Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smithsonian

A fossilized leaf from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum sits in the Wyoming snow.

Anthropocene

Ancient Earth Warmed Dramatically After a One-Two Carbon Punch

A period of intense warming 55 million years ago is an even better case study for modern climate change than previously suspected

View of the Castle and the Haupt Garden from Independence Ave.

Smithsonian Announces BIG Plans for Campus Redesign

Led by the innovative vision of Bjarke Ingels, the Smithsonian unveils a 20-year plan for redesigning its south campus

Two-headed smooth-hound (Mustelus)

Shark Week

A Two-Headed Shark and Other X-Rayed Beauties at the Smithsonian

Sandra Raredon’s x-rays of fish specimens are critical records for scientists studying various species. And, as works of art, they are breathtaking

The Clarion nightsnake, brought into the scientific light at last.

New Research

Written Off as a Figment, the Mysterious Clarión Nightsnake Reemerges after Nearly 80 Years

The snake was discovered on a remote Mexican island in the 1930s, but the notes of the famous naturalist who documented it were later called into question

How Do Rockets Ignite Their Engines in Space Without Oxygen and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Why Do We Love R2-D2 and Not C-3PO?

With its stubby cylindrical body and playful whistles and beeps, the lovable Star Wars’ robot R2-D2 is just the right mix of man and machine

Which Animal is the Smartest, How Did Fingernails Evolve and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

David Datuna's "Portrait of America" is the first artwork in the world to use Google Glass technology.

Seeing Art Through Google Glass

David Datuna became the first artist to incorporate the technology into a public art piece; now, “Portrait of America” is coming to the Smithsonian

"Cherry Tree" by Zandile Ntobela, 2011

Painting with Beads: A New Art Form Emerges in South Africa

“Ubuhle Women” at the Anacostia Community Museum showcases the work of a community of master beaders

We Have A New Look

The new site design has lots of new features to explore. Tell us what you think!

How Does Mistletoe Grow and Other Questions From Our Readers

Airplanes flying upside down, the earliest music and more answers from our experts

The Peacock Room Comes to America: Exhibiting Freer’s Bibles

The Man Who Viewed the Bible as Art

The Washington Codex, now on display at the Freer gallery, became one of the earliest chapters in Charles Freer’s appreciation of beauty and aesthetics

Elizabeth Mitchell’s new album for Smithsonian Folkways, The Sounding Joy, features new renditions of traditional American Christmas carols.

Revamp Your Christmas Playlist with These Unsung American Carols

Smithsonian Folkways’ “The Sounding Joy” features traditional Christmas tunes sung by folk legends Peggy Seeger, Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne and more

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, 1941

The Day Winston Churchill Lost His Cigar

Thanks to a gift of over 100 photographs, the National Portrait Gallery celebrates Yousuf Karsh’s iconic photography with an installation of 27 portraits

In this still from Hindoo Fakir (1902), the magician levitates his assistant.

Early Films (Including One by Thomas Edison) Made Yoga Look Like Magic

The Sackler Gallery exhibit shows how yoga went from fakery to fitness in the West

None

2013 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards

We recognize nine of the past year’s shining achievements and the innovators behind them

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave”

The Director of the African-American History and Culture Museum on What Makes “12 Years a Slave” a Powerful Film

Lonnie Bunch offers his response to the stunning movie, a favorite for the Best Picture Oscar

NPR’s Andy Carvin has donated the iPhone he used during the Arab Spring to the American History Museum.

The Phone That Helped Andy Carvin Report the Arab Spring is Now in the Smithsonian

The NPR reporter talks about how he was able to factcheck tweets amid the rush of information in 2011

The Dinosaur Hall was originally called the “Hall of Extinct Monsters” (seen here in a photograph from the 1930s) when the Natural History Museum opened in 1910.

About Deep Time: A Preview of the Natural History Museum’s Fossil Hall Renovation

The new Deep Time Hall will connect paleontology to modern life

None

How TV’s “Person of Interest” Helps Us Understand the Surveillance Society

The creative minds behind the show and The Dark Knight talk about Americans’ perception of privacy

Page 13 of 79