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Need a break from mountains, wine and cheese? The CERN lab near Geneva, like many other research facilities, offers tours of the premises.

How to Tour the World’s Greatest Science Labs

Around the globe, physics and astronomy labs—some on mountaintops, others underground—welcome visitors to tour the premises

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When New York City Tamed the Feared Gunslinger Bat Masterson

The lawman had a reputation to protect—but that reputation shifted after he moved East

Traditional chess pieces in the Staunton design

How the Chess Set Got Its Look and Feel

The vaunted Staunton Chess Set, the standard chess set you probably grew up with, has its roots in neoclassical architecture

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Play Ball (and Tunes): Sheet Music from the Game’s Early Days

From celebrating championships to begging teams to stay, baseball music has a lot more than Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Poet Marianne Moore, 81, threw out the first pitch at the opening of the 1968 baseball season at Yankee Stadium on April 10th, against the Los Angeles Angels.

Poetry Matters: In Baseball, No Poet Has Yet to Do the Game Justice

Smithsonian historian David Ward umpires the field of poetry, honoring the boys of spring, and calls a strike

Astronauts float in zero gravity outside the Challenger space shuttle in 1984.

How IMAX Pulled Spaceflight Down to Earth

The 1985 film that famously revealed the lives of astronauts in zero gravity returns to the big screen

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What Makes Rain Smell So Good?

A mixture of plant oils, bacterial spores and ozone is responsible for the powerful scent of fresh rain

Darius Brubeck with students from Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, 2007

Dave Brubeck’s Son, Darius, Reflects on His Father’s Legacy

As a global citizen and cultural bridge-builder, Dave Brubeck captivated the world with his music, big heart and a vision of unity

Jupiter’s innermost large moon, Io, is extremely volcanic. “If you look closely on the upper left and upper right horizon, you can see eruptions in the process of happening,” says Benson. “We know that at least 400 volcanos are continuously blasting magma into space from Io.” Mosaic composite photograph. Galileo, July 3, 1999.

Michael Benson’s Awe-Inspiring Views of the Solar System

A photographer painstakingly pieces together raw data collected by spacecraft to produce color-perfect images of the Sun, planets and their many moons

New research says olive oil is one healthy fat.

10 New Things We Know About Food and Diets

Scientists keep learning new things about food, from the diet power of olive oil’s aroma to how chewing gum can keep you away from healthy foods

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Why Geckos Don’t Slip Off Wet Jungle Leaves or Hotel Ceilings

A surface’s ability to attract and repel water heavily influences the degree to which a gecko can cling overhead, new research shows

Gerhard Richter (above) is one of the world’s most accomplished living painters. Watch a documentary about him and his creative process at the Hirshhorn Museum this Thursday.

Events April 2-4: Native Sousa Music, Free Art Lessons and Gerhard Richter

This week, learn about a little-known Native American musical tradition, make something creative and see a world-class painter in action

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How Crisco Went From Cryst to Disco

The American History Museum covers all things grease for its April Fool’s Day conference open to the public

Super low-slung pants

Sagging Pants Butt Up Against the Law

Yet the droopy trousers trend lives on

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The Greening of the Arctic is Underway

As the climate changes, trees and shrubs are poised to take over tundra and alter the Arctic’s ecosystems

The gooey confections can be used to measure the speed of light and demonstrate relationships between the volume of a gas and its pressure and temperature.

Marshmallows: The Perfect Media for Demonstrating Principles of Physics

The gooey confections turn out to be a must-have for at-home science experiments

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What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution

Photographer Thierry Cohen tries to reconnect city dwellers with nature through his mind-blowing composite images—now at New York City’s Danziger Gallery

Beneath the seafloor, there is an ecosystem of microbes living in the oceanic crust, independent of sunlight. Here, the seafloor of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.

Microbes Buried Deep in Ocean Crust May Form World’s Largest Ecosystem

Far below the ocean floor, scientists have discovered a microbial community away from undersea vents, beyond the reach of the sun

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VIDEO: “MLK: The Assassination Tapes” now a Peabody Award Winner

The award-winning program brings to light recently rediscovered footage and offers a fresh perspective on one of America’s greatest tragedies

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The Jetsons Get Schooled: Robot Teachers in the 21st Century Classroom

Elroy gets in trouble with his robot teacher as we recap the final episode from its first season

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