Women compare A.J. Freiman shoes.

‘Vis-O-Matic’ Was the 1950s Version of Online Shopping

A Canadian department store tried to revolutionize buying when it opened a shop with booths and screens for ordering merchandise

The robot is a bit slow moving at about 1.5 body lengths per minute. But the new design shows promise for future hybrid systems.

Engineers Built a Robotic Lionfish With an Energetic Bloodstream

The robo-fish pumps energy-packed liquid through vein-like tubes to move its fins and swim for hours

Sarah Stewart circa 1950.

Women Who Shaped History

The Woman Who Revealed the Missing Link Between Viruses and Cancer

Today, vaccinating against cervical cancer is routine. But before Sarah Stewart, scientists dismissed the idea of a cancer-preventing vaccine as ludicrous

Slinky Dog and its cousin, Slinky Train, were allegedly inspired by inventor Helen Malsed's 6-year-old son, who wanted to see what would happen if his Christmas Slinky had wheels attached.

The Patents Behind Toy Story’s Beloved Characters

The Pixar series is full of classic toys, from the Slinky Dog to the Speak & Spell, that sprung from the minds of clever inventors

One of a handful of surviving Higgins boats is on display outside of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters and National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Invention That Won World War II

Patented in 1944, the Higgins boat gave the Allies the advantage in amphibious assaults

Industrial designer Raymond Loewy influenced a number of brands.

Meet the Product Designer Who Made Mid-Century America Look Clean and Stylish

From refrigerators to cars to Air Force One, Raymond Loewy’s distinctive “cleanlining” sold products

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket, with a payload of 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 23, 2019.

Future of Space Exploration

SpaceX Launched 60 Internet-Beaming Satellites Into Orbit

Last night’s successful launch was the first big step in SpaceX’s plan to provide global internet coverage from space

In 1954, John Kirklin of the Mayo Clinic created the Mayo-Gibbon heart-lung machine when he modified a design pioneered by John Gibbon. The machine is now in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

This 1950s Heart-Lung Machine Revolutionized Cardiac Surgery

Open-heart procedures evolved rapidly once Mayo Clinic surgeon John Kirklin made his improvements to an earlier invention

Anirudh Sharma and his team have developed a device that can capture air pollution at its source; once collected, they turn the soot into ink.

This Ink Is Made From Air Pollution

About 45 minutes of diesel car pollution reaps 30 milliliters of AIR-INK, now on display at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Women were involved with the computing field from its earliest days.

Women Who Shaped History

The Gendered History of Human Computers

It’s ironic that women today must fight for equality in Silicon Valley. After all, their math skills helped launch the digital age

Expanding access to the deep ocean will spark interest in exploration, Rush believes: Getting underwater is “such an amazing emotional experience.”

A Deep Dive Into the Plans to Take Tourists to the ‘Titanic’

For a handsome price, a daredevil inventor will bring you aboard his groundbreaking submarine to put eyes on most famous shipwreck of all

There’s still plenty of reason to know how to use this Morse telegraph key.

Morse Code Celebrates 175 Years and Counting

The elegantly simple code works whether flashing a spotlight or blinking your eyes—or even tapping on a smartphone touchscreen

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

Meet Instrument Designer John Vassos, Who Gave the Hohner Harmonica a Sleek New Look

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Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

We Chose to Go to the Moon

A collection of stories to celebrate the semicentennial of the Apollo 11 mission

This lunar extravehicular visor assembly, photographed by Cade Martin at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar- Hazy Center, was worn by Neil Armstrong on the Moon in July 1969. Armstrong’s helmet visors were designed to protect against hazards, from micrometeoroids to infrared light.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

What You Didn’t Know About the Apollo 11 Mission

From JFK’s real motives to the Soviets’ secret plot to land on the Moon at the same time, a new behind-the-scenes view of an unlikely triumph 50 years ago

Scientists bioengineer living plants to emit light.

These Glowing Plants Could One Day Light Our Homes

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum gives us a glimpse into a world where we read by a natural greenish glow

The Smithsonian has completed its multi-year conservation project of the Neil Armstrong spacesuit, digitizing the historic Apollo artifact so that soon authentically realized duplicates can be downloaded for study and appreciation.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

In Celebration of 50 Years Since the Moon Landing, Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit Set to Return to Public View

Duplicates of the 3D scanned historic Apollo artifact will also tour Major League ballparks this summer

A single counterfeit component in the supply chain is all it takes to turn a fine-tuned aircraft launching system from an asset to a safety hazard.

How Nanoscale ‘Signatures’ Could Keep Counterfeit Parts Out of Military Equipment

Navy scientist Alison Smith will describe her novel authentication system at Smithsonian’s Military Invention Day

Sensing threads prepared with bromothymol blue (top thread), methyl red (middle thread) and MnTPP (bottom thread) are exposed to ammonia at 0 ppm (left panel) 50 ppm (middle panel) and 1000 ppm (right panel).

Clothing May Soon Be Able to Change Color in the Presence of Harmful Gases

Tufts University engineers have developed dyed threads that change hues when exposed to carbon monoxide and other hazards

This Ingenious System Brings Water to the Chinese Desert

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