Flight attendant Lorraine Bay carefully recorded every flight she worked in this log book, found near the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Thirty-Seven Smithsonian Artifacts That Tell the Story of 9/11, From a Flight 93 Logbook to a Squeegee Handle Used While Escaping From the World Trade Center

The National Museum of American History houses hundreds of objects linked to the attacks. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, learn the stories behind some of the most poignant items in the collections

Meilan Solly

In the bitter chill of a six-degrees Fahrenheit morning in Olathe, Kansas, firefighters respond to a duplex fire. Working quickly despite the cold, they stopped the fire’s advance and saved the adjoining unit from damage.

Travel

These 15 Riveting Photos of Firefighters in Action Showcase the Strength and Courage They Need to Risk Their Lives to Save Others

September 11, 2026

Smart News

A Finnish Metal Detectorist Was Shocked to Unearth a Trove of Viking Age Silver in His Hometown. Then His Detector Went Off Again

September 11, 2026 3:14 p.m.

Did You Suffer a Sweltering August? You Weren’t Alone. It Tied for the Month With the Hottest Global Temperatures on Record

September 11, 2026 12:57 p.m.

Designers and Computer Scientists Create New Decoy Fonts That Humans Can Read but A.I. Bots Cannot

September 11, 2026 12:08 p.m.

Ancient Rome’s Largest Fresco and Mosaic Complex, Featuring Depictions of a Mysterious Maritime City, Opens to the Public After 2,000 Years

September 11, 2026 11:31 a.m.

Archaeologists Discover the World’s Oldest Evidence of Habitual Drug Use in the Teeth of a Hunter-Gatherer Who Lived Up to 25,000 Years Ago

September 11, 2026 11:12 a.m.

More Smart News

Latest Features

Schizophrenia is difficult for psychiatrists to diagnose. Can artificial intelligence help do it better?

Innovation

Could Artificial Intelligence Help With Early Diagnosis of Schizophrenia?

September 11, 2026 9:31 a.m.

At the Smithsonian

In the Aftermath of 9/11, Milton Glaser, Creator of the ‘I ♥ NY’ Logo, Declared That He Loved New York City ‘More Than Ever’

September 11, 2026

Travel

These 15 Riveting Photos of Firefighters in Action Showcase the Strength and Courage They Need to Risk Their Lives to Save Others

September 11, 2026

GLP-1 drugs, medications that are self-injected to support weight loss and lower blood sugar, helped peptides become mainstream.

Science

Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here?

September 9, 2026

L to R: Thomas McKenzie as Alyce, Jamie Bell as John Ball and Andrew Garfield as the Ploughman in The Uprising, a new film by Paul Greengrass

History

The Real Story Behind ‘The Uprising’ and the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, When Thousands Marched on London to Demand a Fairer Society

September 9, 2026

A hawksbill sea turtle munches away on a sponge near Juno Beach.

Science

Journey Under the Sea With 20 Amazing Photos of Marine Life, From Seahorses to Manta Rays to Orcas to Turtles

Updated: September 8, 2026 | Originally Published: April 18, 2024

Uncovering the past. Understanding the present. Informing the future.

Give a Gift Renew

September/October 2026

Travel The Marvelous Museums of Mexico City

The ancient capital has plenty of artwork and fossils, if that’s what you like. Or tour the writing rooms of a Nobel winner, the fortified home of an exiled Russian revolutionary and towers of skulls

OPENER - A giant Atlantic cockle lies open on the beach in Fort Myers, Florida, while a beachcomber searches for shells in the background.

Science Who Dwells in a Shell?

Before they become sandy souvenirs, the baubles in the bubbles of the shoreline serve as a veritable fortress for creatures like clams, mussels and conchs

Innovation Solving the Long Covid Puzzle

Long Covid saps the strength and vitality of patients, who have little recourse to fight it. A team of specialists—including an afflicted researcher working mostly from her bed—is looking for answers

Most Popular

Voices

The Twin Towers in Three Photographs

Smart News

Archaeologists Excavating a Roman-Era Cemetery in Poland Were Surprised to Stumble Upon a 5,000-Year-Old Necklace Made of 42 Teeth

Smart News

Archaeologists Discover the World’s Oldest Evidence of Habitual Drug Use in the Teeth of a Hunter-Gatherer Who Lived Up to 25,000 Years Ago

Smart News

The Life of Agatha Christie, the World’s Best-Selling Novelist, Goes Under the Microscope at the British Library

Voices

September 11: Photography and the News

Special Report

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

A Smithsonian magazine special issue in celebration of the nation's 250th

View Full Report

Featured Stories

Arts & Culture

Georgia O’Keeffe Ignored Advice to Mimic Great European Masters. Her Goal Instead Was to Be a Great American Painter

O’Keeffe’s New Mexico studio Ghost Ranch. Opposite, a 1918 photo portrait by future husband Alfred Stieglitz.

History

Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women’s Role in America

A portrait of Fuller, inspired by her 1845 Woman in the Nineteenth Century, which argued for equality of the sexes. The book’s opening illustration featured mystical symbols of harmonizing opposites, including the Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.

History

The American Revolution’s Overlooked Influence? Physics. How ‘Common Sense’ Spelled Out Astronomical Expectations for a New Nation

After Isaac Newton, above, revolutionized celestial mechanics, admirers such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Paine, left, saw in Newton’s natural laws a model for democratic self-government.

Photo of the Day

Florida is known for its vibrant surfing culture—a way of American life where people flock to the beach for fun, sun, and waves. The scene is effortlessly casual: surfers step out of their cars in half-pants, boards in hand, ready to hit the ocean. This laid-back lifestyle not only defines Florida’s coast but also captivates outsiders with its carefree charm.

The Song of Florida

By Md. Arifuzzaman

Get the Photo of the Day directly to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Sign Up

Smithsonian Videos

Podcast

Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.

Listen In

Latest Episodes

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

Venomous Snakes Represent a Serious Public Health Problem. Scientists Are Biting Back With a Groundbreaking Antidote

March 12, 2026 | 28 minutes

History

The Real Story Behind ‘The Uprising’ and the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, When Thousands Marched on London to Demand a Fairer Society

Paul Greengrass’ new film stars Andrew Garfield as a fictionalized, unnamed farmer who leads a rebellion against unfair taxes and the system of serfdom

September 9, 2026

How Did the Nation Get Its Name? Other Suggestions Included the United Colonies, Columbia and the United States of Alleghania

September 8, 2026

World’s Largest Collection of Serial Killer ‘Murderabilia,’ From John Wayne Gacy to H.H. Holmes, Opens in Chicago

September 9, 2026

More History

Science

Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here?

Experts say the peptide craze is part of a broader phenomenon, as patients look beyond the regulated health system to address problems that doctors have struggled to treat

September 9, 2026

Reptiles Make a Surprising Amount of Noise. Here’s What Those Sounds Might Mean, From Pops to Hoots to Bellows

September 2, 2026

Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures

August 27, 2026

More Science

Innovation

Why Gen Z Is Learning to Paint Like 19th-Century Artists

Paint groups are popping up in parks. Art schools are seeing a surge in applications. The rise of A.I. has people turning to more traditional art forms

August 18, 2026

The Global Web of Subsea Cables That Connects the World Can Now Detect Whales—Even When They’re Silent

August 13, 2026

Australia’s Social Media Ban for Teens May Not Be the Best Solution, But It’s Certainly Getting People Talking

August 17, 2026

More Innovation

Travel

At its peak, the movement grew to include more than 130 participating restaurants. Today, 111 authentic trattorias still promote regional cuisine in this special way.

In Some Trattorias in Italy, Diners Can Enjoy a Meal and Take the Plate It Was Served on Home as a Souvenir

The Piatti del Buon Ricordo, or “Plates of Good Memories,” tradition dates back to 1964, when a clever marketer came up with it to encourage Italians to travel across the country and taste regional dishes

August 25, 2026