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The portal currently features 613,458 entries documenting the people, events and places involved in the transatlantic slave trade.

Who Were America’s Enslaved? A New Database Humanizes the Names Behind the Numbers

The public website draws connections between existing datasets to piece together fragmentary narratives

Since the start of the pandemic, people all over the world have increased their time spent with nature.

Smithsonian Voices

Try These Tips from Smithsonian Educators to Make the Outdoors a Curiosity-Sparking Classroom

Make the Outdoors a Curiosity-Sparking Classroom

Lost Animals: Extinct, Endangered and Rediscovered Species by John Whitfield is just out from Smithsonian Books.

Ten Exquisite Creatures That Once Roamed the Earth

From Smithsonian Books, comes a magnificent tome to highlight evolution’s greatest hits

Volunteers with the Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund distribute food and other essential supplies to isolated communities and farmsteads on Navajo Nation and Hopi lands. As part of the Smithsonian's virtual program 24 Hours in a Time of Change, Shandiin Herrera (Diné)—seated on the left, wearing a Duke University sweatshirt—describes how this grassroots response to the COVID-19 pandemic came together last March and shares her experiences as the fund's volunteer coordinator in Monument Valley, Utah.

Smithsonian Voices

Smithsonian Wants Your 2020 Stories

This Friday, December 11, 2020, ten Smithsonian museums and cultural centers offer a moment for reflection and sharing

John Glenn by Henry C. Caselli, Jr., 1998 is in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Why John Glenn Couldn’t Escape the Hero Label

A new book explores the man who would serve his country as a fighter pilot, an astronaut and a U.S. Senator

U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound in this airplane, the Bell X-1, on October 14, 1947. The aircraft is currently housed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

Remember Chuck Yeager by Exploring the Plane He Flew to Break the Sound Barrier

In 1947, the pilot—who died Monday at age 97—made history by flying the Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound

Chuck Yeager with Bell X-1.

Smithsonian Voices

A Smithsonian Curator Reflects on Chuck Yeager, a Pilot With the ‘Right Stuff’

Seventy-nine years to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager is dead at the age of 97

Artist J. Howard Miller produced this work-incentive poster for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. Though displayed only briefly in Westinghouse factories, the poster in later year has become one of the most famous icons of World War II.

Women Who Shaped History

Why Rosie the Riveter Continues to Endure

Forever changing the nation, the women who worked in American factories during the war have been collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal

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Smithsonian Voices

Rare Iridescent Snake Discovered in Vietnam

The discovery could help scientists piece together new information about snake evolution.

Gift Guides

The Best Books of 2020

In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 80 titles released this year

The female giant panda Mei Xiang (pronounced may-SHONG) and male Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN), will return to China at the end of 2023 at the relatively elder panda ages of 25 and 26, respectively.

Smithsonian’s Giant Pandas Will Continue to Cavort for Three More Years

A new agreement ensures that the Zoo’s beloved animals and the new cub can stay through 2023

Roosevelt exchanged lively correspondence with all kinds of people for much of his life.

Library of Congress Seeks Volunteers to Transcribe Letters to Theodore Roosevelt

The campaign is part of a broader crowdsourcing effort aimed at making archival materials more accessible to the public

Tasi is a 4-year-old Guam rail and a marvel, considering that just a few decades ago his species nearly disappeared.

Smithsonian Voices

Meet Tasi, a Little Bird with a Big Purpose

A 4-year-old Guam rail is a marvel, considering that just a few decades ago his species nearly disappeared

The Smithsonian Science Education Center recently launched "Pick Your Plate! Guía Global de Nutrición!"

Smithsonian Voices

Travel Around the World With a New Smithsonian Global Guide to Nutrition

Students are invited to virtually travel and eat their way across the world

Two-time medalist Rafer Johnson donated the metal torch he used to light the Olympic Flame at the Los Angeles games in 1984 to the National Museum for African American of History and Culture.

Breaking Ground

Olympic Decathlon Medalist Rafer Johnson Dies at 86

He was the first African American athlete to light the cauldron that burns during the Games

The books Smithsonian experts recommend this year are, in a word, relevant.

Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2020

This wide-ranging list offers much-needed context for the issues at the forefront of the national conversation

A student in Evansville, Wisconsin explores a 3D model of a 19th century life mask of President Abraham Lincoln from the National Portrait Gallery’s collections in his school’s computer lab in 2014.

Smithsonian Voices

The Smithsonian’s Evolving Role as the Nation’s Knowledge Partner

Museum education has had a long, ever evolving history at the Smithsonian that can be found at the heart of its mission today

Alex Guarnaschelli talks about cooking with family connections in a live Smithsonian Associates program streaming Dec. 8.

Smithsonian Voices

Cooking with Alex Guarnaschelli and 25 Other Smithsonian Associates Programs Streaming in December

Multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours produced by the world’s largest museum-based educational program.

A new book Incredible Archaeology: Inspiring Places From Our Human Past, out this month from Smithsonian Books, explores some of the world's most spectacular ancient wonders.

Twelve Ancient and Enduring Places Around the World

From Smithsonian Books, towering temples, dramatic works of art and early settlements that have stood the test of time

Papahānaumokuākea fosters reefs inhabited solely by species found nowhere else in the world, the only known marine area where all species are endemic.

Why National Marine Sanctuaries Are Another of America’s Best Ideas

Chart the waters of America’s 14 aquatic sanctuaries in this new offering from Smithsonian Books

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