensive longitudinal study looks at the connection between childhood environment and diseases in adulthood.

Your Childhood Experiences Can Permanently Change Your DNA

An investigation into more than 500 children shows that upbringing can have dramatic effects on human health

How Agriculture Came to Be a Political Weapon—And What That Means for Farmers

In his new book, Ted Genoways follows a family farm and the ways they’re impacted by geopolitics

570 stone weirs dot the coastline of Penghu.

These Massive Land Art Constructions Are Actually Ancient Fishing Weirs

Stone tidal traps were built off the coast of Taiwan as early as the Qing Dynasty

Armenia

Armenia Might Be One of the Oldest and Youngest Beer-Making Countries in the World

Art Meets Science

See the Sounds of the Amazon in This Mesmerizing Video

Artist Andy Thomas helps people experience nature in a new way

The Hirshhorn purchased all four current installments of artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s ongoing video series Me and My Mother,” including any future installments.

Why the Artist Ragnar Kjartansson Asked his Mother to Spit On Him

The Icelandic performance piece Me and My Mother is latest Hirshhorn acquisition

The Juggling Genius of Paul Cinquevalli

Remembering a showman who gave his life to his craft

Researchers have devised a new way to monitor sleep stages without sensors attached to the body.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Device Uses Radio Waves To Track How You’re Sleeping

Scientists think it could help them better understand progression of chronic diseases like Parkinson’s

Tuna isn't always what it claims to be.

What’s Really in That Tuna Roll? DNA Testing Can Help You Find Out

This rapidly evolving tech aims to empower consumers and shine a light on the food industry

APVA Jamestown Memorial Church, 1607 James Fort

The Misguided Focus on 1619 as the Beginning of Slavery in the U.S. Damages Our Understanding of American History

The year the first enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown is drilled into students’ memories, but overemphasizing this date distorts history

Tyler Lyson at the site for the Hadrosaur femur

The Ultimate Summer Camp Activity: Digging for Dinosaurs

Meet the intrepid teenagers and teenagers-at-heart who swelter in the heat hunting for fossils

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