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The Anne Frank House created the series in hopes of reaching “young people who are less likely to pick up a book [but who] … do watch videos on social media.”

Education During Coronavirus

Why the Anne Frank House Is Reimagining the Young Diarist as a Vlogger

The controversial series stems from the museum’s desire to reach a younger generation by telling history in new ways

Young leatherback sea turtles.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Restrictions May Boost Leatherback Sea Turtle Nesting

Beaches in Florida and Thailand have tentatively reported increases in nests, due to decreased human presence. But the trend won’t necessarily persist

An artist's rendering of two early hominins hunting waterfowl on the Schöningen lakeshore with throwing sticks

Cool Finds

300,000-Year-Old Stick Suggests Human Ancestors Were Skilled Hunters

The ancient throwing stick may have been used by Neanderthals or an even earlier hominin

Prickles, a barefaced merino sheep who went unshorn for seven years after fleeing her home in Tasmania during a spate of 2013 bushfires

Prickles the Sheep Returns Home After Seven Years on the Lam(b)

After missing years of shears, the voluminous creature had ballooned to about five times the size of a typical sheep

On April 24, 1991—a year after it was launched into space—Hubble snapped a shot of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant, a relic of a star that exploded in a massive cataclysm about 15,000 years ago.

Education During Coronavirus

This NASA Website Shows What the Hubble Telescope Saw on Your Birthday

The snazzy search is part of the telescope’s 30th anniversary celebration

An ongoing study by the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center has found a 35 percent increase in dream recall and a 15 percent increase in negative dreams.

Covid-19

Insomnia and Vivid Dreams on the Rise With COVID-19 Anxiety

Fears around the pandemic are causing sleep patterns to change and strange dreams to linger in people’s memories

Some rough-skinned newts host bacteria on their skin that produce the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin to keep predators at bay.

New Research

Toxic Newts Use Bacteria to Become Deadly Prey

Scientists discover neurotoxin-producing bacteria living on the skin of rough-skinned newts

Stonehenge, as recreated by Alexandra McNamara of Tappan, New York, with cheese, a rock, granola and bread

Education During Coronavirus

See ‘Cheesehenge’ and Other Historical Homages Created for Archaeology Competition

The Archaeological Institute of America launched its Build Your Own Monument challenge early to inspire families quarantining at home

Follow the #WrightVirtualVisits hashtag to see tours of historic sites like Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania home originally built as a private weekend residence.

Virtual Travel

Enjoy Free Video Tours of Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Across America

The 20th-century architect defined a uniquely American style that used nature-inspired motifs and horizontal lines

An artist's illustration depicting the collision of two 125-mile-wide asteroids orbiting the star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away.

‘Disappearing’ Exoplanet Might Not Have Been a Planet After All

Study suggests alleged exoplanet may have been a cloud of asteroid debris

Researchers have discovered an unexpected way that larger bits of plastic are transformed into microplastics in the sea: lobsters. (The study involved Norway lobsters, pictured here.)

Norway Lobsters Crush Ocean Plastic Into Even Smaller Pieces—and That’s Bad

The crustaceans’ guts pulverize plastics into tiny bits that can be consumed by even smaller creatures at the base of the ocean food chain

Cricosaurus suevicus is an ancient relative of modern crocodiles that spent its life in the ocean.

New Research

Like Dolphins and Whales, Ancient Crocodiles Evolved to Spend Their Time at Sea

Researchers tracked changes in the crocodilian creatures’ inner ears to learn how they moved into the sea

The National Museum of Asian Art's Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, from the Alice S. Kandell Collection

Education During Coronavirus

Unwind With These Free, Museum-Led Meditation and Mindfulness Sessions

The Rubin Museum of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art offer an array of relaxing experiences

Submissions included a plague mask, a Feejee "mermaid" and a peapod pincushion.

Museums Challenged to Showcase ‘Creepiest Objects’ Deliver Stuff of Nightmares

We’re really, really sorry

Part of England's South West Coast Path at Ilfracombe, North Devon.

England to Debut World’s Longest Coastal Path by Middle of Next Year

The nearly 2,800-mile-long walking route runs all the way around the English coast

Bald Eagles Found Nesting in Arizona Saguaro Cactus for First Time in Decades

The prickly perch is an exciting sign of success for the birds, which came off the endangered species list in 2007

Folium was used to illustrate illuminated manuscripts—and color the rind of a popular Dutch cheese.

Art Meets Science

Researchers Follow a 15th-Century Recipe to Recreate Medieval Blue Ink

The purplish-blue pigment, derived from a Portuguese fruit, fell out of use by the 19th century

Researchers staged fights using recreated Bronze Age weapons to better understand how they might have been used in ancient fighting.

New Research

Scientists Stage Sword Fights to Study Bronze Age Warfare

Research suggests bronze blades, thought by some to be too fragile for combat, were deadly weapons across ancient Europe

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Virtual Travel

Explore Washington, D.C. From Home With This Free, Smithsonian Scholar-Led Tour

Narrated by Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Richard Kurin, the 24-part video series blends history with modern mainstays

"Occupy White Walls" features hundreds of architectural elements. Users are represented by avatars resembling common reference mannequins.

Education During Coronavirus

This Free Game Lets Users Build Their Own Virtual Art Museums

“Occupy White Walls” allows players to design their own art galleries—and explore others’ out-of-the-box creations

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