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One of Cassini's last looks at Saturn and its main rings from a distance, produced by combining images taken in October 2016

Here’s What We’ve Learned About Saturn Since Cassini Entered Its Orbit 20 Years Ago

The Cassini-Huygens mission increased our understanding of the planet’s rings and moons

An 18th-century illustration of a jury of matrons

How All-Female ‘Juries of Matrons’ Shaped Legal History

Courts called on these jurors to determine whether women sentenced to death were pregnant or faking it to avoid execution

A woman named Evelyn Thaw dodges a camera, 1909

How the Rise of the Camera Launched a Fight to Protect Gilded Age Americans’ Privacy

Early photographers sold their snapshots to advertisers, who reused the individuals’ likenesses without their permission

The Museum of Perfume, presented by Paris’ Fragonard Perfumery, is dedicated to exploring the methodology and history behind perfume making.

Museums in Paris That Surprise and Delight, From Medical History to Magic to Marie Curie

These eight institutions, from the Museum of Perfume to the Museum of Fairground Arts, fly under the radar in the French capital

A popular display in the Whatcom Museum’s Hall of Birds features several owls.

Meet the Taxidermists Who Care for the Animals at Your Favorite Museums

Only a few U.S. museums still employ the specialists. The rest rely on a small group of highly skilled contractors

“Titian made art into his late 80s and I’m now past that. I always wanted to paint like an old master, or rather an old mistress,” says the photorealist painter and sculptor Audrey Flack. “A radical contemporary old mistress.”

Women Who Shaped History

The Remarkable Legacy of Artist and Feminist Audrey Flack, Dead at 93

Even in the final years of her life, the renowned photorealist created searing works of art that further established her among the giants of her field

Red Bear’s Winter Count, Martin E. Red Bear, canvas and acrylic paint, 2004

From Powwows to Smartphones, See the Past and Present of Indigenous Plains Life in Narrative Art

The National Museum of the American Indian showcases centuries-old narrative art traditions that a new generation of artists is embracing

Was Leicester Hemingway's micronation of New Atlantis a quixotic experiment in democracy or an elaborate improv comedy sketch? 

Untold Stories of American History

Why Ernest Hemingway’s Younger Brother Established a Floating Republic in the Caribbean

On July 4, 1964, Leicester Hemingway founded New Atlantis, a raft-turned-micronation intended to support marine life in the region

A baby musk ox stands with an adult in the Arctic.

The Quest to Resurrect a Lost Ecosystem in Siberia

A father-and-son team of scientists are trying to revive ancient grasslands by reintroducing large grazers

Dancers; The Tango by Hugo Scheiber

The Paris Olympics

The First Tango in Paris Made a Stir Worth Remembering

As breaking makes its debut at this summer’s Olympics, take a look back more than a century when another dance rocked the City of Lights

The mythical beasts have fired up cultures around the world.

From China to the Mediterranean and More, Here’s How Different Cultures Envision Dragons

In some parts of the world, the mythical creatures are monsters. In others, they’re more benign beings

Making a U-turn is more fun when traveling the Mount Carmel Highway in Zion National Park.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Explore the Great Outdoors With Photography From U.S. National Parks

Travel the country’s beautiful natural wonders from home with these breathtaking highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Riders gallop during the Hawick Common Riding in Scotland.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The Festival Where Scotland’s Violent History Comes Back to Life

Every year in the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders, one of Europe’s largest equestrian events commemorates a lawless time that shaped the region’s identity

Two sides of a single ceramic lion's head and a female figurine from Dolni Vestonice

Did Prehistoric Children Make Figurines Out of Clay?

Fingerprints and scratch marks found in artifacts in the Czech Republic suggest youngsters of the Upper Paleolithic used the soil like Play-Doh, according to a pending new study

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Tired of Diplomacy as Usual, This Congressman Flew Solo to Promote World Peace

Representative Peter F. Mack’s soaring diplomatic ambitions made aviation history as he traveled through Europe, South Asia, Japan and then across the vast Pacific Ocean

Could different backyard birds, such as a robin and a bluebird, produce viable offspring? 

Could a Robin and a Bluebird Have Babies? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

A 1914 photo of the Star-Spangled Banner undergoing conservation in the Smithsonian Castle

The Real Story Behind the Star-Spangled Banner, the Flag That Inspired the National Anthem

How the flag that flew proudly over Fort McHenry in September 1814 made its way to the Smithsonian

Pad thai is made by stir frying thin flat rice noodles in garlic, chai poh (Chinese sweet-salty preserved radish), dried shrimp and tofu, with a sauce made of ​fish sauce, tamarind paste and palm sugar.

The Surprising History of Pad Thai

The national dish of Thailand is actually a fusion of Thai and Chinese food cultures

Some credit menswear company Nat Nast with creating the classic bowling shirt, distinguished by its boxy shape, bright colors and short sleeves. 

How a Questionably Fashionable Shirt Bowled America Over

The gaudy top went from practical necessity to vintage treasure

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is now open to the public.

What the Changes to Splash Mountain, Now Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Reveal About How Americans See Themselves

Originally based on themes from the 1946 film “Song of the South,” the Disney World attraction debuted in Florida in June. The Disneyland version will be unveiled in California later this year

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