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Measuring human skulls in physical anthropology

When Museums Rushed to Fill Their Rooms With Bones

In part fed by discredited and racist theories about race, scientists and amateurs alike looked to human remains to learn more about themselves

A reconstruction of the horse-sized tyrannosaur Timurlengia euotica, named for the charismatic Central Asian ruler Tamerlane, shows the species' long, slender legs, large head and teeth built sharp like a steak knife.

The Discovery of a Tiny Tyrannosaur Adds New Insight Into the Origins of T. Rex

The horse-sized dino species had smarts and a keen sense of smell, setting the stage for the evolution of the enormous predator

Harriet Tubman's Hymnal

Breaking Ground

What Makes the Underground Railroad Such a Rich Opportunity for Storytelling

On television and in the new Smithsonian museum, the path to freedom comes alive

Nancy Reagan by Aaron Shikler, essence of oil on paper, 1984–85.

How Nancy Reagan Made Her Mark on the White House

A curator at the American History Museum reflects on the First Lady’s impact on Washington

Bison sculpture by Emily White, Big Timber Lodge

How to Maintain Your Garden Zen at the Philadelphia Flower Show

A Smithsonian gardener with a long history of touring the show gives tips

Jefferson, Washington and Hamilton came together during Washington’s tenure as president and worked, fought, compromised—and wrote—in the struggle to establish a nation.

The Laptops That Powered the American Revolution

Always on the go, the Founding Fathers waged their war of words from the mahogany mobile devices of their time

Explore the Magnificent and Mysterious Surface of the Moon in Pictures

At the National Air and Space Museum, beautiful images show how the moon’s pockmarked surface is rife with mystery

Left to Right: Mitch Pileggi, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and William B. Davis—there has been no official announcement about whether an 11th season will pick up where the recent cliffhanger left off.

I Want to Believe (In the Science of “The X-Files”)

In some scenes, the television show is theater of the absurd, but in others, you can bet the science is solid with biologist Anne Simon on the job

Jesse Owens' coach at Ohio State, Larry Snyder, taught Owens to crouch more compactly at the starting line so that he could get a faster start.

Breaking Ground

A Sports Curator at the Smithsonian Unpacks the Myths and Reality in the Film “Race”

Jesse Owens is best known for his performance at the 1936 Berlin Games, but curator Damion Thomas says there is more to the story

The new Broadway hit revival of Fiddler on the Roof deliberately breaks with tradition in its opening and closing scenes.

History of Now

The Broadway Revival of “Fiddler” Offers a Profound Reaction to Today’s Refugee Crisis

Popular musicals on Broadway are regarded as escapist, but the worldwide issue of migration and displacement is inescapable

Actor Kevin Spacey arrived at the National Portrait Gallery in character as President Frank Underwood for a "presidential" portrait unveiling.

Francis J. Underwood’s Presidential Portrait Goes On View at the Smithsonian

A portrait of actor Kevin Spacey, in his Netflix role as the world’s most devious president, proves that fiction is as good as real life

A biocube is placed in Central Park's Hallett Nature Sanctuary in New York City.

You’d Be Astounded to Learn How Much Wildlife Can Fit Into One Cubic Foot

A whole new world opens up when you try to catalog every visible creature that moves in and out of a biocube set down on either land or in water

In the installation of Smell, The Beauty of Decay: SmellScape Central Park, designed by Sissel Tolaas, visitors touch the wall that has been painted with the special paint, releasing the scent.

Can Smell Be a Work of Art?

Scent artist Sissel Tolaas uses chemistry to explore the malodorous, yet beautiful, scent of decay in Central Park

Campaign collections include boxes of Macaroni and Cheese for both parties.

What Ten Artifacts from the Smithsonian Collections Can Tell Us About the Crazy History of American Politics

A massive collection of campaign materials dating from 1789 reveals that little has changed in how America shows its affection for their candidate

A 19th-century illustration depicts a scene off the coast of Peru, where bird poop, or guano, was harvested as a valuable agricultural fertilizer.

How the Gold Rush Led to Real Riches in Bird Poop

The ships carrying gold miners to California found a way to strike it rich on the way back with their holds full of guano

Steve Wozniak’s Apple I Booted Up a Tech Revolution

With only a circuit board, keyboard and tiny, blurry monitor, the circa 1975 computer looks crude by today’s standards

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Is the Earthworm Native to the United States and More Questions From Readers

You asked, we answered

The statue of Abu Bint Deimun, from third century B.C. Hatra, Iraq. A global network of preservationists are teaming up to protect the world’s antiquities.

Crash Courses Prepare Art Conservators for Catastrophic Disasters

Smithsonian experts train a brave band of conservators in northern Iraq to brace buildings and rescue artifacts in a hurry

New Graphic Novel Writes the Wright Brothers’ Sister Back Into History

Four students journey back to the birth of aviation in ‘The Wrong Wrights’

The mausoleum of Cyrus in a cyanotype from a glass plate negative from the papers of Ernst Herzfeld.

How a German Archaeologist Rediscovered in Iran the Tomb of Cyrus

Lost for centuries, the royal capital of the Achaemenid Empire was finally confirmed by Ernst Herzfeld

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