Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Pandemic

3D-printed masks made for a New Hampshire hospital amid PPE shortages in March.

Covid-19

Covid-19 Has Designers Reimagining Personal Protective Equipment

The global pandemic has led to a surge in demand for PPE. Inventors have responded—with mixed results.

Mural of George Floyd on Israel’s illegal separation wall, seen in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem.

How the Death of George Floyd Sparked a Street Art Movement

A group of Minnesota faculty and students is documenting and archiving the phenomenon

For nearly four decades, Alexander has lived on various heating grates in Southwest D.C., which is why he introduced himself as “Alexander the Grate.”

A Street-Wise Philosopher Explains What It Means to Be Homeless Amid the Pandemic

Smithsonian Folklorist James Deutsch interviews the Washington D.C. man, “Alexander the Grate,” about living in the “interstices of the infrastructure”

Catherine “Cat” Carnes, a registered nurse from Oklahoma, came to Brooklyn to volunteer after seeing “the news day after day and watching the nurses literally cry out for help in New York City.”

Covid-19

Sixteen Snapshots of Life in New York City Under Quarantine

An outdoor photography exhibition at the New-York Historical Society is helping New Yorkers process the Covid-19 pandemic

The Metcalfs—Joni, 57, and Derek, 60—married in August 1983 and raised four children. When Derek lost his job with the federal government, they eventually ended up living in the streets. Recently, they found permanent housing.

A Washington, D.C. Couple Shares How the Pandemic Complicates Homelessness

Smithsonian curator James Deutsch speaks with the Metcalfs, who have long lived on the streets

A former logging town, Leavenworth, Washington, received a facelift sometime in the early 1960s.

Ten American Towns That Feel Like Europe

You don’t have to travel far to get a taste of European culture right here in the United States

A "wine window" in Florence

Covid-19

Centuries-Old ‘Wine Windows’ Open for Business in Florence

A low-risk alternative to curbside pickup, the portals may have helped fight an outbreak of bubonic plague in the 1630s

From wineries to llama farms, a growing number of private lands are opening up to RV and tent camping.

Covid-19

Taking a Road Trip During the Pandemic? Consider Camping (Legally) on Private Land

These five sites will help you find the perfect spot to avoid the summer crowds

A typist wearing her influenza mask in 1918 New York.

How the 1918 Pandemic Got Meme-ified in Jokes, Songs and Poems

In newspapers across the country, the public dealt with the heartache of the moment by turning to humor

Even though social insects tend to live in super-tight quarters, colonies of such species are somehow able to limit the spread of contagions.

Covid-19

In Social Insects, Researchers Find Clues for Battling Pandemics

Studying the ability of some ants, termites, bees and wasps to contain pathogens may help human societies control diseases of their own

Yosemite Valley seen from the Tunnel View lookout point in the Yosemite National Park, California on July 08, 2020. The park's sewage has now tested positive for the presence of the novel coronavirus, suggesting that some of its visitors over the Fourth of July weekend were infected.

Yosemite Sewage Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Test results suggest there were dozens of visitors carrying the novel coronavirus in the park over the Fourth of July weekend

How will SARS-CoV-2 evolve?

Covid-19

How Viruses Evolve

Pathogens that switch to a new host species have some adapting to do. How does that affect the course of a pandemic like COVID-19?

Socrates Sculpture Park is located in Queens—New York's most diverse borough, and also the hardest hit by COVID-19.

Covid-19

Are Sculpture Parks Having a Moment in the Sun?

Many art museums are still closed due to COVID-19, but open gardens and parks on their grounds are attracting eager visitors

Quantum physicist Amruta Gadge became the first to create a Bose-Einstein Condensate—the exotic, elusive fifth state of matter—remotely.

Covid-19

Five Scientific Achievements That Happened During Coronavirus Lockdown

Quarantine did not stop these innovators from discovering new species, creating the elusive fifth state of matter remotely, and more

John Rogers and his colleague Shuai Xu’s tech startup Sonica Health is submitting the device with a pulse oximeter and its algorithms to the FDA for approval later this month.

Covid-19

This Band-Aid-Like Patch Could Detect Early COVID-19 Symptoms

Northwestern University scientist John Rogers has developed a wearable that adheres to the throat and relays data to a physician

A survey of nearly 1,000 environmental education and outdoor science schools that serve primarily K-12 learners shows that 63 percent of such organizations are uncertain whether they will ever open their doors again, if pandemic restrictions last until year’s end.

Education During Coronavirus

Will COVID-19 Spell the End of Outdoor and Environmental Education?

The pandemic has been devastating to the field, according to a recent survey

A worker disinfects a hog pen in Suining in southwest China's Sichuan province in February 2020.

New Swine Flu Strain With Pandemic Potential Isn’t Cause for Alarm

The findings are a reminder not to forget about seasonal viruses, but also shows that virus surveillance systems work

Pooling samples means one test can screen multiple people.

Covid-19

Pooled Testing Could Be the Fastest and Cheapest Way to Increase Coronavirus Screening

Placing swabs from multiple individuals in a single test gets more people diagnosed using fewer supplies

The so-called "Letter From Heaven" was marketed as a message from Jesus himself, conveying instructions and conferring protection on those who sent them to others.

Before Chain Letters Swept the Internet, They Raised Funds for Orphans and Sent Messages From God

Recipe exchanges, poetry chains, photo challenges and other ostensibly comforting prompts are enjoying a resurgence amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Specimens like these at Dublin’s Natural History Museum contain valuable information about the evolution of pathogens and host organisms.

Covid-19

How Museum Collections Could Help Scientists Predict Future Pandemics

The broad array of animal specimens could allow researchers to identify likely pathogen sources, hosts and transmission pathways

Page 8 of 10