Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

At the Smithsonian / From the Collections

It's a boy! DNA taken from a cheek swab of the 3.6-pound giant panda cub confirms the animal's sex.

Pandamonium

Why It Takes a DNA Test to Determine a Panda Cub’s Sex

The National Zoo announces the 6-week-old giant panda is a boy

The National Zoo shares favorite moments as curators and keepers train their expert eyes on the Giant Panda Cam, monitoring the young cub's first weeks.

Pandamonium

Top 10 Giant Panda Cub Cam Moments

Two National Zoo curators and the panda keeper journal their favorite moments of the new cub’s first days

Thomas Jefferson, who had suffered great criticism for his religious beliefs, once said that the care he had taken to reduce the Gospels to their core message should prove that he was in fact, a “real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”

Why Thomas Jefferson Created His Own Bible

In a new book, Smithsonian curator of religion Peter Manseau tells of how The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth first sparked hot controversy

In an interview, the L.A. artist Sterling Ruby says his new sculpture addresses the duality of love loss and "celebrate light while motioning towards an expiration."

In Washington, D.C., Towering Candles Shine as a Beacon of Hope in Dark Times

Artist Sterling Ruby reflects on the recent installation of his sculpture Double Candle at the Hirshhorn

In the first days, Mei Xiang kept the cub mostly hidden, but a new photograph and video recently revealed the new arrival—born at 6:35 on August 21, 2020.

Pandamonium

Giant Panda Mama Gives Birth to Baby Cub at National Zoo

The pink, squeaking infant is about the size of a stick of butter and will be named in 100 days

“The postal service is one of the oldest federal agencies,” says Daniel Piazza, a curator of philately at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. “Maybe for that reason, we tend to take it for granted. But we have always relied on it, whether for news from home, prescription medications or e-commerce.”

A Brief History of the United States Postal Service

To forge a nation, the founders needed an efficient communications network

Since late July, Mei Xiang has been sleeping more, eating less, nest-building and body-licking—all signs that she is preparing for a newborn.

Pandamonium

Is There a New Baby Panda Due at the National Zoo?

An ultrasound today revealed that the National Zoo’s resident giant panda, Mei Xiang, could be expecting

Queen Liliʻuokalani (above: circa 1891) became the first and only queen regnant of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1891 and shepherded the country through a period of intense growth.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the 19th Amendment Complicated the Status and Role of Women in Hawai’i

For generations, women played a central role in government and leadership. Then, the United States came along

"The lines of this song repay me in elation, almost of exquisite anguish, whenever I hear them sung," wrote James Weldon Johnson in 1935.

Why the Black National Anthem Is Lifting Every Voice to Sing

Scholars agree the song, endowed with its deep history of Black pride, speaks to the universal human condition

Susie and Paul Sensmeier of Christiansburg, Virginia, got front row seats to the arrival of the first drone-shipped home delivery in the fall of 2019.

This Drone Made the First Home Delivery in the United States

Wing’s tether-toting drone delivered a winter vest to a retiree in Virginia and now its headed to the Air and Space Museum

A letter that tipped off authorities to the illegal conditions of the garment factory begs rescuers to work quickly and not arouse suspicion. “Don’t forget to be careful,” it concludes.

20th-Century Slavery in a California Sweatshop Was Hiding in Plain Sight

The El Monte sweatshop case exposed a web of corruption—and the enslavement of more than 70 Los Angeles-area garment workers

The B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay was one of a few dozen World War II-era aircraft specially modified for the express purpose of delivering atomic weapons.

Why the Enola Gay, the Plane That Dropped the First Atomic Bomb, Will Always Inspire Debate

The Enola Gay, fully restored and on view at the Smithsonian, left an indelible mark

In the recent "Portraits" podcast, LL recounts why he turned to a 100-year-old masterpiece of the richest person in modern history—John D. Rockefeller Sr.—for his power pose.

How a Maverick Hip-Hop Legend Found Inspiration in a Titan of American Industry

When LL COOL J sat for his portrait, he found common ground with the life-long philanthropical endeavors of John D. Rockefeller

In planning to re-open, Zoo staff have spent several weeks consulting scientific experts and preparing rigorous healthcare guidelines.

The National Zoo Will Reopen to the Public on July 24

Two bison, an Andean bear and a baby wallaby are among the new animals ready to welcome visitors back

The congressman, pictured here in 2009, was instrumental in the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Smithsonian Leaders Reflect on the Legacy of Civil Rights Icon John Lewis

The congressman and civil rights activist died on Friday at age 80

Anthropologist S. Ann Dunham (above, left) documented traditional crafts in Indonesia. Her field notes are now digitized and the Smithsonian is looking for digital transcribers.

Help Transcribe Field Notes Penned by S. Ann Dunham, a Pioneering Anthropologist and Barack Obama’s Mother

Newly digitized, Dunham’s papers reflect her work as a scholar and as a scientist and as a woman doing anthropology in her own right

The Anacostia Community Museum wants to know not just how you’re surviving this moment, but how you’re being resilient.

In This Historical Moment, Here’s How to Collect Your Thoughts

The Anacostia Community Museum wants your story for its new archive #Moments of Resilience

The frame is the "mother holding its child,” says the Smithsonian's Martin Kotler. Many frames are works of art in their own right—and deserve to be seen as such.

Is It Time to Recognize Frames as an Independent Art Form?

In a fairly new field, the picture frame may finally be coming into its own

Shanthi, who readily participated in hundreds of behavioral and biological research studies, will be remembered for her unrivaled contribution to conservation efforts.

National Zoo Mourns Beloved Member of Its Herd

The 45-year-old Asian elephant Shanthi was one of the most studied in the world

Love is the Message, The Message is Death,by Arthur Jafa
, film still, 2016

Now for the First Time, Arthur Jafa’s ‘Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death’ Streams Online

The seminal work, a contemporary Guernica, is the first joint acquisition for the Hirshhorn and the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Page 10 of 42