Smart News: Travel News & Tips | Smithsonian Magazine

The sun rises over Joshua Tree National Park. The newlydesignated Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow national monuments will connect Joshua Tree to other federally protected lands in a massive 1.8-million-acre preservation bid.

This time, the California desert was the president’s preservation focus

February 12, 2016

Cool Finds

Check Out These Vintage Computer Viruses at the Malware Museum

Relive the horror of watching your computer catch a ‘90s-era virus

February 11, 2016

A newly-released poster in NASA's Visions of the Future series heralds a future "grand tour" using gravity assists.

Cool Finds

NASA Went Retro With Their New Space Travel Posters

Travel to the world of tomorrow—today!

February 10, 2016

A rendering of the newly reopened Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California.

Cool Finds

Glow to This Flickering Tribute to Neon

The past shines at the Museum of Neon Art in Southern California

February 10, 2016

Local workers disinfects the famous Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26 January 2016.

U.S Olympic Committee officials suggest that athletes concerned about Zika stay on the sidelines this year

February 9, 2016

Liliya Lifánova, Anatomy is Destiny (live performance at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis), 2012.

Cool Finds

Board of Sexism in Chess? Check Out These New Exhibitions

The World Chess Hall of Fame is showcasing the power of its women

February 8, 2016

Julia Child in the kitchen of her Cambridge home in 1983

Cool Finds

Julia Child’s Provence Kitchen Will Serve Up New Meals as a Cook’s Retreat

An American couple has a vision to preserve and continue the legacy of the famous chef

February 8, 2016

The woven courtyard will feature wading pools and a colorful kaleidoscope of ropes.

Cool Finds

A Museum Courtyard Will Be Taken Over by a Colorful Web

“Weaving the Courtyard” will bring a kaleidoscopic of color to MoMA PS1

February 5, 2016

A view of Earth from a replica of the Cupola Observation Module.

Cool Finds

Check Out This Scale Replica of The International Space Station

Pretend you’re in orbit without ever leaving the ground

February 4, 2016

A kermode bear, also known as a spirit bear, explores a stream in the depths of British Columbia, Canada's Great Bear Rainforest.

It’s a victory for First Nations, loggers, and environmentalists

February 3, 2016

Cool Finds

Digital Projections Show the Vivid Colors That Once Decorated an Egyptian Temple

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is adding a bright flourish to the Temple of Dendur

February 2, 2016

Stranded travelers line up at a train station in Guangzhou, China, where tens of thousands of people are stranded due to bad weather.

And you thought your holiday commute was bad

February 2, 2016

Specialty serveware from the collection of Charles "Chuck" Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma.

Cool Finds

Williams-Sonoma’s Founder Is Getting His Own Museum

The museum will feature the 4,000-plus pieces of cookware that the kitchenware impresario donated upon his death

January 29, 2016

Cool Finds

Step Inside a Dalí Painting at This Virtual Reality Exhibit

Surrealism meets real life in an exploration of a Dalí masterwork

January 28, 2016

Who wouldn't want to let these adorable critters pass through?

Cool Finds

British People Are Building Highways for Hedgehogs Through Their Yards

Hedgehog populations in England have declined since the 1970s due urban and suburban development

January 28, 2016

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un laughs during a factory tour in January 2016. North Korea tied with Somalia for "most corrupt" in a 2105 index of global corruption perceptions.

Corruption is everywhere, but some nations are more corrupt than others

January 27, 2016

Cool Finds

Rare White Giraffe Survived Her First Year

The 15-month old calf has so far survived possible predation from lions, leopards, hyenas and human poachers

January 27, 2016

A ground view of the proposed design for "The Weight of Sacrifice," which will serve as the new national World War I memorial.

One hundred years later, WWI will finally get a large-scale memorial in Washington, D.C.

January 27, 2016

Are you a global citizen? Then you might need one of these.

Cool Finds

You Can Get an Antarctic Passport

Pledge your loyalty to the southernmost continent—and to the ideals of peace, equality and sustainability

January 27, 2016

Villagers air red lanterns in Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 25, 2016. Luozhuang Township is a famous lantern production base in Xingtai.

Cool Finds

China’s Lantern Makers Are Gearing Up for the New Year

Delicate, bright and iconic, China’s lanterns symbolize celebration and good luck

January 26, 2016

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