Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smithsonian Institution

John C. Calhoun, Mathew Brady Studio, whole-plate daguerreotype

Take a Look at the ‘Extraordinary’ 19th-Century Portraits Made With Some of the Earliest Methods of Photography

A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery traces three different 1800s forms of photo-making: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes

Bolg amondol raids an oviraptorosaur dinosaur nest in an artistic reconstruction of how the species may have looked and behaved.

A Jar of Fossil Bones Long Stored at a Museum Led Scientists to Discover a Goblin-Like Lizard From 76 Million Years Ago

Fossils described in a new study speak to a previously unknown large-bodied lizard diversity that existed alongside dinosaurs

A long-billed curlew flies over the Great Plains. New research suggests the birds react to danger more quickly when they hear prairie dog alarm calls.

Nesting Birds Eavesdrop on Prairie Dog Alarm Calls to Keep Their Eggs Safe From Grassland Predators

New research suggests long-billed curlews keep an ear out for warnings from prairie dogs in order to hide from predators and protect their nests

Tony Schwartz recording audio outdoors

When Midcentury New York Spoke, This Sound Archivist Listened—and Recorded Every Word

Armed with a tape recorder and open ears, Tony Schwartz turned everyday noise into lasting art. Now, his recordings live on at Smithsonian Folkways, where they continue to inspire new ways of listening to, remembering and understanding the world

An ancient wooden falcon decorated with Egyptian blue alongside one of the newly developed pigments

New Research

Archaeologists Are Recreating the Long-Lost Recipe for Egyptian Blue, the World’s Oldest Known Synthetic Pigment

Created 5,000 years ago, the mysterious color has been found on artworks and artifacts throughout the ancient world. But the pigment’s recipe was eventually lost to history

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

D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson; Charles Thomas Lewis, Alma Thomas' grandnephew; D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto; and Susan Talley, founder of Friends of Alma Thomas

Women Who Shaped History

The D.C. Street Where Pioneering Abstract Artist Alma Thomas Lived for 70 Years Has Been Renamed in Her Honor

Thomas worked as an art teacher at the city’s public schools for 35 years before dedicating herself to painting full-time when she was in her 60s

Sarah Grandmother’s Knife, Apsáalooke (Crow), age 10, wearing an elk-tooth dress and sticking out her tongue playfully in Montana, 1910

See the Stunning Archival Photographs That Tell the Stories of Everyday Native Life and Communities

The Archive Center at the National Museum of the American Indian presents a new exhibition that can help “interrupt the romanticized, stereotypical images often shared of Native peoples throughout history”

Newly transferred fragments of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts on view in Beijing on May 18

The Smithsonian Transfers Rare 2,300-Year-Old Silk Manuscripts to China

The Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were smuggled into the United States in the 1940s. Scholars say they provide remarkable insights into ancient Chinese philosophy and religion

A parachute belonging to Broadwick is on display in the Early Flight gallery at the Smithsonian’s newly updated National Air and Space Museum. 

Pioneering Teenage Parachuter Georgia ‘Tiny’ Broadwick Showed That Courage Isn’t Counted in Pounds

The first woman to parachute from an airplane, she will be recognized in an exhibit when part of the newly renovated National Air and Space Museum reopens this year

A howler monkey infant, only a few days old, clings to a subadult white-faced capuchin monkey as it uses tools.

Capuchin Monkeys Caught on Camera ‘Abducting’ Baby Howler Monkeys in a Strange Tradition Seen for the First Time

Scientists on Panama’s Jicarón Island were mystified by photos and videos of young male capuchins carrying howler monkeys on their backs for days at a time

Ava DuVernay delivers her acceptance speech for the National Museum of American History’s Great Americans Medal.

Women Who Shaped History

Trailblazing Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Receives the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal

DuVernay is the first director, writer and producer to earn the honor, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals”

A whisk and bowls of matcha tea and tea powder

Discover the Centuries-Old Japanese Matcha Tea Ceremonies That Last for Hours and Require Beautiful Utensils

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art showcases the longtime cultural meaning in the practice of chanoyu

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg was among the 2025 recipients of the Portrait of a Nation Award.

Meet This Year’s Winners of the Portrait of a Nation Award, Including Steven Spielberg and Temple Grandin

Portraits of the honorees, who have made “transformative contributions to the United States,” will be added to the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery

The commemorative watch was given to Armstrong at a gala dinner in Houston in November 1969.

A Gold Watch That Belonged to Astronaut Neil Armstrong Sold for $2.1 Million at Auction

The commemorative timepiece is similar to the one that Armstrong and other NASA astronauts wore in space

A technician climbs a tower to locate lightning strikes in the study area on Panama's Barro Colorado Island.

Being Struck by Lightning Is No Big Deal for This Tropical Tree—the Zap Even Gives It a Boost

The almendro tree may have evolved to attract lightning, which helps clear more space for it to grow, according to new research

 Winston Red Diamond.

See for Yourself One of the World’s Rarest Red Diamonds at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum

Unraveling the surprising science that gives colorful diamonds their special allure

How do space programs get their names?

How Do Space Programs Get Their Names? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

None

A Peculiar, Short-Lived Office at the Smithsonian Once Explored Reports of Bizarre Natural Phenomena

From surprising squirrel migrations to islands popping up out of nowhere, the organization’s scientists tracked strange events as they happened

The Large Magellanic Cloud, photographed here by the Hubble Space Telescope, is about 160,000 light-years from Earth.

Astronomers Discover Evidence of a Stealthy Supermassive Black Hole Hiding Right ‘Under Our Noses’

The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the most well-studied galaxies, but new findings suggest it might have been holding a giant secret

Page 4 of 24