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Live oaks in Beaufort, South Carolina, photographed using an old-fashioned wet-plate process

The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again

The rocky beach in Wrangell, Alaska, is decorated with more than 40 petroglyphs.

Alaska

The Mystery of This Petroglyph-Covered Alaskan Beach

The 8,000-year-old rock carvings were likely created by the Tlingit

Salmon spread is a common snack across Alaska.

Alaska

Salmon Spread Might Just Be the Most Alaskan Food

The smoky snack captures the state’s love for both salmon and preserved foods

“Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism and Popular Culture,” (above: Nina Simone by G. Marshall Wilson, 1959) is on view at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture through November 2023.

Movements Capturing the Spiritual Roots of Black Culture

A new exhibition of rarely seen images and artifacts chronicles the African American religious experience

The sun sets over the Susquehanna River in northern Pennsylvania.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

In a series of articles, <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine highlights all that draws our eyes to our nation's fresh and coastal waters

More than 3,000 lunchboxes are on display inside the World&#39;s Largest Lunchbox Museum.

A Nostalgic Trip Awaits at the World's Largest Lunchbox Museum

Take a journey back to your elementary school cafeteria with a visit to the Georgia outpost

Replicating the last leg of French explorer Alexandra David-N&eacute;el&rsquo;s journey in the early 1900s, Elise Wortley hiked 108 miles&nbsp;from Lachen, in Sikkim, India, to Kanchenjunga base camp in 2017.

Adventurer Elise Wortley Recreates the Journeys of Famous Female Explorers

For historical accuracy, the 33-year-old Brit wears only the cotton dresses, yak wool coats and hobnail boots that her predecessors would have had

Alaska Railroad&#39;s main line stretches 470 miles between Seward and Fairbanks.

Alaska

For 100 Years, the Alaska Railroad Has Been a Critical Artery Pumping Passengers and Freight Through the State

Along with celebrations, the centennial offers a chance to consider the effects the rail system has had on the state and its people

The Nenana Ice Classic tripod is on display alongside the Tanana River and the Alaska Railroad tracks, next to the community &quot;watchtower&quot; building. The tripod will be raised on the ice of the Tanana River on March 5, 2023.

Alaska

The River That's Kept Alaska Guessing for More Than a Century

The Nenana Ice Classic, started in 1917, is a high-stakes guessing game over the date, hour and minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River

One standout feature of the renovated Bird House at the Smithsonian&#39;s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is the chance for close-up, interactive experiences (above: a cedar waxwing).

The Wonderful World of Birds

Experience the Wonder of Migration at the National Zoo’s New Bird House

Following a six-year renovation, the revamped exhibition will open March 13 with three indoor aviaries

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (center) leads his Mardi Gras Indian tribe, the Golden Eagles, on Super Sunday.

What You Should Know About the Mardi Gras Indians

For more than a century, New Orleans' Black residents have donned Native-inspired attire to celebrate Carnival

Paczki made by Chicago bakery Delightful Pastries

What Is Paczki Day?

The Fat Tuesday tradition centered around eating fried, filled Polish pastries is celebrated across the Midwest, but especially in Chicago

Steps lead to one of the pools that Louise du Pont Crowninshield had built among the remains of the former powder mill.

An Abandoned, Industrial Ruin Bursts With New Life in Delaware

Thanks to a few horticulturalists with an eye for history, a garden lost to time peeks out from the creeping vines

Mobile, Alabama is considered by many to be the birthplace of Mardi Gras.

The Best Mardi Gras Parades Beyond New Orleans

You may think of the “Big Easy” on Fat Tuesday, but other towns throughout Louisiana and the wider Gulf Coast play host to raucous celebrations

Left, Girl with Bicycle, in the Coombe, Dublin, 1966. The Photo Museum Ireland says Hofer&rsquo;s work from her Dublin visit captures Ireland at a cultural turning point. Right, Queensboro Bridge, New York, 1964. &ldquo;Hofer wanted to get under the skin of a city, to picture the essential characteristics of a place and its people,&rdquo; says exhibition co-curator April Watson.

Photographer Evelyn Hofer’s Timeless Portraits Get a Second Look

Taken a half-century ago, her images strike a contemporary pose

Musk ox calves vie for grass on a farm near Palmer, Alaska.

Alaska

Author Jan Brett Pans for Creative Gold in Alaska

Trips to the 49th state inspired the characters in the writer-illustrator's latest children’s book "Cozy in Love"

Skeletons adorn the walls and ceilings of the crypt, like 3D paintings.

Decorated With 4,000 Skeletons, This Roman Church Will Have You Pondering Your Own Mortality

The bones of long-deceased Capuchin friars are painstakingly displayed in a crypt beneath the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

The door of the 1,900-square-foot Nantucket fallout shelter

Untold Stories of American History

Inside JFK's Secret Doomsday Bunker

The president's Nantucket nuclear fallout shelter could become a National Historic Landmark—but efforts to preserve its history have stalled

Pablo Picasso in 1971

Follow Pablo Picasso's Footsteps Through Spain

A full slate of events honors the painter's life in timing with the 50th anniversary of his death

The installation Create to Free Yourselves: Abraham Lincoln and the History of Freeing Slaves in America&nbsp;by Georges Ad&eacute;agbo (above) will be on view at President Lincoln&rsquo;s Cottage in Washington, D.C. through February 15. ​​

At Abraham Lincoln's Cottage, Artist Georges Adéagbo Pays Homage to the Great Emancipator

The award-winning Beninese artist unveils a work dedicated to the president’s “generosity of heart”

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Lighthouse of Chania was a Beacon for Greek Ships

The Lighthouse of Chania was a Beacon for Greek Ships

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'The Impeller is a Vital Component on this Giant Ship

The Impeller is a Vital Component on this Giant Ship

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Cruise Ship Faces Dangerous Malfunction as it Approaches Port

A Cruise Ship Faces Dangerous Malfunction as it Approaches Port

Photo of the day

I was photographing tree swallows going in and out of their wooden tree houses that had lined a country road. I noticed that they were using feathers to line their nests in the bird houses. They seemed to show off their prized feathers to the other tree swallows. The bird with the feather would release the feather from its beak and as it floated toward the ground, another tree swallow would capture it and he would then bring it to his birdhouse! They were playing a game of tag with the feathers. They got their feathers from a farm on the property. Tree Swallow & Feather