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The critically acclaimed director James Gray took on the story of explorer Percival Fawcett's search for a lost city in Amazonia.

How Director James Gray Discovered the Insanity Behind the Search for “The Lost City of Z”

A story of Victorian-age madness and exploration in the South American jungle is coming to a theater near you

Construction on the Pentagon was completed in January 1943. With about 6.4 million square feet, it is still today the world’s largest low-rise office building.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Is the Pentagon a Pentagon?

Planners battled to ensure the building kept its unique shape

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

Trending Today

Smithsonian and Library of Congress Purchase Rare 1860s Photo of Harriet Tubman

Part of an album of 44 photos of prominent abolitionists, the unique photo was recently acquired at auction

Two large litters of cheetah cubs were born at the National Zoo's Front Royal, Virginia, facility—the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Future of Conservation

Two Litters of Adorable Cheetah Cubs Born in One Week

Smithsonian’s cheetah conservation program welcomes the springtime births after careful planning

An American aid worker in France writes a letter back home for a wounded soldier in 1918.

World War I Letters From Generals to Doughboys Voice the Sorrow of Fighting a War

An exhibition at the National Postal Museum displays a rare letter from General John Pershing

Snow at Fukagawa by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806), Japan, Edo period, ca. 1802–6

This Rare Display of a Japanese Triptych is Only Usurped by the Great Mysteries Surrounding It

Don’t miss this singular showing of Kitagawa Utamaro’s three works reunited at the Sackler Gallery

A poster by artist Edward Penfield promotes The Woman’s Land Army of America, created to encourage women to step into agricultural jobs after men were called into military service.

These Powerful Posters Persuaded Americans It Was Time to Join the Fight

The Smithsonian offers a rare opportunity to see an original iconic Uncle Sam “I Want You” poster, among others, of the World War I era

The Carnes arm had a complicated mechanism that controlled the movement of wrist and fingers.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How World War I Influenced the Evolution of Modern Medicine

Medical technology and roles during World War I are highlighted in a new display at the National Museum of American History

“I am now a member of the 95th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group,” Quentin Roosevelt proudly announced to his mother on June 25, 1918. “I’m on the front—cheers, oh cheers—and I’m very happy.”

World War I Letters Show Theodore Roosevelt’s Unbearable Grief After the Death of his Son

A rich trove of letters in the new book “My Fellow Soldiers” tells the stories of generals, doughboys, doctors and nurses, and those on the home front

A rare Eld's deer fawn was born at the National Zoo last fall.

Future of Conservation

Take a Walk on the Bright Side at the First Smithsonian Earth Optimism Summit

As an antidote to doom and gloom, a conference on Earth Day weekend, takes a look all the good that is being done

Smithsonian researchers found that otters that use tools aren't closely related.

New Research

Unlike Dolphins, Sea Otters That Use Tools Are Not Closely Related

Rock-bashing in otters is a very old behavior

April 25, 2017, marks the centennial birthday of Ella Fitzgerald (above, in a triple-exposure undated photograph).

Women Who Shaped History

Never Mind Her Stellar Jazz Career, Young Ella Fitzgerald Just Wanted to Dance

The preeminent vocalist didn’t actually start out as a singer

Chuck Berry's Eldorado Cadillac in the National Museum of African American History and Culture

How Chuck Berry’s Cadillac and His Guitar, Maybellene, Came to the Smithsonian

Curator Kevin Strait from the African American History Museum details the day he met the great musician

What Is Dark Matter and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Ruth Law, (circa 1915, at the controls of her Curtiss Model D Headless biplane) once said that wearing a seatbelt "was a bit cowardly."

Women Who Shaped History

This Ace Aviatrix Learned to Fly Even Though Orville Wright Refused to Teach Her

With flint and derring-do, the early 20th century pilot Ruth Law ruled American skies

The heroes of the movie Kong: Skull Island prepare to encounter the 104-foot-tall ape King Kong.

Science in the Movies

How Big Can a Land Animal Get?

King Kong’s biggest enemy isn’t humans—it’s the laws of physics

Andrew Altieri of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama conducts a survey where more than 90 percent of the coral reef has died due to hypoxia.

Coral Reefs Now Face Deep Water Dead Zones, As If Climate Change Were Not Enough

A Smithsonian scientist says there may be a greater prevalence of undocumented oxygen-starved deep coastal waters

Vessel (#2309) by June Schwarcz, 2006, electroplated copper foil and enamel, gold plated

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Artist June Schwarcz Electroplated and Sandblasted Her Way Into Art Museums and Galleries

The Renwick hosts a 60-year career retrospective for the innovative California enamelist

The 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible was driven on stage for the big superstar tribute concert for Chuck Berry in the 1987 film Hail! Hail!

The Wild Rock and Roller Chuck Berry Dies

In 2012, Berry donated his red Eldorado Cadillac to the Smithsonian

The male mountain gorilla Limbo (left) and Green Lady, a female from the same species, are on view in the exhibition, "Objects of Wonder," at the Natural History Museum.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Dian Fossey’s Gorilla Skulls Are Scientific Treasures and a Symbol of Her Fight

At a new Smithsonian exhibition, the skulls of “Limbo” and “Green Lady” have a story to tell

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