Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Ruins of Tikal, where researchers found high concentrations of mercury 

Ancient Maya Cities Were Polluted With High Levels of Mercury

The concentrations at some dig sites could be hazardous for today’s archaeologists

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, D.C, on June 29, 2022. The EPA announced the launch of an office for advancing environmental justice and civil rights on Saturday. 

EPA Creates National Office for Environmental Justice and Civil Rights

It will distribute $3 billion in climate and environmental justice grants to underserved communities

The spiral galaxy IC 5332, as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument

See the Eerily Beautiful Image James Webb Captured of a Spiral Galaxy

The spooky-looking structure, known as IC 5332, is about 29 million light-years away from Earth

Sarasota, Florida, experienced wind and rain on Wednesday morning as Hurrican Ian approached. 

Hurricane Ian Slams Cuba, Heads for Florida’s West Coast

The storm approached Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, with top winds reaching 155 miles per hour

Abigail Disney beside a poster for The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales earlier this month

Abigail Disney Criticizes Labor Practices at the Company Her Family Founded

Her new documentary, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” shines a light on income inequality and workers’ rights

Goods from a grave site at Issendorf cemetery in Lower-Saxony, Germany. 

DNA From Skeletons Reveals Large Migration to Early Medieval England

A new study could close a long-standing debate about movement of people post-Roman rule

Young artist Andres Valencia and his family at the opening of “No Rules,” his solo exhibition at New York’s Chase Contemporary gallery

This 10-Year-Old Boy Makes Art That Sells for Over $100,000

Fifth-grader Andres Valencia’s inspirations range from Picasso to Pokémon

James Earl Jones beside Darth Vader in 2002

James Earl Jones Retires From Voicing Darth Vader

Future “Star Wars” productions will recreate Jones’ menacing voice using artificial intelligence

Members of Ho-Chunk Nation and the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa help clean the 3,000-year-old canoe found in Lake Mendota.

3,000-Year-Old Dugout Canoe Recovered From Wisconsin Lake

Archaeologists believe it’s the oldest canoe ever found in the Great Lakes region

A NASA Earth Observatory satellite captured an image of the eruption on September 14. The greener, discolored water near the eruption site likely contains particulate matter, rock fragments and sulfur from the volcano. 

Volcanic Eruption Creates a New Island in the South Pacific

The growing land mass is larger than 8 acres and visible from space

Bison typically roam the tall grasses of the American prairie, but a herd in Grand Canyon National Park has found ways to thrive in forest and desert habitats.

Meet the ‘Forest Ninja Bison’ Living in Grand Canyon National Park

Wildlife managers recently relocated dozens of the iconic animals to help restore balance to the park’s ecosystem

The pink granite sarcophagus of Ptah-M-Wia, an important official during the reign of Ramses II

Cool Finds

Sarcophagus of Ramses II’s Chief Treasurer Discovered at Saqqara

Egyptian archaeologists unearthed the empty, 3,200-year-old coffin of Ptah-M-Wia, a high-ranking New Kingdom official

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft launched in November 2021 in California, riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.   

NASA Successfully Crashed a Spacecraft Into Its Asteroid Target

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a first step toward defending Earth from threatening space rocks

The Panamanian golden frog is now extinct in the wild due to a disease caused by a fungus known as Bd or chytrid

Amphibian Plague Led to Malaria Surge in Humans

A new study marks the first time the frog pandemic has been linked to human health

Female Figure

Who Were the Painters of Pompeii?

A new exhibition explores the ancient Roman “pictores,” who created beautiful frescoes preserved in ash from Mount Vesuvius’ eruption

Ernest Hemingway and his middle son, Patrick, pose with a record 119.5-pound Atlantic sailfish caught off Key West, Florida, in May 1934.

Archive of Ernest Hemingway Writings, Photos Opens to the Public for the First Time

Privately owned for decades, the materials include a short story featuring F. Scott Fitzgerald, personal effects and rough drafts

Paruroctonus soda

These California Teens Discovered Two New Scorpion Species

One of the creatures could be wiped out if its range isn’t protected, researchers say

Sidney Poitier on the set of Lilies of the Field, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor

Sidney Poitier Is Back on the Big Screen

The late and great actor and director is the subject of ‘Sidney,’ a new documentary produced by Oprah Winfrey

About 230 pilot whales were stranded on an Australian beach. 

About 200 Stranded Whales Die on Australian Beach

Rescue operations saved around 30 of the animals

Betty White in 2015

Betty White’s Belongings Are Up for Auction

The items tell the story of the beloved comedic actress’ life—and her groundbreaking eight-decade career

Page 283 of 1116