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Tapeworms, like this one imaged using a scanning electron micrograph, weaken their victims but don't typically kill them.

New Research

The World’s Parasites Are Going Extinct. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Thing

Up to one-third of parasite species could vanish over the next few decades, disrupting ecosystems and even human health

The National Design Awards honor 11 individuals and organizations described by Cooper-Hewitt director Caroline Baumann as having “elevated our understanding of what great American design is and what it can do to improve the world.”

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These Design Champs Are Having Their Moment in the Sun

Three Cooper-Hewitt award winners share secrets and stories with design critic Owen Edwards

Young Aboriginal dancers keeping their tradition alive at the Leura Festival in Australia.

Commentary

How We Can Support the World’s Rich Musical Diversity

Some music thrives, while other musical traditions are on the verge of disappearing

Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division escort the Little Rock Nine students into the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

The Youngest of the Little Rock Nine Speaks About Holding on to History

Carlotta Walls LeNier, whose school dress is in the Smithsonian, says much was accomplished and now we need to hold onto it

This is Harlem, 1943

Why the Works of Visionary Artist Jacob Lawrence Still Resonate a Century After His Birth

His vibrant and bold paintings tell stories of liberation, resistance and resilience

A development test model of the Voyager spacecraft looms large in the Air and Space Museum's Exploring the Planets gallery.

Forty Years Later, the Voyager Spacecraft Remain Beacons of Human Imagination

Remembering the mission that opened Earth’s eyes to the vastness and wonder of space

A baby gray whale surfaces in Magdalena Bay, Baja, Mexico.

A Whale’s Baleen Bristles Reveal the Story of Its Life

Like tree rings, these layered plates hold chemical clues to how the animals adapt to a changing world

When the moment came to ring the Freedom Bell alongside President Obama and the First Lady, Ruth Bonner was overjoyed.

Ruth Odom Bonner, Who Rang the Freedom Bell With President Obama, Passes Away at 100

Looking back on the redoubtable woman who helped inaugurate the African American History Museum

Link Wray

‘Rumble’ Aims to Upset the Rock ‘n’ Roll Canon

A documentary based on a Smithsonian exhibition is wowing festival audiences

To the naked eye, the Albireo star system looks like a single, brilliant star. In reality, this binary system consists of two stars, similar to the ones witnessed by Korean astronomers nearly 600 years ago.

New Research

The Secret Lives of Cannibal Stars Revealed, Thanks to 15th Century Korean Astronomers

For the first time ever, astrophysicists observe the entire life cycle of a binary star system

It's too early to know the sexes of the baby armadillos, but one thing is clear: they're darling.

Once You See These Brand New “Screaming Armadillo” Pups, You’ll Be Screaming Too

No armor is impervious to this cuteness now at the National Zoo

A member of the Myrmoteras genus of trap-jaw ants, with mandibles deployed.

Prying Apart the Mighty Bite of a Malaysian Trap-Jaw Ant

Its mandibles strike in a fraction of a blink of an eye, but how does it do it?

Ai Weiwei worked with Amnesty International and other groups to collect the stories of people imprisoned in 33 countries.

Ai Weiwei Depicts the Brutality of Authoritarianism in an Unusual Medium–Legos

The renowned Chinese Artist finally gets to see his work about political prisoners at the Hirshhorn

On May 18, 1893, Anna Julia Cooper delivered an address at the World's Congress of Representative Women, saying, famously, "The white woman could least plead for her own emancipation; the black woman, doubly enslaved, could but suffer and struggle and be silent."

This Video Breaks Down the ABCs of Intersectionality

The National Museum of African American History and Culture explores the long legacy of women who shaped the feminist sociological theory

Neil Armstrong's lunar spacesuit had a life expectancy of about six months. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum wants to exhibit it for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonwalk.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

A Moonwalk Did Not Destroy Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit. Now Time Won’t Either

Conservators are bringing new innovations to save the 80-pound suit that allowed the first astronaut on the moon to take that giant leap

United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta organizing marchers on the second day of March Coachella in Coachella, CA 1969

Civil Rights Icon Dolores Huerta Offers Advice to a New Generation of Activists

A new documentary charts the 87-year-old leader’s advocacy across the decades

How Many Ways Can Snake Venom Kill You and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Smithsonian's well attended Asian-American Literature Festival could soon be traveling to other cities around the nation.

At the Smithsonian’s First Asian-American Lit Fest, Writers Share Falooda, Politics and Poetry

More than 80 award-winning and aspirational writers shared work across multiple genres

Bei Bei noshes on some bamboo in his "Birthday Boy" box as spectators look on. His "cake," shaped like a numeral 2, is visible to his right.

Pandamonium

Bei Bei the Panda Cub Celebrates his Second Birthday in Style

The notorious sleepyhead manages to rouse himself for fans

Esperanza Spalding’s Pop Culture Loves

She may not own a television, but the Grammy-award winning musician definitely has her favorite books and films

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