Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

At the Smithsonian

Fred Savage (right) and Josh Saviano (left) of "The Wonder Years" reunited at the American History Museum on December 2, 2014 to donate items, including the New York Jets jacket shown here in a publicity photo from around 1988.

Fred Savage and “The Wonder Years” Cast Reflect on Why Their Show Still Matters

The cast and crew of “The Wonder Years” reunited at the American History Museum today to donate costumes and other artifacts

Paleontologist Jack Horner served as scientific adviser on all of the films and is believed to have inspired the character of Dr. Alan Grant. Here, Horner in 1998.

The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer

We spoke with the paleontologist, who was an adviser on the Jurassic Park movies, about the science behind the franchise

Those who see Needle Tower often wonder how, with barely 14 inches of contact with the ground, the 60-foot tower stays upright.

How Does the Hirshhorn’s 60-Foot “Needle Tower” Stay Upright In A Stiff Wind?

In the 1960s, when artist Kenneth Snelson mingled architectural innovation with abstraction, the result was heavenly

5 Umezebi Street, New Haven, Enugu, 2012

Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Intimate Work Straddles Mediums And Oceans

The young Nigerian-American artist wins one of the Smithsonian’s most prestigious awards.

2014 Holiday Gift Guide

Best Gifts of 2014 for Nature Lovers

Smithsonian editors, gardeners and scientists offer ideas to give the gifts that keep wildlife thriving

Raymond C. Yazzie, 2012. Coral, Lone Mountain and Orvil Jack turquoise, opal, sugilite, 14-karat gold. Collection of Janice Moody.

Why is Turquoise Becoming Rarer and More Valuable Than Diamonds?

With depleting mines, turquoise, the most sacred stone to the Navajo, has become increasingly rare.

"The Traveler's Eye: Scenes from Asia," at the Sackler Gallery through May 2015, features more than 100 mementos from travels around the Asian continent. This postcard is from early-20th-century China.

Before Instagram, Memorializing Asia’s Most Traveled Roads

From Moroccan postcards to Japanese scrolls, the Sackler Gallery explores five centuries of travel around the Asian continent

Sam and the Perfect World by David Lenz, 2005

Here’s What It Takes To Win the Smithsonian’s Boochever Portrait Competition

Curator Dorothy Moss gives a hint at what the jurors might be thinking in this high-stakes competition

From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center

Why the SR-71 Blackbird is the Epitome of Cold War Spycraft

The sleek and shadowy plane still commands awe 50 years after its first test flight

What’s the Difference Between Streets and Avenues and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

National Museum of Natural History physical anthropologists Lucille St. Hoyme, J. Lawrence Angel and Thomas Dale Stewart hold Hans Langseth's beard upon its arrival to the Smithsonian in 1967.

The World’s Longest Beard Is One Of The Smithsonian’s Strangest Artifacts

Kept in storage at the National Museum of Natural History, the world’s longest beard measures over 17 feet in length

One of the original Regency TR-1 models resides in the Smithsonian collections.

How the Transistor Radio with Music for Your Pocket Fueled a Teenage Social Revolution

In a burst of post World War II innovation, the Regency TR-1 transistor radio became the new “It” gift for the holiday season

Vice President Al Gore, with President George Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney

How the Office of the Vice Presidency Evolved from Nothing to Something

Vice President John Adams once said “In this I am nothing, But I may be everything.” A new book tells how the office has moved from irrelevance to power

Some of Mrs. Jerry Davis' students saved letters from their Vietnam War pen pals, which they donated to the American History Museum on November 14.

Vietnam War Vets Reconnect With Their 1960s Pen Pals For a Museum Donation

Decades after they sat in Mrs. Davis’ fourth grade class, former students donated Vietnam War materials to the American History Museum

Muhammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln, and Georgia O'Keeffe are among the Americans listed

Meet the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time

A new, special issue of Smithsonian magazine attempts the impossible: to list out the most significant people in United States history

View of the Castle and the Haupt Garden from Independence Ave.

Smithsonian Announces BIG Plans for Campus Redesign

Led by the innovative vision of Bjarke Ingels, the Smithsonian unveils a 20-year plan for redesigning its south campus

An algae bloom off the coast of Maryland. Such blooms help create low-oxygen areas called dead zones as the algae respire or decompose.

Anthropocene

Ocean Dead Zones Are Getting Worse Globally Due to Climate Change

Warmer waters and other factors will cause nearly all areas of low oxygen to grow by the end of the century

Matthew McConaughey on a stark landscape. The real star of the film, says Lewis, are the panoramic vistas.

Why “Interstellar” Belongs in the Pantheon of the Best “Realistic” Science Fiction Films

The film follows a well-trodden path, says Smithsonian space historian Cathleen Lewis, who gives it a thumbs up

Fred Tomaselli, Migrant Fruit Thugs, 2006.

Art Meets Science

The Threatened Birds in These Artworks Might One Day Go the Way of the Dodo

The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition explores mankind’s relationship to birds and the natural world

This past weekend an innovation festival at the National Air and Space Museum celebrated inventions from across the United States.

The Innovative Spirit - OLD

Here’s What You Missed at the Smithsonian Innovation Festival

Inventors and museum staff alike inspired the crowd to see the world through the prism of innovation

Page 144 of 276