Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Dried chili pepper wreath

Benevolent Maize and Ogre-Fart Chilis: Food Origin Myths

According to the Peruvian Yanesha people, plants originally had human forms that went through either “sublime” or “grotesque” transformations

None

America — and Gary Powers — Caught Red-Handed

On this day in 1960, CIA pilot Gary Powers was shot down over the USSR. Read how a military maneuver became an international incident

One of Amani's five cubs at seven weeks age

Helping Older Cheetahs Become Moms

Researchers may soon be able to transfer embryos from older cheetahs into younger animals and give them a better chance of success

"People who knew Dr. King personally, all of them look at it [the memorial] and say, 'That's him,'" says Lisa Anders, senior project manager.

Building the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

For those working behind the scenes on the King memorial, its meaning runs deep

The new discovery: Protoanguilla palau

In the Pacific, Scientists Discover a Living Fossil

Smithsonian researchers announced yesterday the discovery of a primitive eel species, never before seen. See the video and learn about this remarkable find

Jackie Chan stars in Drunken Master

Events: August 19-21: Drunken Master, Hip Hop Kung Fu, Art + Coffee

This upcoming weekend, check out a Kung Fu classic, a hip hop performance and meet emerging musicians

None

One Man Against Tyranny

Did two sub-moons collide to form our Moon?

Splat! Two Moons over Miami?

Captive zebra finches

Same-Sex Finch Couples Form Strong Bonds

The ties between same-sex couples can be just as strong as those in heterosexual birds

Nose Cone from B.F. Skinner's Pigeon-Guided Missile, on display in "Science in American Life."

B.F. Skinner’s Pigeon-Guided Rocket

On this date 21 years ago, noted psychologist and inventor B.F. Skinner died; the American History Museum is home to one of his more unusual inventions

None

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain

Without this film, we might never have seen a giant gorilla hang from the Empire State Building

Bedroom + kitchen + bathroom

How to Cook in the Dorm Room

Lack of space and college rules don’t have to put the kibosh on your first adventures in cooking as an independent young adult

The products of our first day of coring. Drying in the hot Wyoming sun are segments of cores in their Lexan liners.

Wyoming Paleontology Dispatch #7: The Excitement—and Dread—of Coring

Looking ridiculous, we rush around like inexperienced wait-staff in a busy restaurant

An underwater system generates power through blades that mimic the swaying motion of coral and kelp.

How Nature Makes Us Smarter

A new logo and new name

Change Is Good

The new Smithsonian magazine blog about innovations gets a new title: Innovations

What to do with the corn from your local market?

Five Ways to Eat Fresh Corn

Eating it only buttered and salted would be like limiting Ben Franklin to a single pursuit of inquiry. Why squelch such potential greatness?

None

The List: Get a Peek at the Zoo’s Latest Baby Boom

At the Zoo’s Virginia reserve for endangered species, a cluster of new births is evidence of the center’s success in the study of reproductive sciences

An artist's concept of what planet TrES-2b might look like

Faraway Planet is Blackest Yet Found

The planet, TrES-2b, is a gas giant about the size of Jupiter. But that’s where the similarities end

A hot pink Stegosaurus at the Dinosaur Ridge visitor's center

Dinosaur Sighting: A Stegosaurus of a Different Color

Is this what paleontologists see after having one too many?

None

Marvels of the Mughals

You have traveled all the way to see the Taj Mahal—now what? Fortunately, the city of Agra is dotted with spellbinding architecture

Page 908 of 1327