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Natural History Museum

A reconstruction of the horse-sized tyrannosaur Timurlengia euotica, named for the charismatic Central Asian ruler Tamerlane, shows the species' long, slender legs, large head and teeth built sharp like a steak knife.

The Discovery of a Tiny Tyrannosaur Adds New Insight Into the Origins of T. Rex

The horse-sized dino species had smarts and a keen sense of smell, setting the stage for the evolution of the enormous predator

A biocube is placed in Central Park's Hallett Nature Sanctuary in New York City.

You’d Be Astounded to Learn How Much Wildlife Can Fit Into One Cubic Foot

A whole new world opens up when you try to catalog every visible creature that moves in and out of a biocube set down on either land or in water

The skeleton of a Steller's sea cow hangs in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

“Mermaid Ivory” Stirs Controversy Over How Extinct Species Are Studied

The carved bones of marine mammals highlight the squishy regulations around their trade and what that means for science

An image of the fossilized lacewing Oregramma illecebrosa, left, and the modern owl butterfly Calico Memnon, right.

New Research

Jurassic-Era Insect Looks Just Like a Modern Butterfly

Jurassic “butterflies” helped pollinate ancient plants millions of years before the butterfly even existed

Journey to the Center of Earth

Journey to the Center of Earth

Drill deep into the mysteries of our home planet, from the surface all the way down to the core

The magnificent 26-foot-long Raven Spirit, or Yéil Yéik dugout canoe crafted by Douglas (above) and Brian Chilton was originally commissioned for the National Museum of Natural History in 2008.

How Canoes Are Saving Lives and Restoring Spirit

Native maritime communities are rediscovering their heritage by learning how to craft and paddle together aboard the ancient dugout vessels of their past

An illustration shows what Shonisaurus popularis might have looked like in the late Triassic.

What Killed These Marine Reptiles Found in a Nevada Ghost Town?

Paleontologists are going high tech to solve the mystery of a mass ichthyosaur death near the old mining town of Berlin

In this artistic reconstruction, a pod of Albicetus travel together through the Miocene Pacific Ocean, surfacing occasionally to breathe.

A Moby-Dick Emerges from the Smithsonian Collections

The rediscovery of a fossil whale, previously believed to be an extinct walrus, is reexamined and digitized

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: How Do Spiders Make Their Webs?

Learning exactly what those spinnerets are doing might just generate a whole new web of understanding

With the recent opening of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic due to melting sea ice barriers, Smithsonian research biologist Seabird McKeon and his team report increasing numbers of animals making the journey into new territories.

Age of Humans

If Atlantic and Pacific Sea Worlds Collide, Does That Spell Catastrophe?

While the Arctic ice melt is opening up east to west shipping lanes, some 75 animals species might also make the journey

2015 Grand Prize Winner Atlantic Puffin with Wild Iris, by Megan Lorenz, Elliston, Newfoundland, Canada. "Perched precariously on the edge of a cliff trying desperately to overcome my fear of heights,' says Megan Lorenz, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, "I watched this Atlantic Puffin pull a Wild Iris from the ground and walk along the cliff toward me. He stopped for a moment and I had enough time to capture him with the blue sky in the background before he dropped the Iris over the side where his mate was waiting at the burrow entrance."

A Taste of “The Best of the Best” Nature Photography

Take a trip around the world with these breathtaking images of nature

“If I go look for dinosaurs, I will find them, because there’s tons of them out there,” says Kirk Johnson, the director of the National Museum of Natural History and the star of a new Nova series "Making North America."

Smithsonian’s Kirk Johnson Steps Up to Be the Rock Star of Geology

The new PBS science series “Making North America” features the director of the National Museum of Natural History

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: How Do You Make a Mummy?

Mummification has been practiced for eons and the Egyptians are the best known, but not the only practioners

The shiny, dark crust of a meteorite emerges from the snow during an ANSMET collection trip to Antarctica.

Space Rock Hunters Are About to Invade Antarctica

Scientists with the ANSMET program will endure six weeks near the South Pole during an annual field trip to find meteorites

The flat-tail horned lizard's desert habitats in the American West are changing rapidly, thanks to us humans.

Age of Humans

Even Desert Lizards Are Feeling the Heat Due to Climate Change

But Smithsonian scientists are probing the flat-tail horned lizard’s DNA to save the rare species

With jaws agape, the Smithsonian's T. rex will eat "Hatcher," the Triceratops.

When T. Rex Meets Triceratops in the New Dino Hall, It Will Be a Violent Affair

The Natural History Museum’s dinosaur display highlights the “red in tooth and claw” nature of the Cretaceous way of life

The fossils, encased in rock and sediment, were collected from marine rocks that date to around six million years ago before the Isthmus of Panama formed and a seaway connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

New Species of Ancient Dolphin Shows How the Animals Moved From Seas to Rivers

The newly discovered fossil gives scientists a fresh glimpse into the evolution of ocean life

Scientists have for the first time identified the four people buried in Jamestown's first church. They are (from left) minister Robert Hunt, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, Captain Gabriel Archer and Captain William West.

New Jamestown Discovery Reveals the Identities of Four Prominent Settlers

The findings by Smithsonian scientists dig up the dynamics of daily life in the first permanent British settlement in the colonies

A reconstruction of "grandfather turtle."

New Research

This Ancient Creature Shows How the Turtle Got Its Shell

The 240-million-year-old “grandfather turtle” may be part of the evolutionary bridge between lizards and shelled reptiles

Smithsonian geologist Elizabeth Cottrell (right) helps undergraduate intern Kellie Wall examine a sample of Earth’s interior. Cottrell co-directs Natural History Research Experiences, a program funded by the National Science Foundation that trains 18 students every summer.

Commentary

Hey Scientist, Who Are You Mentoring this Summer?

The director of education at the National Museum of Natural History delivers a clarion call to all scientists: Be a Mentor. Raise Up the Next Generation

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