Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Innovation

Some architects are in a timber state of mind.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Will Skyscrapers of the Future Be Built From Wood?

Why cross-laminated timber might become the newest trend in urban architecture

Imagine a meta-memorial of the National Parks that projects high-definition video and recordings in metro stations, examining the role of wilderness in times of social inequality and ecological change.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

What Will Future Monuments in the Nation’s Capital Look Like?

Changing times and tastes leave little room for monolithic marble on the Mall

Architects Reimagine Detroit

A new exhibition in Venice showcases how 12 teams would reinvent four sites in Detroit badly in need of facelifts

Andrew Brennen talks with a student, while on his tour of America with an organization called Student Voice.

Andrew Brennen Believes Education Reform Begins With a Simple Question

The UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore has been traveling the country asking students, “What would you change about your school?”

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could This New Armband Prevent Thousands of Workplace Injuries and Fatalities Each Year?

Proxxi CEO Campbell Macdonald describes his cloud-connected wearable that detects high-voltage areas

Using Virtual Reality To Walk in the Shoes of Someone With Alzheimer’s

A British nonprofit has launched an app that simulates life with the neurodegenerative disease

Researchers in Singapore have been able to print the polymer components of a "personalized" pill.

Scientists May Be Able To Pack All Your Medications Into One “Personalized” Pill

And nine other things you never thought could be made on a 3D printer

To celebrate the company's 80th anniversary, Radio Flyer created the world's largest wagon, which weighs in at 15,000 pounds.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How an Italian Immigrant Rolled Out the Radio Flyer Wagon Across America

Three generations and more than 100 years later, the company is still flying high

Is the Internet an Enormous Work of Realist Art?

Journalist Virginia Heffernan makes a compelling case that it is in a new book

Future of Energy

Tofu Power and Other Cool New Alternative Energy Sources

From fueling homes with tofu wastewater to lighting up bathrooms with the power of pee, these are some of the most unusual, hyperlocal fuel sources

The scalding solution that pipes from the vents does not boil because of the mass of water pushing down from above.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Scientists Explore Breathtaking Hydrothermal Vents in Virtual Reality

With a high-tech remotely operated vehicle, a team is able to map a dark, hot and toxic vent field on the ocean floor

Rendering of the BACtrack Skyn

How Drunk Are You? Ask Your Bracelet

The BACtrack Skyn, a wearable similar in style to a Fitbit, tracks your blood alcohol level in real time

Hanqing Jiang (left) and his students, Wenwen Xu and Xu Wang, with their supercapacitor materials

This Edible Supercapacitor Could Transform Ingestible Electronics

The materials for a new electronic component that could power a tiny camera sound more like breakfast than science

Adam Donnelly repairs light leaks inside a camera that he and David Janesko constructed in Coachella Valley, California.

Art Meets Science

From Sticks and Stones, Two Artists Make Pinhole Cameras

David Janesko and Adam Donnelly are using materials found in nature to photograph nature

The Smart Pump by Naya uses a water-based system.

Smart Startup

Could It Be? A Quiet, Comfortable and Bluetooth-Connected Breast Pump

From breast pumps to bottles, the Silicon Valley startup Naya Health is making smarter products for parents and infants

A Search Engine That Matches Your Drawings to Photographs Isn’t Too Far Off

Computer scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new program that could let you Google your doodles

Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome, 1967 World Exposition, Montreal

A Photographic Tour of the Wonders That World’s Fairs Leave Behind

Jade Doskow goes to old World’s Fair sites and photographs the remnants of once glorious visions

Fleet Farming turns yards into "farmlettes."

A Band of Biking Farmers in Florida Reinvents Sharecropping

Fleet Farming transforms lawns into farms to create a new local food system

Sewer in a Suitcase: This handy kit shows people where water goes after it goes down the drain.

These Kits Beautifully Explain How City Sewers and Zoning Laws Work

New York’s Center for Urban Pedagogy uses art and design to help people better understand complex laws and systems

Mary Reynolds sits in a moss-covered pod designed by the West Cork artist Peter Little.

The Unlikely, Charming Designer Who Is Changing the Face of Gardening

With weeds, critters and Celtic symbols, Mary Reynolds is transforming what it means to garden

Page 90 of 155