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Robert M. Pirsig’s 1966 Honda Super Hawk Motorcycle.

This ‘Zen’ Motorcycle Still Inspires Philosophical Road-Trippers 50 Years Later

Robert M. Pirsig’s odyssey vehicle takes its final ride as it vrooms into public view for the first time ever at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Ringgold was best known for her colorful "story quilts," an art form anchored in narrative storytelling and influenced by Black American artistic traditions.

Women Who Shaped History

Pioneering Artist Faith Ringgold Stitched Together Stories of Black Life

The Harlem-born painter, who died this week at age 93, elevated the everyday lives of Black Americans and fought for representation in major museums

The babies were born on March 21, just six months after their parents were first introduced.

Adorable but Deadly Fluff Balls, Better Known as Pygmy Slow Lorises, Born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

The two babies are part of an endangered species whose unbearable cuteness has made them a target for wildlife traffickers

"Change Your Game / Cambia tu juego" looks at scores of innovations that improve performance, ensure safety and more accurately score games.

From the JogBra to Gatorade to Breakaway Basketball Rims, Sports Are a Field for Invention

A new exhibition at the National Museum of American History aims to inspire the next generation of innovators

A picture of the International Space Station captured by the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007. Last month, a two-ton pallet of batteries released by the space station in 2021 re-entered Earth's atmosphere. It was expected to mostly burn up upon re-entry, but a two-pound piece of debris that struck a Florida home may have come from the batteries.

Falling Object That Crashed Into Florida Home May Be Debris From the International Space Station

Nobody was hurt by the mysterious, two-pound object, but experts speculate it may be a piece of batteries ejected from the station in 2021

The new image of the Milky Way's black hole, seen in polarized light. It shows the organized magnetic fields that surround the black hole itself, from which no light can escape.

Astronomers Capture Dazzling New Image of the Black Hole at the Milky Way’s Center

The first image of the black hole taken in polarized light, the new view shows the supermassive structure’s magnetic fields and hints that it could be hiding an enormous jet

Installation view of "Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960," on display at the Hirshhorn Museum through April 20, 2025

Explore a Century of Masterpieces, From Rodin to Picasso, Brought Together by One Passionate Collector

A self-described “little man in a hurry,” Joseph Hirshhorn built a premier modern art collection

Why aren't there freshwater seals or dolphins in the Great Lakes?

Why Aren’t Dolphins in the Great Lakes? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford by George Hurrell, 1936, Gelatin silver print

How ‘The Magic Man of Hollywood’ Captured the Golden Age’s Biggest Stars

George Hurrell’s photographs of actors from the 1930s and 1940s dazzle in a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

The Horse Fair by French artist Rosa Bonheur hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 

Five Museums Unveil Audio Guides Celebrating Lesser-Known Women Artists

The project—titled Museums Without Men—debuted in the U.S. and the U.K. during Women’s History Month

Collector Michael Shaw was presented with the slippers he purchased in 1970 in a ceremony at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Two Decades After They Were Stolen, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Returned to the Scene of the Crime. Will They Stay There?

Federal investigators have handed over the shoes to their rightful owner, who plans to sell them at auction later this year

Mabel Boll, nicknamed the "Queen of Diamonds" (left), failed to cross the Atlantic before Amelia Earhart (right).

Women Who Shaped History

When Amelia Earhart and the ‘Queen of Diamonds’ Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928

Historic scrolls looted in World War II were unfurled for the first time in decades by experts at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

Cool Finds

Family Finds Stolen Japanese Artifacts While Cleaning Out an Attic in Massachusetts

The FBI has returned the rare objects to Okinawa, where they were looted during World War II

Wildflowers, spongy tundra grass and Brooks Range mountains emerge from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska's North Slope.

Discover Alaska

Alaska’s Frigid North Slope Was Once a Lush, Wet, Dinosaur Hotspot, Fossils Reveal

Conditions north of the Arctic Circle, where dinosaurs roamed in abundance during the mid-Cretaceous, were warmer than today, with rainfall comparable to “modern-day Miami”

William H. Johnson, Harriet Tubman, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard.

How Painting Portraits of Freedom Fighters Became William H. Johnson’s Life’s Work

A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum brings together the Black Modernist painter’s most famous series for the first time in more than 75 years

Jean Wilson sews pieces of an Apollo A7L spacesuit on the production line at International Latex Corporation (ILC) in 1968.

From the Inventor of Mass-Market Paper Bags to a Scientist Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Polio, Meet Five American Women Whose Remarkable Achievements Have Long Been Overlooked

The inaugural exhibition at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum seeks to shine light on lesser-known historical figures

Hand washing is one of the simplest ways to prevent disease transmission.

The Dirty Secret About How Our Hands Spread Disease

The human hand is an incredible tool—and a deadly threat

The moon’s shadow, as seen from the International Space Station, passes over central Asia during a 2020 total solar eclipse.

A History of Total Solar Eclipses Seen by Astronauts From Outer Space

Since the Gemini 12 mission in 1966, a handful of people have seen these stunning celestial events from orbit—or watched the moon’s shadow pass over Earth

An artist's rendition of the Europa Clipper mission, set to launch to Europa in October. The mission could provide new insights about the life-supporting potential of the moon, which hosts a massive saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface.

Jupiter’s Moon Europa May Have Less Oxygen Than Previously Thought

The new findings could have implications for whether Europa’s vast ocean contains the conditions necessary to support life

Cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. on March 22, 2023

This Is When Washington, D.C.’s Cherry Trees Are Predicted to Bloom This Year

“Peak bloom,” which typically falls in late March or early April, refers to the day when at least 70 percent of the trees have blossomed

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