Smithsonian Best Small Towns 2015

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2015

From sea to shining sea, our top picks for the most amazing American small towns to see this year

Urchin Spheres, (Echinoidea sp.), Thailand, Philippines, United States, Mexico.

Art Meets Science

10 Gorgeous Mosaics Made From Real Animal Specimens

Artist Christopher Marley’s meticulous arrangements capture the incredible variety within families, genera and species

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As Part of a Museum Dance Off, National Museum of American History Breaks it Down

Twenty-eight museums around the world vie for the ultimate honor

Only a Handful of People Can Enter the Chauvet Cave Each Year. Our Reporter Was One of Them.

A rare trip inside the home of the world’s most breathtaking cave painting leaves lasting memories

A stunning, modern wing of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, added in 1999.

The World’s Most Interesting (and Accessible) Library Collections

From the Magna Carta to Winnie the Pooh, what you can see at some of the world’s great libraries

Librarian Aboubakar Yaro examines an Islamic manuscript from the 17th century at the Djenne Library of Manuscipts, in Djenne, Mali, September 2012. Djenne is thought to have at least 10,000 manuscripts held in private collections, dating from the 14th to 20th centuries.

Why We Have a Civic Responsibility to Protect Cultural Treasures During Wartime

With the recent deliberate destruction of cultural treasures in the Middle East, we remember the measures taken in the past to preserve our heritage

A 3D visualization of the Three-Eyed Raven concept.

The Set Designer From Game of Thrones Hints at What’s to Come in Season Five

Production Designer Deborah Riley discusses the influences behind the intricate and imposing sets of the hit HBO show

The yurt, a portable, circular hut, has been a part of Central Asian nomadic culture for centuries. During the Soviet era, metal was abundant and cheap, so metallic yurts frequent Kyrgyzstan ancestral cemeteries. An Islamic crescent tops this yurt, and a Kyrgyz hunting eagle spreads its wings in the background.

Kyrgyzstan’s Otherworldly Cities of the Dead

Photographer Margaret Morton traveled to the remote corners of the Central Asian nation to document its city-like ancestral cemeteries

How will you celebrate National Beer Day?

Urban Explorations

Where to Go to Visit the Oldest Breweries in America

To commemorate National Beer Day, throw back a cold one for history

Jazz singer Billie Holiday wears a large white flower in her hair for a performance in New York City.

What Makes Billie Holiday’s Music So Powerful Today

Musicians including Cassandra Wilson pay homage to the jazz legend with new albums for Lady Day’s 100th birthday

How the India Pale Ale Got Its Name

A look to the hoppy brew’s past brings us to the revolution in craft beer today

One of the colossal Buddha statues, before it was destroyed.

Planned Afghan Cultural Center Will Honor Ancient Statues Destroyed by the Taliban

The winning design will memorialize two ancient Buddha statues demolished in 2001

Jackie Robinson, is shown in post-swing position in front of the stands

Canada

The Year of Jackie Robinson’s Mutual Love Affair With Montreal

Before he became a major leaguer, Robinson spent a formative year in the more hospitable environs of Canada

Cavers stand amongst large gour pool walls and unique raft cone formations inside Hang Va.

Journey to the Center of Earth

These Breathtaking Photos of Vietnam’s Caves Bring Out the Armchair Spelunker in Everyone

Photographer Ryan Deboodt discovers beauty in this subterranean realm

This apparatus can be used to lay Easter bunny tracks. It dispenses flour in a pattern that resembles paw prints. The same device can be repurposed for Christmas, when it lays Santa's tracks or reindeer hoof prints.

14 Easter Inventions That Never Quite Took Off

This holiday take a look at these products, from egg coloring devices to tomb pendants

Jefferson Church, Walton Avenue at Jefferson, Los Angeles, 2012

The Passion of Christ, As Seen in Murals Around America

Photographer Camilo Jose Vergara looks at depictions of Jesus in murals across America

An attempt at a wingsuit world record over Skydive Perris in Southern California

Why I Still Skydive

The author found a new life’s calling in skydiving and continues to jump to this day, despite losing her life partner to the sport

Billy Strayhorn playing piano in a home, May 26th,1952.

This New Collection of 12,000 Photographs Chronicles the American Jazz Scene

A donation from the family of photographer and historian Duncan Schiedt captures the music’s “essence”

Depicted in Big Band are: Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Jerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Glen Miller, Charles Mingus, JJ Johnson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis and Gene Krupa.

LeRoy Nieman Pulled Together a Dream Band for His Epic Portrait of Jazz Greats

The iconic artist’s large-scale painting of this century’s music greats debuts at the American History Museum, kicking off Jazz Appreciation Month

Farmers use the machine and provide feedback.

Farmers Can Shell Coffee in a Fraction of the Time With This Bike-Powered Machine

A team at an MIT International Development Design Summit is making coffee production a little easier for small-scale farmers in Tanzania

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