Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Well digging behaviors have been observed previously in areas with dry habitats, and researchers only know of three chimpanzee groups in the savannah that do so.

Rainforest Chimpanzees Seen Digging Wells for the First Time

The primates may be burrowing for cleaner water

Park visitors walk along a section of the Great Salt Lake that used to be underwater at the Great Salt Lake State Park near Magna, Utah. 

Utah’s Great Salt Lake Is Drying Out

Water levels, the lowest ever measured, are placing migrating birds, local communities and economic development at high risk

A Long March-3B carrier rocket blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on October 24, 2021. 

There Is a 10 Percent Chance Someone Will Die From Falling Rocket Debris in the Next Decade

Those in the Global South face an increased risk of getting hit by falling pieces, according to a new study

The VR gallery allows people to see virtual versions of artworks up close. 

Five Stolen Paintings Go on Display in Virtual Reality

The exhibition displays artworks that were taken from museums around the world

By adding art exhibitions like “Beyond van Gogh,” casinos are hoping to become known for more than gambling.

Can Casinos Be Art Galleries?

Hoping to grow their audiences, gambling halls are luring new visitors with old masterpieces

Amelia Earhart sitting in her cockpit

Amelia Earhart Statue Finally Arrives at U.S. Capitol

After a 23-year delay, the statue will represent Kansas in the Statuary Hall Collection

The gophers spend most of their time underground and only venture to the outside world to forage for food or mate.

Pocket Gophers May Be the First Non-Human Mammal to ‘Farm’

The rodents don’t plant, of course, but they do tend to roots in their tunnels that they then eat

Grime artist Jammer’s basement studio

Inside the Evolution of Grime Music

A new exhibition explores how the genre has changed since it began in east London

Literary scholar Vanessa Braganza suggests that Catherine commissioned the pendant design as "a sign of her conviction of her own enduring legitimacy."

The Secrets of a Long-Overlooked Cipher Linked to Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII’s first wife may have commissioned the design as an act of defiance during the Tudor king’s attempt to divorce her

Smoke and flames rise as the forest burns at Yosemite National Park in California on July 10, 2022.

Wildfire Burns in Yosemite National Park, Threatening Giant Sequoia Trees

The Washburn Fire has scorched more than 2,000 acres since it was first reported on Thursday

Brooding requires a significant sacrifice for a mother Bathyteuthis berryi. Though she can't feed or quickly escape from predators while carrying her eggs, she can ensure her young stay in water that has the right temperature, salinity and oxygen levels.

Watch a Deep-Sea Squid Carry Hundreds of Pearl-Like Eggs

Footage taken 56 miles off California’s coast documents rarely-observed brooding behavior

Seals in Bar Harbor, Maine

Seal Strandings in Maine Linked to Bird Flu

Four stranded pinnipeds tested positive for the avian influenza H5N1

A scene from "Light and Magic"

Art Meets Science

This Visual Effects Studio Transformed Movies Forever

A new documentary tells the story of Industrial Light and Magic, the pioneering team that brought films like “Star Wars” and “Jurassic Park” to life

The underground pitchers of Nepenthes pudica

This New Species of Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Traps Its Prey Underground

Researchers discovered the new specimen in the rainforests of Borneo

The new Hong Kong Palace Museum

How the Hong Kong Palace Museum Is Forging Its Own Identity

The new museum overcame a rocky start and a typhoon delay to open to eager crowds on July 3

Screenshot of news coverage of the demolition of Georgia Guidestones

The Georgia Landmark Known as ‘America’s Stonehenge’ Is Destroyed in an Explosive Attack

The mysterious granite monoliths have been the source of conspiracy theories for almost half a century

V. boliviana is now the world’s largest known giant waterlily species, with leaves that can grow almost ten feet wide in the wild.

New Species of Giant Waterlily Is the Largest in the World

The discovery of the enormous plant type surprised researchers

A model of an oarfish

Rare Oarfish Caught on Video on Great Barrier Reef

This is the first record of the species on the eastern seaboard of Australia

Diane Nash, pictured in 2011, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, July 7.

Women Who Shaped History

Meet Diane Nash, the Civil Rights Icon Awarded the U.S.’ Highest Civilian Honor

The 84-year-old activist received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her leadership during the 1960s fight against segregation

A Gorgosaurus skeleton measuring 10 feet tall is unveiled at Sothebys in New York, on July 05, 2022.

A Gorgosaurus Skeleton Will Be Privately Auctioned Off for the First Time

The specimen is expected to sell for $5 million to $8 million

Page 308 of 1127