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In 2018, more than 40 million Americans traveled overseas.

Covid-19

What American Travel Looked Like Before COVID-19

Despite historic setbacks similar to today’s, Americans have become more dedicated travelers

Soi Phet, a 12-year-old gelding, arrived last year at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, after earning $1 million on the racetrack.

At a Kentucky Farm, Champion Thoroughbreds Live Out Their Retirements

Steeds who made headlines for winning races now get to enjoy their final years at a slower pace

Ashford calls a strike with enthusiasm during an August 29, 1968, game between the Indians and Twins.

What Made Emmett Ashford, Major League Baseball’s First Black Umpire, an American Hero

During his 20-year professional career, his boisterous style endeared him to fans but rankled traditionalists

Landscape in Blue, color woodblock print with embossing on paper, by Yoshida Chizuko, 1972. The print is one of at least 30 works in the new exhibition.

When Young Women Printmakers in Japan Joined Forces to Create a Strong Impression

A planned exhibition at the Portland Art Museum highlights the boldness of their work

Eugene V. Debs was in a West Virginia penitentiary when he lost the 1920 presidential election.

Has Anyone Ever Run for President While in Prison? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

One of designer Ellery Chung's famous King-Smith shirts, featuring a Tahitian print.

The History of the Hawaiian Shirt

From kitsch to cool, ride the waves of undulating popularity of a tropical fashion statement

Designer, illustrator, painter, cultural force: in New York City, 1962.

How Andy Warhol Came to Paint Campbell’s Soup Cans

He was talented and prosperous, but the young visionary worried the art world had left him behind. Then he discovered soup

Green patches of Nana Estate Winery in the arid desert.

Why Wines From Israel’s Negev Desert May Represent the Future of Viticulture

Overcoming scorching heat and little rain, experimental vineyards teach winemakers to cope with climate change

A footpath weaves through ferns and trees on Denecourt Trail No. 6. The designer made sure the paths meandered around interesting features.

The Invention of Hiking

Follow the Frenchman who remade the woods surrounding a royal estate into the world’s first nature preserve

A billboard near Benton, Illinois. The rock 'n' roller from Liverpool was unknown in the States when he visited the town in 1963.

The Charming Story of George Harrison’s Vacation in Small-Town America

The Beatles guitarist visited his sister in southern Illinois just months before he’d become world famous

Presenting the winners of Smithsonian magazine's 17th annual photo contest

These Are the Winning Photos of Smithsonian Magazine’s 17th Annual Photo Contest

From Vietnam to Antarctica, this year’s winners bring you amazing glimpses of a changing world—and the indefatigable human spirit

The cover story of the debut issue was about elephant breeding in Sri Lanka.

Smithsonian Magazine Turns 50

When this publication first appeared five decades ago, it was happy to join the fray

A grain storage facility in Wisconsin, from “The Hand of Man on America,” a photo essay by David Plowden, 1971.

These Photos From the First Decade of Smithsonian Magazine Show Where Art and Science Meet

How do you select one image to represent half a century of photography and art? You don’t

As climate change brings moister, warmer air, lightning is increasing and causing fires in the boreal forests where that used to be rare.

Why Does Lightning Rarely Strike in the Arctic? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions, we’ve got experts

None

Readers Respond to the March 2020 Issue

Your feedback on our coverage of women’s history, wolverines and Madame C.J. Walker

The homemade flag carried by Lanphier High School students during their march to the Illinois State Capitol on the first Earth Day.

Planet Positive

This Homemade Flag From the ‘70s Signals the Beginning of the Environmental Movement

The green-and-white banner from an Illinois high school recalls the first Earth Day 50 years ago

Jason Hayman, managing director of Sustainable Marine Energy, checks out Plat-I, the company’s primary project.

Planet Positive

The Push for Tidal Power Faces Its Biggest Challenge Yet

The renewable energy source has never quite lived up to its potential, but a new experiment in Nova Scotia could flip the script

Planet Positive

Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard

Fed up with invasive species and sterile landscapes, Douglas Tallamy urges Americans to go native and go natural

Ecologist and Smithsonian associate Aung Myo Chit soothes an elephant in Myanmar after it was fitted with a collar.

Planet Positive

Researchers Are Learning How Asian Elephants Think—in Order to Save Them

As the pachyderms increasingly clash with farmers and villagers over disappearing land, scientists study the way the animals’ minds work

Planet Positive

Six Crazy Attempts to Geoengineer the Weather

These scientists and inventors set out to change the planet with these out-of-the-box ideas

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