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What Key West’s Art Scene Reveals About America’s Creative Spirit

At the edge of the United States, a sun-drenched island has been quietly fueling one of the country’s most distinctive creative scenes

A festivalgoer shows a child how to "grunt" for earthworms.

In This Tiny Town in Florida’s Panhandle, Fishermen Are Hooked on ‘Worm Grunting,’ and the Worms Are Still Taking the Bait

Luring earthworms out of the soil to use as live bait is a long-running tradition in Sopchoppy, home to the annual Worm Gruntin’ Festival

Now part of Dry Tortugas National Park, Fort Jefferson was built starting in 1846.

This Soldier Died of Yellow Fever During a Hurricane 153 Years Ago. Archaeologists Just Found His Grave

George Tupper, a 22-year-old from Massachusetts, was nearly a year into his military service when a yellow fever outbreak struck Fort Jefferson

Onlookers capture photos and videos as the Space Launch System rocket carrying the Artemis 2 crew’s Orion spacecraft Integrity lifts off at 6:35 p.m. Eastern time on April 1.

Spectators Flocked to the Artemis 2 Launch to Witness History Being Made. One Awed Viewer Called It ‘the Best Thing Ever’

Wednesday evening, a human mission to the moon lifted off for the first time in more than 50 years. These 13 photographs capture what it was like to experience the moment

A full-scale reconstruction of the 1738 Fort Mose was built in 2025 after decades of planning and archaeological research.

The Little-Known Story of the Enslaved Africans Who Found Freedom in the European Fight Over North America

Long before the famous Underground Railroad, those seeking freedom from slavery traveled on foot, by boat and under cover of darkness to Fort Mose in Spanish-controlled Florida

A similar situation unfolded in January 2023, when a burrowing owl (pictured here) was found aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas.

These Owls Took a Free Vacation on a Cruise Ship—but Soon They’ll Be Heading Home

A pair of burrowing owls made themselves at home aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Allure of the Seas in February, joining a trans-Atlantic sailing to Spain. They’ll return to the United States next month

Visitors look at Library of Us, an installation by British artist Es Devlin, during Miami Art Week.

This Artist Put 2,500 of Her Favorite Books in a Massive Rotating Library on Miami Beach

The 20-foot-tall installation, titled “Library of Us,” featured titles that hold personal meaning for British artist Es Devlin—who invited visitors to sit on nearby benches and read

Walter Reed Parpart Jr. (right), the radioman on one of the missing planes, poses in front of a Fort Lauderdale sign in 1945.

How the Disappearance of Flight 19, a Navy Squadron Lost in 1945, Fueled the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle

Eighty years ago, five planes vanished during a training run off the Florida coast. A patrol plane sent to search for the men went missing, too, giving rise to a host of conspiracy theories

Concrete Coral by artist Leandro Erlich features 22 concrete cars submerged roughly 20 feet deep about 780 feet off the coast of Miami Beach.

Art Meets Science

Miami Beach’s Newest Art Installation Is Underwater—and It Doubles as a Habitat for Fish and Coral

Crews lowered 22 concrete cars to the ocean floor to create “Concrete Coral,” an installation by artist Leandro Erlich. The piece is the first phase of a project called REEFLINE

A leatherback sea turtle hatchling climbs over sargassum on a beach. In a new study, researchers timed sea turtles to see how long it took them to reach the ocean when they had to traverse piles of seaweed.

Seaweed Piles Are Slowing Down Sea Turtle Hatchlings as They Make the Dangerous Trek to the Ocean

In Florida, large mats of sargassum are increasingly washing ashore, creating another obstacle for loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles, new research suggests

Wright designed the house to resemble the shape of a ship.

Florida’s Only Private Home Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Is Officially on the Market

Built in 1954, the Spring House is located on the outskirts of Tallahassee. The 2,040-square-foot residence is a rare example of the renowned architect’s hemicycle design

The remotely controlled robotic rabbits have been placed at various undisclosed locations in South Florida to see how well they fool the invasive snakes.

‘Robo-Bunnies’ Are the Newest Weapon in the Fight Against Invasive Burmese Pythons in Florida

Scientists are experimenting with robotic rabbits in hopes of luring the destructive snakes out of hiding so they can be euthanized

Formosan termites (Coptotermes formosanus) are among two invasive termite species that are interbreeding in South Florida.

Two Invasive Termites Are Interbreeding in Florida, Raising Concerns That the Hybrid Pests Could Spread Around the World

Previous research found that Asian and Formosan termites could produce offspring together, and now, scientists have found these creatures established in the wild

Scientists determined the most effective method of halting the disease was covering a coral colony with a weighted plastic bag, then injecting a seawater solution that contains the probiotic. They left the colony covered for two hours to allow the probiotic bacteria to colonize the coral.

A Deadly Disease Is Eating Away at Caribbean Corals and Wreaking Havoc on Reefs. Could Probiotics Be the Solution?

New research suggests the probiotic McH1-7 could help stop the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease among wild corals near Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A snapshot of the eastern United States as of June 3, from NOAA's GOES-19 satellite.

A Giant Cloud of Saharan Dust Is Heading to the Southeastern U.S. Here’s What That Means

The plume of dust has already blown over the Caribbean and is expected to reach Florida later this week

Burmese pythons—like this one photographed at Everglades National Park—are decimating animal populations in South Florida.

Florida Bobcat Kills 13-Foot Python for the First Time on Record. It’s a Sign of Nature ‘Fighting Back’ Against the Invasive Snakes

Burmese pythons are wreaking havoc on the Everglades ecosystem, but some native animals have been known to prey on the enormous reptiles

A German submarine torpedoed the S.S. Pennsylvania Sun on July 15, 1942, destroying 107,500 barrels of U.S. Navy fuel oil.

The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America’s Shores

Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the process

Piercing eyes mesmerize through the bright hues of this artwork that decorates a wall in the port area of Rio de Janeiro.

These 15 Mind-Bending Murals Turn the Mundane Into the Memorable

See 15 images of superb street art from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae) were brought to the United States in the 1990s by exotic pet traders. They've since proliferated in the wild and been deemed an invasive species.

Mysterious Fossil Found in Museum Storage Turned Out to Be a New, Extinct Lizard Species

Today, tegus are considered invasive creatures in Florida, but a new paper suggests they’ve lived in the southeastern United States at least once before—millions of years ago

The cats that perished aboard the Emanuel Point II were well-fed and may have served as companions for the sailors.

New Research

Spanish Shipwreck Reveals Evidence of Earliest Known Pet Cats to Arrive in the United States

The two felines—one adult, one juvenile—appear to have been cared for by the sailors before the vessel sank in a hurricane in 1559, according to a new study

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