Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

At the Smithsonian

Cattleya aurantiaca

Orchidelirium, an Obsession with Orchids, Has Lasted for Centuries

The once-elusive flower’s striking beauty has inspired collectors and scientists to make it more accessible

An aerial view shows the location of the culture and university district, a 4.5-acre triangular site, near the London Aquatics Centre, the former Olympic Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture and observation tower.

The Smithsonian May Go for the Gold, Opening a Venue at London’s Olympic Grounds

The Smithsonian Regents give museum officials the thumbs-up to explore opening a new gallery in London and the mayor there says, “Welcome to our city”

Graphophone, recorded in October 1881. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy. I am a graphophone and my mother was a phonograph." Voice of Alexander Graham Bell's father.

Until Now, There Was No Play Button for the Recordings Bell and Edison Made in their Lab

An exhibition on sound kicks off the American History Museum’s Year of Innovation, enabling visitors to hear some of the earliest recordings

The chart is less a literal representation of the sea, but more an abstract illustration of the ways that ocean swells interact with land.

The Innovative Spirit - OLD

How Sticks and Shell Charts Became a Sophisticated System for Navigation

Sailors navigating with sextant, compass and maps found in the Marshall Islands that curved sticks and cowry shells were far more sophisticated

Monarch Butterflies, Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary, Angangueo, Michoacan, Mexico

Where to See Thousands of Monarch Butterflies

The species is being reviewed for potential addition to the Endangered Species list. Can tourism help save the butterfly?

An 1862 Alexander Gardner photograph shows the bodies of dead Confederate artillerymen at Antietam.

Vivid Images of Civil War Casualties Inspire a Scholar’s Inner Muse

Alexander Gardner’s photography, a record of sacrifice and devastating loss, prompts a new creativity from the show’s curator

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Why Malcolm X Still Speaks Truth to Power

More than 50 years after his death, Malcolm X remains a towering figure whose passionate writings have enduring resonance

Do Wolves Wag Their Tails Like Dogs and More Questions From Our Readers

Other questions ask if DNA testing has led to the redesignation of species

"One of the most important contributions" of the film, says Lonnie Bunch, "is the humanization of Dr. King," as portrayed by David Oyelowo.

Breaking Ground

The Director of the African American History Museum Weighs in on ‘Selma’

A film with black history at its core and created by African Americans opens up a “national conversation”

The first official exhibition exclusively of Star Wars costumes, "Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of Costume," opens at Seattle's EMP Museum on January 31, 2015.

Inside the Three-Decade Evolution of “Star Wars” Costumes

A Smithsonian traveling exhibition offers an unprecedented glimpse at costumes from a galaxy far, far away

On January 14, museum staff lowered the historic "Spirit of St. Louis" to the ground floor.

Wheels Down. Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” Has Landed

The historic aircraft—first to fly nonstop from New York to Paris—is lowered to the ground inside the Air and Space Museum

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery pits Holmes against a terrifying monster.

There is Nothing Elementary About a New Sherlock Holmes Adaptation

Tony-award, winning playwright Ken Ludwig says he’s injecting Indiana Jones cinematic adventure into the theatrical experience

Bearing witness to the historic march and the freedom songs sung along the way, Carl Benkert carried a large tape recorder hidden from the police and angry whites.

Listen to the Freedom Songs Recorded During the March From Selma to Montgomery

When MLK called for people to come to Selma, Detroit’s Carl Benkert arrived with his tape recorder, making the indelible album “Freedom Songs”

United States Internal Revenue Service "bottle stamp"

Museums Are Now Able to Digitize Thousands of Artifacts in Just Hours

At the American History Museum, a collection of rarely seen historic currency proofs are being made ready for a public debut

The dark black lacquered center of the Ming Dynasty tray, surrounded by an elegant basket weave design, made it seem almost modern.

How Curators Found a Ghostly Image Lurking Beneath Layers of Lacquer

Work in the conservation lab revealed there was more to this Ming Dynasty tray than meets the eye

An Asian tiger mosquito in action.

New Research

Could GM Mosquitoes Pave the Way for a Tropical Virus to Spread?

Modified insects designed to stop dengue fever could make it easier for another disease-carrying species to take root

Dale A. Gardner, Space Shuttle Mission 51-A, George D. Guzzi Jr. This watercolor shows Dale Gardner tethered to the exterior of Space Shuttle Discovery. During that mission, Gardner and Joseph Allen donned jet-propelled maneuvering units on spacewalks to recover two malfunctioning satellites.

Space Exploration Would Be Nothing If We Didn’t Know How to Spacewalk

The Air and Space Museum brings the privileged experience to the public in an exhibit that chronicles 50 years of technology

This artist's depiction shows a gas giant planet akin to Jupiter rising over an alien ocean.

New Super-Earths Double the Number of Life-Friendly Worlds

Three studies looking at small, rocky planets are helping astronomers figure out how common worlds like ours are in the galaxy

Tony Award winner Geoffrey Holder's ingenious design used a skillet to complete the Tin Man’s hat in the 1975 Broadway production of The Wiz.

Breaking Ground

The Tin Man’s Hat From “The Wiz” Offers Just a Hint of the Musical’s Beating Heart

When the all-black musical production opened on Broadway 40 years ago, critics scoffed, but audiences embraced it

Our Answers to the Most Burning Questions of 2014

Here are the ten most popular installments of “Ask Smithsonian” this year

Page 142 of 276