U.S. Measles Cases Reach a Record High Since the Disease Was Declared Eliminated 25 Years Ago
With nearly six months left in the year, the total number of cases so far in 2025 has surpassed every year since 1992
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
See 15 Photos of Striking Landscapes and Lively Scenes Deep in the Heart of Texas
These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest remind us what makes the Lone Star State so special
Texas Will Invest $50 Million in Ibogaine Research, Testing the Psychedelic Drug’s Medical Potential
The state’s new law marks one of the largest government investments into psychedelics to date, with advocates citing the drug’s potential to help veterans with traumatic brain injury and PTSD
See the Birthplace of Juneteenth in These Atmospheric Photos of Galveston, Texas
A photographer’s journey to the Gulf Coast city yields 16 images that reveal how its natural beauty melds with its momentous role in Black history
These 15 Dynamic Photos Will Make You Want to Dance
Get footloose with these Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest dance scenes
Meet Martha Swope, the Legendary Broadway Photographer Who Captured Iconic Moments From Hundreds of Productions and Rehearsals
She spent nearly 40 years taking theater and dance pictures, providing glimpses behind the scenes and creating images that the public couldn’t otherwise access
The Land Beneath the Biggest U.S. Cities Is Sinking, Finds New Analysis of Satellite Data
Largely due to groundwater pumping and shifting of land after the last ice age, major urban areas are subsiding, which could destabilize buildings or worsen flooding
Three Formerly Enslaved Artists Created Beautiful Pottery 150 Years Ago, and Now Their Wares Are Coveted Around the World
The stunning vessels from the H. Wilson & Company were forgotten for generations, only to gain new appreciation for the craftsmanship that went into them
Angler Catches 153-Pound Behemoth in Texas Using Ultra-Light Tackle, Likely Setting a New World Record
Art Weston and Kirk Kirkland reeled in and released the enormous freshwater fish, known as an alligator gar, after a four-hour battle on Lake Livingston
Archaeologists Uncover a ‘Monumental’ Hunting Kit in Texas That May Be the Oldest Found in North America Yet
The artifacts discovered in a cave—which include dart tips, a boomerang and a spear-throwing tool—were dated to as far back as 7,000 years ago
A Hunter Was Out Looking for Deer in West Texas. He Found a Rare Mammoth Tusk Instead
Discovered in the drainage area of a creek bed, the tusk was initially thought to be “just an old stump”
Inside the Herculean Effort to Study and Save the World’s Smallest Sea Turtle
After years of steady gains, a decades-long conservation program dedicated to the Kemp’s ridley hits rough seas
See the Striking New Images From the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander, Now the Second Private Spacecraft to Touch Down on the Moon
Firefly Aerospace’s lander reached lunar soil early Sunday morning, after a 2.8-million-mile journey lasting 45 days
Meet the ‘Wooly Devil,’ the First New Plant Genus Discovered in a National Park Since 1976
A volunteer spotted the tiny, fuzzy plant with maroon florets while exploring the remote northern corner of Big Bend National Park in Texas
These 15 Photos Show the People and Places of American Streets Named After Martin Luther King Jr.
On a journey to six cities across the country over the course of seven years, a photographer captured images of the roads that bear the civil rights leader’s name
Ten Must-See Museums Opening Around the World in 2025
New institutions dedicated to artificial intelligence, West African art, barbeque and more are expected to welcome visitors this year
Here’s What a SpaceX Starship Rocket Launch Sounds Like, According to New, Detailed Data
Just six miles away from the mega-rocket’s fifth test flight, the noise level was equivalent to a rock concert, researchers found
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
Celebrate Day of the Dead With These 15 Scenes of Festivities and Remembrance
These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show how communities in Mexico and beyond mark Día de los Muertos.
America’s Oldest Living Person, Elizabeth Francis, Dies at 115. She Was a Supercentenarian and ‘Houstonian Icon’
Since her birth in 1909, Francis lived through two world wars, segregation, the fall of the Soviet Union, multiple pandemics and the invention of the cellphone
The FBI Recovers an Andy Warhol Print Worth $175,000 That Vanished From a Private Home in 2021
A man is expected to plead guilty for trafficking the print, which reappeared at a Dallas auction house shortly after it went missing from a California residence
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