Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

A marionette performs atop a Matsuri float

In Japan, Autumn Means a Parade of (Not-at-All-Creepy) Robot Puppets

A 350-year-old festival in Takayama celebrates creativity — and contains the seeds of modern robotics

Haohan Qiao, a newly opened 984-foot-long bridge in China's Hunan province.

Look Down If You Dare: 14 of the World’s Most Terrifying (and Beautiful) Glass Skywalks

A new glass bridge in China is suspended 590 feet in the air — and visitors brave enough to cross it can see all the way down

A view from Mota Cave in Ethiopia, where archaeologists found the remains of a 4,500-year-old human.

New Research

Back to Africa: Ancient Human Genome Reveals Widespread Eurasian Mix

Genes from a 4,500-year-old skeleton from Ethiopia show how migrations shaped modern populations

Soldiers pose with bison heads captured from poacher Ed Howell. In the early days of Yellowstone, poaching, setting the park on fire and defacing its hot springs were rampant.

Age of Humans

How the U.S. Army Saved Our National Parks

Before the National Park Service, Yellowstone was guarded by the cavalry. Without them, we might not have national parks today

The title of Gardner's photograph (taken with Timothy O'Sullivan) Field Where General Reynolds Fell, Gettysburg, July 1863 was added later to capitalize on the famous general's heroism.

Alexander Gardner Saw Himself as an Artist, Crafting the Image of War in All Its Brutality

The National Portrait Gallery’s new show on the Civil War photographer rediscovers the full significance of Gardner’s career

Age of Humans

See the Two Ship Graveyards That May Become New Marine Sanctuaries

The first marine sanctuaries approved by NOAA in 15 years are home to a plethora of shipwrecks

The sensors can be printed on temporary tattoo-like material, which sticks on the skin for a week.

Tiny, Tattoo-Like Wearables Could Monitor Your Health

University of Texas engineers devise a relatively inexpensive way to make disposable patches that track patients’ vital signs

Pacchanta's Maria Merma Gonzalo practices weaving techniques that have changed little in 500 years.

In a Small Village High in the Peruvian Andes, Life Stories Are Written in Textiles

Through weaving, the women of Ausangate, Peru, pass down the traditions of their ancestors

Silesian Station's main hall and platforms in 1937

History of Now

The Train Station That Has Been Housing the World’s Refugees for More Than a Century

Past and present collide at Berlin’s Ostbahnhof

A Soccket is only one ounce heavier than a standard-issue soccer ball and generates three hours of power after one hour of play.

These Soccer Balls and Jump Ropes Can Generate Power

Uncharted Play, a New York City-based startup, enables children in developing countries to build reserves of energy through play

The wings of the Arctic fritillary butterfly have decreased in size since 1996.

Age of Humans

Greenland’s Butterflies Are Shrinking as Temperatures Rise

In the high Arctic, hotter summer weather may be taxing insect metabolism

A local girl celebrates her first communion at the main church in Vilcabamba, an Ecuadorian village that retains its small-town feel despite an influx of foreigners in search of Shangri-La.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

Hailed as a Modern-Day Shangri-La, Can This Ecuadorian Town Survive Its Reputation?

Vilcabamba is an idyllic little town—and that’s its problem

Baby tree saplings, cloned from giant redwoods in California, chill out in the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive's propagation area.

Age of Humans

The Race to Save the World’s Great Trees By Cloning Them

A nonprofit dedicated to preserving old, iconic trees is cloning them in hopes of preserving them for the future

A young chimpanzee sets out for a stroll in Tanzania's Mahale Mountains National Park.

New Research

Walking Chimps Move in Surprisingly Similar Ways to Humans

Motion-sensor studies showing how chimpanzees walk upright could help scientists better understand the evolution of bipedalism

Looking down into the Big Delta.

This Giant Contraption Can Print a House

Inspired by wasps’ nests, an Italian company is printing inexpensive houses for the developing world

Heart Valves at the National Museum of American History

Innovative Spirit Health Care

A Man With a Lot of Heart Valves Donates His Unusual Collection

Minneapolis entrepreneur Manny Villafana says his collection at the American History Museum is filled with stories of both failure and success

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: How Does Night Vision Work?

The ability to see in the dark is becoming more accurate and more portable

The sign language capture device

This Wearable Device Translates Sign Language To English

The prototype detects hand and finger movements and turns them into words on a screen

Page 522 of 1324