Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

At the Smithsonian

None

This Could Be the Oldest Flowering Plant Ever Found in North America

A new look at Smithsonian’s fossil collection turned up a remarkably ancient flowering plant—scientists think it’s at least 115 million years old

This menorah made by Manfred Anson (1922-2012), an immigrant to the United States celebrates American and Jewish traditions.

This One-of-a-Kind Menorah Represents the True Spirit of Thanksgivukkah

A Hanukkah tradition melds with an icon of Americana

The Peacock Room Comes to America: Exhibiting Freer’s Bibles

The Man Who Viewed the Bible as Art

The Washington Codex, now on display at the Freer gallery, became one of the earliest chapters in Charles Freer’s appreciation of beauty and aesthetics

Fishing net at Alaska’s Gore Point

Art Meets Science

Artists Join Scientists on an Expedition to Collect Marine Debris

Now, they are creating beautiful works from the trash they gathered on the 450-nautical-mile journey in the Gulf of Alaska

Elizabeth Mitchell’s new album for Smithsonian Folkways, The Sounding Joy, features new renditions of traditional American Christmas carols.

Revamp Your Christmas Playlist with These Unsung American Carols

Smithsonian Folkways’ “The Sounding Joy” features traditional Christmas tunes sung by folk legends Peggy Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne and more

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, 1941

The Day Winston Churchill Lost His Cigar

Thanks to a gift of over 100 photographs, the National Portrait Gallery celebrates Yousuf Karsh’s iconic photography with an installation of 27 portraits

In this still from Hindoo Fakir (1902), the magician levitates his assistant.

Early Films (Including One by Thomas Edison) Made Yoga Look Like Magic

The Sackler Gallery exhibit shows how yoga went from fakery to fitness in the West

This train car, used for much of the early 20th-century as a segregated passenger car through the southern United States, will be installed Sunday on the National Mall—the first artifact for the future National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Installing an Artifact in a Museum That Hasn’t Even Been Built Yet

This weekend, two objects are being installed in the National Museum of African American History and Culture—more than a year before it’s set to open

Rene Redzepi, chef/owner of Noma in Copenhagen, is one of the world’s most influential chefs.

Noma Chef Rene Redzepi on Creativity, Diversity in the Kitchen, and that Time Magazine Story

Before he talks at the Smithsonian about his new book, the famed chef identifies who he sees as the goddesses of food

None

Watch: The World’s 3D Experts Converge at the Smithsonian X 3D Conference

At the Smithsonian X 3D Conference, pioneers in 3D scanning and printing technology discuss how digitization will shape the future of the Smithsonian

None

These New 3D Models Put the Smithsonian’s Most Renowned Items in Your Hands

Models of the Wright Flyer, the Wooly Mammoth and 19 other items are available in a new web-based viewer and printable in 3D

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave”

The Director of the African-American History and Culture Museum on What Makes “12 Years a Slave” a Powerful Film

Lonnie Bunch offers his response to the stunning movie, a favorite for the Best Picture Oscar

A microscope used in the development of Humulin, the first commercial product created via genetic modification. It was recently donated to the American History Museum.

A History of Biotechnology in Seven Objects

Newly donated items at the American History Museum tell the story of the birth of genetic engineering

None

Rediscovering the American Art of Baskets

“A Measure of the Earth: A Cole-Ware Collection of American Baskets” opens at Renwick Gallery

None

The Spirit of St. Louis’ Amazing Journey

A daring flight shrank the world and created the first global celebrity

NPR’s Andy Carvin has donated the iPhone he used during the Arab Spring to the American History Museum.

The Phone That Helped Andy Carvin Report the Arab Spring is Now in the Smithsonian

The NPR reporter talks about how he was able to factcheck tweets amid the rush of information in 2011

None

Last Day! Vote to Name the National Zoo’s Panda Cub

It is Chinese tradition to celebrate the name of a new life on the 100th day, and we need your help picking the name!

The Dinosaur Hall was originally called the “Hall of Extinct Monsters” (seen here in a photograph from the 1930s) when the Natural History Museum opened in 1910.

About Deep Time: A Preview of the Natural History Museum’s Fossil Hall Renovation

The new Deep Time Hall will connect paleontology to modern life

What is the Origin of Hollywood’s Red Carpet?

Curator Amy Henderson has rolled out the red carpet to a host of America’s dancing superstars in a new show at the Portrait Gallery

None

How TV’s “Person of Interest” Helps Us Understand the Surveillance Society

The creative minds behind the show and The Dark Knight talk about Americans’ perception of privacy

Page 159 of 278