Coyotes and people coexist in San Francisco, despite an effort to eradicate the canines a century ago. This image and its portfolio won the Photojournalist Story Award.

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

These 19 recognized images highlight the diversity across our planet and the value in appreciating and protecting the natural world

Carlyn Kranking

Masten, from the Buffalo, New York Documentary Survey Project, David Seman, gelatin silver print, 1979

At the Smithsonian

In the 1970s, the U.S. Commissioned Photographers to Document the Country’s People and Places. You Can Now See More Than 200 of the Powerful Images

October 13, 2026

Smart News

It’s Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead

October 15, 2026 4:43 p.m.

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called ‘Large’ Prepares to Open Its Doors

October 15, 2026 4:19 p.m.

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

October 15, 2026 3:41 p.m.

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

October 15, 2026 2:03 p.m.

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

October 15, 2026 12:50 p.m.

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Latest Features

A vintage image of author Amaris Castillo's mother, Damaris, working at a bodega

At the Smithsonian

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a ‘Community Anchor’ of Latino Life

October 15, 2026 3:00 p.m.

At the Smithsonian

In the 1970s, the U.S. Commissioned Photographers to Document the Country’s People and Places. You Can Now See More Than 200 of the Powerful Images

October 13, 2026

A Bubble Barrier creates a diagonal line of whiter water in Amsterdam's Westerdok.

Innovation

Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America’s Waterways?

October 9, 2026

A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation pauses at the edge of the dance circle in traditional regalia at an event in Nashville.

Arts & Culture

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day With These 15 Dramatic Images of the Rich, Enduring Traditions of Native Americans

October 9, 2026

Ghostface, the primary antagonist of the Scream franchise, is one of the many horror icons featured in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' latest exhibition.

History

From Slasher Films to Vampire Flicks, Horror Movies Are More Popular Than Ever. Relive the Genre’s Scariest Moments—if You Dare—at a New Exhibition

October 8, 2026

Tyrannosaurus rex’s image has seen major adjustments over the past century.

Science

Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of T. Rex Forever, From Warm Blood to Lips

October 7, 2026

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

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Smart News

A Diver Volunteered to Clean Up Trash From a Wisconsin Lake. He Discovered a 1,000-Year-Old Dugout Canoe at the Bottom Instead

Smart News

A Community-Led Archaeology Dig on a Tiny Scottish Isle Has Unearthed a Medieval Monastery of ‘International Importance’

Voices

The Smithsonian’s Cheetah Cub Cam Returns—With Five Adorable Reasons to Tune In

Smart News

This One-of-a-Kind Bronze Ring Offers a Tantalizing Glimpse at the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a Lost Wonder of the Ancient World

Smart News

Just Inches Below the Forest Floor, Archaeologists in Germany Unearthed a Roman Temple Likely Dedicated to Mars, the God of War

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

Piazza Navona

By Ron Van Rooden

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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 tomb's entrance is inscribed with protective funerary spells.

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man’s Father

The 19-line poem was inscribed on a stone slab in the Bir al-Shaghala necropolis. The lament “is a highly literary and original epigram,” a scholar says

October 14, 2026

This One-of-a-Kind Bronze Ring Offers a Tantalizing Glimpse at the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a Lost Wonder of the Ancient World

October 9, 2026

From Slasher Films to Vampire Flicks, Horror Movies Are More Popular Than Ever. Relive the Genre’s Scariest Moments—if You Dare—at a New Exhibition

October 8, 2026

More History

Science

Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of T. Rex Forever, From Warm Blood to Lips

Paleontologists are still unraveling the secrets of the world’s most famous dinosaur, such as its outward appearance or the way that it hunted. With each new finding, our view of the “tyrant lizard king” has gotten a little clearer—and sometimes has radically shifted

October 7, 2026

Ancient Pottery Reveals the Earliest Known Traces of Chocolate East of the Mississippi, Painting a Picture of Connection in the Americas

October 2, 2026

Is More Protein Always Better? Despite the Craze Around the Nutrient, Research-Backed Evidence About Its Benefits Is Complicated

September 30, 2026

More Science

Innovation

The user, if pregnant, will feel raised bumps on both sides of the flat lollipop—a reaction to hCG, a hormone that the body produces during pregnancy.

This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their tongues

October 6, 2026

The Humble History of the Bedpan

September 24, 2026

This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatar

October 6, 2026

More Innovation

Travel

All of the sites on the Shikoku Pilgrimage are associated with Kobo Daishi, a Japanese monk who lived during the ninth century and founded Shingon, a major school of Buddhism that focuses on the attainment of enlightenment during a practitioner’s lifetime.

Japan’s Smallest and Least-Populated Major Island Is a World of Pilgrimages, Delicious Food and Plenty of Forest Bathing

Each year, more than 100,000 people hike at least part of a 750-mile route on Shikoku that connects 88 Buddhist temples and other sacred sites

September 29, 2026

Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragons

September 25, 2026

These 15 Wonderful Photographs of Kenya’s World-Class Wildlife Will Have You Booking a Flight to the Savanna

September 25, 2026

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Arts & Culture

Jack Nicholson peering through an axed-in door in The Shining.

Stanley Kubrick’s Personal Archive Is Going Up for Auction, Including the Ax From ‘The Shining’ and the Star Child From ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’

The legendary director’s on-set chair, annotated scripts and props give a glimpse into the meticulous moviemaking process behind films like “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut”

October 7, 2026

For Years, the Smithsonian Strove to Bring the African American History and Culture Museum to the National Mall. Now, It Celebrates a Decade as a Beacon of Understanding, Community and Resilience

September 22, 2026

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