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A kaleidoscope of Christmas lights creates a satisfying spectacle for the eyes.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

All Is Bright With These 15 Cheery Christmas Photos

Celebrate the holiday season with festive shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Plov is a dish made of rice, beef or lamb, oil or animal fat, carrots (usually cut into matchsticks), and onions, cooked with cumin and salt in a large pot.

Rich or Poor, Uzbeks Eat Plov

The beloved medley of rice and meat is the national dish of Uzbekistan

Just before sunset, the peaks of Gokyo Ri in Sagarmatha National Park peek through the clouds.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Soar Through the Himalayas With These 15 Breathtaking Photos of Nepal

Travel vicariously to one of the world’s most picturesque locales

The traveling exhibition "Simone Leigh" is now on view at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden through March 3, 2024, before traveling to Los Angeles next summer (above: the artist in 2021).

The World Is Running to Catch Up With Simone Leigh

The celebrated artist’s crusading works, now on view at the Hirshhorn Museum, upend the stereotypes too often foisted on Black women

This year's top titles include The Last Ride of the Pony Express, Elixir, Airplane Mode, and more.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2023

Take a trip without leaving home with these adventurous reads from this year

The northern lights cast an eerie glow upon an abandoned, wrecked airplane.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Photos Capture the Beauty of the Northern Lights

Spiking solar activity could mean more chances to see the awesome aurora borealis

Hoyma, which means “home” in Syðrugøta’s local dialect of Faroese, has featured 20 concerts by ten different artists who set up in the living rooms of ten different family homes in Syðrugøta.  

Northern Europe and the British Isles

Hoyma Is Bringing Music Home in the Faroe Islands

For one fall night, it is tradition for a handful of houses in Sydrugota, on the island of Eysturoy, to open their doors and host intimate concerts

This turkey, with his impressive wattle and snood, has nothing to fear during the Thanksgiving holiday. He gives thanks every November that he lives the secure life of a beloved pet.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Give Thanks for These 15 Photos Celebrating Thanksgiving

Gather together and commemorate the holiday of gratitude

Dividing the estimated length of 240,000 miles of stone wall by the geographic area of the New England heartland yields about six linear miles of stone per square mile of land.

How Stone Walls Became a Signature Landform of New England

Originally built as barriers between fields and farms, the region’s abandoned farmstead walls have since become the binding threads of its cultural fabric

In recent years, the European perch (Perca fluviatilis) population has been steadily declining due to the combined impact of climate change, pollution and overfishing.

Italian Divers Revive Centuries-Old Tradition to Help Save European Perch

Nurseries built from bundles of tree branches may help conserve the freshwater fish in the age of climate change

The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents has been drawing commercial perfumers with a nose for aromas, gardeners, cooks and others since 2017.

This California Museum Is Home to Hundreds of Nature’s Scents

Perfumer Mandy Aftel’s spellbinding collection of rare essences and artifacts is on display at the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley

The green gas emanating from this small jack-o’-lantern alludes to the spread of Covid-19. Fittingly, the photographer’s subject dons a beaked mask based on the ones worn by physicians treating bubonic plague victims in 17th-century Europe.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Treat Yourself to 15 Eerie Images Celebrating Halloween

These highlights from the Smithsonian Photo Contest are sure to scare up some smiles

The annual Woolly Worm Festival is a fiercely popular local event that’s been going on for nearly half a century.

Groundhogs Are Old News. In This Tiny Town, Caterpillars Predict the Weather

Thousands of people flocked to Banner Elk, North Carolina, this year to watch the nation’s biggest woolly worm caterpillar race

Green tea's enduring popularity is reflected in the "teacup without handle" emoji (left). The "hot beverage" emoji (right) takes its cue from another tea tradition: black tea.

What Emoji Tell Us About the History of Tea

From ancient China to 20th-century America, the aromatic beverage has undergone a dramatic evolution

Architect William Van Alen’s plans for the building’s formidable steel helmet grew taller and more ambitious over time.

The Precarious History of New York’s Iconic Chrysler Building

Towering ambitions built the most charming skyscraper in America

John Akomfrah at his London studio, 2016

Artist John Akomfrah Is Having a Moment

The works of the recently knighted filmmaker address contemporary issues in two different Smithsonian museums

The asymmetrical angles of the roof of this old, abandoned barn complement the scenic rolling hills surrounding it.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These Beautiful Barns Tell the Story of the United States

In 1935, the nation was home to 6.8 million farms, and most had at least one barn. By 2007, only about 650,000 of these structures remained.

Sphere lights up during its grand opening on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The Sphere Is Here. Are We Ready for More High-Tech Architecture?

The new Las Vegas performance venue challenges musicians and visual artists to produce content for its demanding format

Taíno cacique Francisco Ramírez Rojas beats a palm frond to drive away bad spirits at a seaside ceremony of thanksgiving. A three-sided idol known as La Muñequina is thought to represent the Taíno belief that spirits of the dead are present among the living.

Who Were the Taíno, the Original Inhabitants of Columbus’ Island Colonies?

The Native people of Hispaniola were long believed to have died out. But a journalist’s search for their descendants turned up surprising results

A few small structures and trees dot the Lessinia Plateau, where sunlight casts shadows that accentuate the hilly terrain.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Photos Capture the Beauty of Italy

Scenes from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest prove there’s always more to love about the bel paese

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