Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Making history

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Roger Bannister, the First Person to Break the 4-Minute Mile

The Oxford medical student, who died on March 3 at age 88, broke what was believed to be an impossible record

New Research

Termites Are Moving in With Cockroaches, Taxonomically

The wood-munching critters are technically just social roaches

The massive family tree includes 13 million people

This May Be the World’s Largest Family Tree

Using more than 86 million profiles from Geni.com, researchers created a database that links 13 million people

Mary Poppins arrives from on high again this December

Coming Soon

Watch the Teaser Trailer for the Mary Poppins Sequel Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt

The highly anticipated reboot hits theaters in December

Johannes Vermeer, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' c. 1665

Scientists Study ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in Hopes of Finding How Vermeer Painted His Masterpiece

The enigmatic work was last examined—and restored—in 1994

Tattoos on the Pre-dynastic female mummy from Gebelein.

Earliest Figural Tattoos Discovered on 5,000-Year-Old Mummies

The markings include a bull, a sheep and a mysterious ‘S’ motif

"The Night," Michele di Rodolfo del Ghirlandaio, oil on panel, Galleria Colonna, Rome, Italy

New Research

Earliest Images of Breast Cancer Found in Renaissance Paintings

The signs of illness in the paintings illustrate that breast cancer is not just a modern malady

The researchers found that the Danger Islands have 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins, more than the rest of the entire Antarctic Peninsula region combined.

Scientists Discover “Super-Colony” of 1.5 Million Adélie Penguins in Images From Space

In other areas of the Antarctic, the black and white birds are in decline—but on the Danger Islands, they thrive

Synchronous fireflies flash in harmony in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.

These Were America’s Most-Visited National Parks in 2017

Of the National Park Service’s 417 sites, 385 keep track of their park visitors

The World’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Dies

Only two individuals of the subspecies remain in the world

Scene from the 1967 Detroit riot.

Trending Today

Study Shows Little Change Since Kerner Commission Reported on Racism 50 Years Ago

An update to the landmark study finds there is now more poverty and segregation in America

Male flowers of the striped maple tree.

The Mystery of the Sex-Changing Striped Maple Trees

Yes, trees can be male or female. And sometimes they switch it up

Dubai is home to three million residents, making city-wide DNA testing no small feat.

Dubai Wants to DNA Test Its Millions of Residents to Prevent Genetic Disease

The ambitious plan is part of its Dubai 10X Initiative to improve health in the city

The new species of tardigrade, Macrobiotus shonaicus found in the moss of a Japanese parking lot.

New Tardigrade Species Found in Parking Lot in Japan

The adorable microscopic critter has a unique leg fold and lays unusual eggs

"Reflections of the Weeping Willow on the Water-Lily Pond" Claude Monet

Long-Lost Monet, Sent Away for Safekeeping Before WWII, Found in Louvre Storage

The painting was acquired by Japanese art collector Kōjirō​ ​Matsukata in the 1920s. It will go on view at the National Museum of Western Art in 2019

Artists interpretation of the earliest stars

New Research

Astronomers May Have Just Detected the Universe’s First Stars

A long-sought radio signal indicates the first stars began burning 180 million years after the initial Big Bang

The castle in 2012

Rubens’ Sprawling Castle in the Belgian Countryside Is on the Market

The famed Flemish painter redesigned the castle in Flemish Renaissance style

Bigelow's inflatable modules, called B330, could host commercial ventures and travelers in the near future.

Cool Finds

A Space Hotel Could Be Coming Soon to Skies Near You

Bigelow Aerospace wants to launch two inflatable modules for a space habit as early as 2021

Under a new initiative, a digital art installation will cover the facade of Chicago's Merchandise Mart.

World’s Largest Digital Art Display Will Go Live This Fall in Chicago

Art deco landmark Merchandise Mart will be lit up across nearly 3 acres of its river-facing façade

Equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville Must Remove Tarps from Confederate Statues, Judge Says

Two statues were covered in the wake of last year’s deadly rallies to mark a period of mourning

Page 602 of 1116