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Left: Alan Stern holds a 2005 Hubble image of the Pluto system on January 19, 2006, two hours after the successful launch of the New Horizons probe. Right: A triumphant Stern holds a full-frame image of Pluto, taken just hours before the New Horizons probe reached its closest point to Pluto.

American Ingenuity Awards

How Alan Stern Brought Pluto to Earth

The scientist behind NASA’s New Horizons mission gave cheering earthlings their first close-up view of the dwarf planet

American Ingenuity Awards

This Wildly Creative Art Project Transformed an Ugly Interstate Into a 2,400-Mile-Long Visual Masterpiece

Zoe Crosher and Shamim Momin are behind the effort to turn the classic American eyesore into true art

“The making of these trees was so much in that spirit—in terms of dodging the ease of digital and instead doing this all by hand,” says Grade.

The Renwick Reopens

This Artist Recreated a Magnificent 40-Foot-Tall Tree From the Cascade Mountains by Hand

Artist John Grade painstakingly built a 150-year-old giant hemlock out of half a million blocks of reclaimed wood

Document Deep Dive

How Anne Frank’s Diary Changed the World

The most famous account of life during the Holocaust has been read by tens of millions of people

That cockroach has a nasty bite.

New Research

A Cockroach Can Bite With a Force 50 Times Its Body Weight

Adding to their supervillain-esque powers, roaches can gnaw through tough materials with surprisingly strong jaws

A poster for Schönbrunn Zoo.

Austria

The World’s Oldest Zoo Is a Modern Attraction With a Storied Past

The Austrian destination has a lot more to offer than exotic animals

Holiday feasts can be celebratory but also sustainable with a few simple tweaks.

Age of Humans

How to Have the Most Sustainable Thanksgiving Ever

Traditions and turkey don’t have to be incompatible with Earth-friendly practices

This composite image features Pluto and its largest moon Charon in enhanced color.

New Research

Sorry Pluto, You Still Aren’t a Planet

A new test for planetary status leaves the diminutive world and its dwarf planet kin out of the family portrait

Shindig by Patrick Dougherty is on view at the newly renovated Renwick Gallery.

The Renwick Reopens

This Tilting, Twirling Artwork, Sculpted Entirely of Sticks, Is Having a Shindig

Stick man Patrick Dougherty’s sculptures evoke a playful urge to crawl inside

Stockholm-Arlanda Airport

Appreciating the Art and Architecture of the World’s Airport Towers

Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo traveled the world to capturing these surprisingly elegant structures

Inspired by the ancient art of paper folding researchers hoped to make a device that could both fold itself and move on its own.

Watch This Piece of Paper Fold Itself Up and Walk Away

Scientists created a piece of graphene-based paper that can fold itself into a box, pick up objects and even inch around corners

Document Deep Dive

When the Empire State Building Was Just an Architect’s Sketch

How one of the world’s most famous skyscrapers was built

A spoon and bowl for dieters.

Austria

Embrace the Art of Failure at Austria’s Nonseum

From nosepickers to historic buttonholes, the Nonseum is full of failed inventions

Four engineering students from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada invented a printer that produces circuit boards in minutes.

This Year’s James Dyson Award Goes to a Circuit Board Printer

Four engineering students in Canada win the prestigious international award with their invention, which they hope will speed up electronics manufacturing

Marking the reopening of the Renwick Gallery, Donovan constructed 10 towers by stacking and gluing hundreds of thousands of index cards on top of each other.

The Renwick Reopens

What Do One Million Index Cards, Stacked Atop Each Other, Look Like? Artist Tara Donovan Does It Again

The artist’s looming installation recalls the volcanic fairy chimneys of Turkey’s Cappadocia region

This creamy expanse is Sputnik Planum, the western lobe of the heart-shaped feature on Pluto.

New Research

Pluto May Have Ice Volcanoes at the Bottom of Its Heart

Two southern peaks have depressions that hint they once spewed icy slurry onto the tiny world’s surface

A victorious commander rides in a chariot during a triumphal procession in ancient Rome.

What You Don’t Know About Ancient Rome Could Fill a Book. Mary Beard Wrote That Book

The British historian reveals some surprises about the ancient Roman people and their customs

Could This MIT Economist Make Banking Useful to the Poor?

Natalia Rigol is attempting to figure out if community information can help developing world banks decide who to lend to

The crew promised the donation of the iconic two-foot hourglass and the original audio tape of late cast member MacDonald Carey saying, “like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.”

For 50 Years, Days of Our Lives Has Made History. Now, It’s a Part of the Smithsonian

The show’s iconic hourglass is among a host of donations the show’s producer and cast members made to the American History Museum

“The Chesapeake is one of my favorite waterways, partly because people outside of the area aren’t as familiar with it,” says Maya Lin, who created Folding the Chesapeake at the Renwick Gallery.

Maya Lin Used 54,000 Marbles to Model the Chesapeake Bay

The artist’s highly imaginative waterway was created using satellite imagery from NASA

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