Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Nobody can pass up a delicious dessert tray.

Inviting Writing: Top Class Cafeteria

This is unlike any cafeteria I’ve ever seen, and I make a mental note that I need to see about getting a transfer

Marm Mandelbaum, the "Queen of Fences"

The Life and Crimes of “Old Mother” Mandelbaum

She had the eyes of a sparrow, the neck of a bear and enough business acumen to build an empire as the “Queen of Fences”

None

The Dinosaur Revolution Will Be Televised

A new miniseries is more dinosaur tribute than scientific documentary

Frame enlargement from Le Voyage Dans La Lune/A Trip to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon as You’ve Never Seen it Before

One of the landmark films in cinema can now be seen in color

None

What the Goofy “More Dinosaurs” Got Right

A new DVD release of an old program is something of a dinosaur mixtape, with science and pop culture blended together

A cinnamon apple muffin

More Official State Foods

Texas has more than a half-dozen, including a state snack (tortilla chips and salsa)

Woolly rhinos may have used their flattened horns to sweep away snow and expose edible vegetation underneath.

Woolly Rhino May Have Been A Tibetan Native

When the Ice Age began, these large mammals spread out to northern Asia and Europe

Though it’s not quite as bustling as cosmopolitan Bogota or as picturesque as Medellin, Colombia’s third-largest city is the country’s economic and industrial hub.

Sugar and Spice in Colombia’s Alluring Cali

Candied treats and salsa music go hand in hand in this South American city high above the Cauca Valley

Marco Fidel Torres has been portraying Juan Valdez in Colombia’s Coffee Triangle for nearly a decade.

Will the Real Juan Valdez Please Stand Up?

Being Colombia’s most famous folk figure has its perks, even if you’re an impersonator

Scientists recently discovered the wild yeast that came to be used to brew lager beer.

Big Brew-ha-ha: Scientists Discover Lager’s Wild Yeast

Beer, a cornerstone of human civilization, owes its alcohol and flavor to yeast; one important variety made a long trans-Atlantic journey

A dinosaur you can pet

Blog Carnival #34: Dino Petting Zoo, Tyrannosaurus v. Triceratops and More

In this month’s roundup of the best of dino blogs, read about a dinosaur petting zoo, the 10 commandments of paleoart and much more

Martha, the last surviving member of the passenger pigeon species

Martha, the World’s Last Passenger Pigeon

97 years ago today, a once-ubiquitous bird species tragically went extinct

Could climate change (a drought in Tanzania) spark a violent conflict?

Does Climate Change Cause War?

The issue is more complex than recent headlines have indicated

The Great Pyramid: Built for the Pharaoh Khufu in about 2570 B.C., sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and arguably the most mysterious structure on the planet

Inside the Great Pyramid

No structure in the world is more mysterious than the Great Pyramid. But who first broke into its well-guarded interior? When? And what did they find?

Randy Fertel takes friends on an insider tour that highlights New Orleans' "funky" soulfulness.

New Orleans Beyond Bourbon Street

From out-of-the-way jazz joints to po’ boy shacks, a native son shares his favorite haunts in the Big Easy

Impromptu jam sessions, including a gathering at Floyd, Virginia's Country Store, attract musicians and dancers raised on the raw and keening power of mountain music.

A Musical Tour Along the Crooked Road

Grab a partner. Bluegrass and country tunes that tell America’s story are all the rage in hilly southern Virginia

Page 903 of 1327