When Alexander von Humboldt (right) traveled to England in 1790, he met a young chemist named James Smithson, the founder of the Smithsonian. Humboldt's influence still resonates throughout the massive museum and research complex.

Alexander von Humboldt

How the Revolutionary Thinker Alexander von Humboldt Helped to Create the Smithsonian

The 19th-century polymath continues to influence the Institution’s research; a major Smithsonian exhibition explains how and why

Emperor penguins standing on sea ice at the Brunt ice shelf in Antarctica.

Satellites Spy Poop-Stained Ice, Revealing New Emperor Penguin Colonies

Researchers found eight new colonies, but all were small and located in parts of Antarctica predicted to be ravaged by climate change

A gentoo penguin swimming underwater. This species, as well as others, vocalizes while hunting beneath the water's surface, research shows.

In a First, Researchers Record Penguins Vocalizing Under Water

But the scientists still aren’t sure what the birds are saying

Numbers of these charismatic, blubbery birds have decreased by about half across Antarctica's northwest.

Preliminary Census Documents Antarctica’s Chinstrap Penguins in Sharp Decline

Climate change is the likeliest culprit, researchers say

Jackass penguin calls don't sound like human words. But the two forms of communications follow the same linguistic laws.

Jackass Penguin Calls Follow Similar Rules to Human Speech

These birds are nicknamed for donkeys, but structure their calls like words

Ping incubates the egg as Skipper keeps guard.

Two Male Penguins in Berlin Join Long Line of Same-Sex Pairs to Adopt an Egg

Skipper and Ping have happily nurtured everything from rocks to fish before zookeepers let them incubate an egg

A Human-Sized Penguin Once Waddled Through New Zealand

The leg bones of Crossvallia waiparensis suggest it was more than five feet tall and weighed up to 176 pounds

New Research

The Key to Biodiversity in Antarctica Is Penguin Poop

A new study shows nitrogen from penguin and elephant seal dung powers a diversity of arthropods and nematodes in surrounding areas

One of Antarctica’s Largest Emperor Penguin Colonies Has Suffered Three Years of ‘Catastrophic’ Breeding Failures

The penguins have all but abandoned what was once a thriving breeding site at Halley Bay

No one knows exactly how many Emperor penguins are left in Antarctica.

The Complicated Calculus of Counting Emperor Penguins

Scientists journey to the icy bottom of the Earth to see if satellite imagery can determine how many Emperor penguins are left in the world

Cool Finds

Adelie Penguins Poop So Much, Their Feces Can Be Seen From Space

Satellite images of the Adelie penguin’s pink guano shows how their colony size and diet have changed over the last 4 decades

Same-Sex Penguin Couple Take a Crack at Incubating an Egg

Sphen and Magic (or ‘Sphengic’) seem to be doing quite well at caring for their foster baby-to-be

Though the mummified penguins died years ago due to "extreme climatic anomalies," modern day penguins are still at risk of the same fate in today's changing climate.

Here’s How Hundreds of Baby Penguins Became Mummified in Antarctica

A new study posits that ‘extreme climatic anomalies’ caused the penguins to become mummified in two mass die-offs hundred of years ago

Is it just instinct?

New Research

New Zealand Penguins Make an Epic, Pointless, Swim to the Southern Ocean

A new satellite study shows the penguins travel over 4,000 miles to feed, even though their home shores are teeming with food

The Morne du Tamaris Colony in happier days in 1982.

New Research

World’s Largest King Penguin Colony Suffers an 85 Percent Crash

The Morne du Tamaris Colony on Île aux Cochons has dropped from 2 million to 200,000 birds over 30 years

Two Antarctic Penguins Took an Adorable ‘Selfie’

They were investigating a camera belonging to an expeditioner with the Australian Antarctic Division

The researchers found that the Danger Islands have 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins, more than the rest of the entire Antarctic Peninsula region combined.

Scientists Discover “Super-Colony” of 1.5 Million Adélie Penguins in Images From Space

In other areas of the Antarctic, the black and white birds are in decline—but on the Danger Islands, they thrive

King Penguin

New Research

As Oceans Warm, King Penguins’ Food Moves Farther Away. That’s a Problem

The already treacherous journey for nourishment will get increasingly challenging for penguins in the years ahead

New Research

This Giant Penguin Was the Size of a Human

The ancient mega-penguins waddled around New Zealand some 60 million years ago

All But Two Adélie Penguin Chicks Die in “Catastrophic” Breeding Season

A WWF official described it as “Tarantino does Happy Feet”

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