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Latest Features

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SCIENCE

Keeping the Spirit of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Harvest Alive

Spinner dolphins swim in the Red Sea. Research has shown some dolphins are shy, while others are extroverted.

SCIENCE

Five Amazing Dolphin Behaviors, Explained

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ARTS & CULTURE

How Dungeons & Dragons Sparked a Revolution in How We Play Just About Everything

Edythe Eyde started writing under the pen name Lisa Ben after an editor rejected her first choice, Ima Spinster.

HISTORY

Who Was 'Lisa Ben,' the Woman Behind the U.S.'s First Lesbian Magazine?

A member of the Indigenous Bolivian women's skateboard collective Imilla Skate in La Paz on June 16, 2022.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How Indigenous Communities Preserve and Practice Heritage at the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The male Morrison bumblebee relies on its enlarged compound eyes to spot—and then pursue—desirable queens to mate with.

SCIENCE

These Cute, Fuzzy Bumblebees Are Precision-Engineered Pollinators

In 1881, Fanny Angelina Hesse suggested agar, a jelly-like substance she used in cooking, as a replacement for gelatin, which scientists used to study microorganisms.

HISTORY

Meet the Forgotten Woman Who Revolutionized Microbiology With a Simple Kitchen Staple

Workers inside one of nine trenches excavated during the recent dig season this January.

HISTORY

A Buried Ancient Egyptian Port Reveals the Hidden Connections Between Distant Civilizations

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine June 2024 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

These Stunning Butterflies Flew 2,600 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean Without Stopping

Researchers combined several lines of evidence to solve the mystery of why a group of painted ladies, which do not live in South America, were found fluttering on a beach in French Guiana

2.

History

A Buried Ancient Egyptian Port Reveals the Hidden Connections Between Distant Civilizations

At the site of Berenike, in the desert sands along the Red Sea, archaeologists are uncovering wondrous new finds that challenge old ideas about the makings of the modern world

3.

Science

Pablo Escobar’s Abandoned Hippos Are Wreaking Havoc in the Colombian Jungle

Decades ago, the drug baron smuggled the beasts into South America for his private menagerie. They’ve been multiplying ever since. Now officials are taking extreme measures to counter the problem

4.

Arts & Culture

An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to 'The Twilight Zone'

His failed attempts to bring the Emmett Till tragedy to television forced him to get creative

5.

Smart News

Move Over, Genghis Khan. Many Other Men Left Huge Genetic Legacies

A 2015 study showed that ten other men have a lot of descendants. The paper is just one of several genetic studies revealing the secrets of descent

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Associates

Explore America’s Roadside Wonders and More Lively Programs in July

Smithsonian Education

In Conversation with 2024 National Teacher of the Year, Missy Testerman

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Learn More About LGBTQ+ Women With These Podcasts, Paintings and Portraits

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

The 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Guide for Kids and Families

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

The Inside Story of How an Interstellar Jam Session Came to the Las Vegas Sphere

Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery

Who Are Today’s Fighters for Freedom?

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Special Report
Lofoten Islands, Norway

Northern Europe and the British Isles

Explore the region's history, culture and natural wonders

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Featured Stories

The English Farmers Who Harvest Rhubarb by Candlelight

Hoyma Is Bringing Music Home in the Faroe Islands

Get an Eyeful of Iceland in These 15 Photos That Capture Its Natural Beauty

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Photo of the day

The clothing of local women in Iran has a special harmony and homogeneity with the environment of their living area. The local woman chooses a curtain whose various colors are inspired by the heart of nature and the nature-oriented spirit of man. These colors become a bridge to connect the female body with the nature that is the supplier of these colors and with the human spirit that has followed the path of evolution from the heart of this nature. Meanwhile, in big cities, as people move away from nature and the society becomes more industrialized, colors gradually lose their role, and the world of women becomes black and white with that gentleness of soul and beauty. Colorful Covers

History

Edythe Eyde started writing under the pen name Lisa Ben after an editor rejected her first choice, Ima Spinster.

Who Was 'Lisa Ben,' the Woman Behind the U.S.'s First Lesbian Magazine?

Edythe Eyde published nine issues of "Vice Versa" between June 1947 and February 1948. She later adopted a pen name that doubled as an anagram for "lesbian"

Zorita de los Canes Castle in central Spain, where the 25 skeletons were discovered

Was This Mysterious Woman a Medieval Warrior?

In 1881, Fanny Angelina Hesse suggested agar, a jelly-like substance she used in cooking, as a replacement for gelatin, which scientists used to study microorganisms.

Meet the Forgotten Woman Who Revolutionized Microbiology With a Simple Kitchen Staple

Science

Many new technologies are being developed to help diagnose mental illnesses.

Can Technology Help Us More Accurately Diagnose Mental Illnesses?

A new wave of tools promises to offer quicker, more objective assessments to help patients and clinicians

Monarchs, some frogs and other animals feed on toxic plants or bugs for protection

A Poisonous Diet Gives These Animals Their Own Toxic Defense

One of the new benthic landers is lowered into the Gulf of Mexico via a system of winches and safety lines. Once released, the autonomous platform sinks at a carefully calculated rate until it lands on the seafloor.

These Innovative Landers Will Examine Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Mexico

Innovation

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How Dungeons & Dragons Sparked a Revolution in How We Play Just About Everything

Created more than 50 years ago, the game has captured the imaginations of generations of Americans, and not just the nerdy ones

In 1881, Fanny Angelina Hesse suggested agar, a jelly-like substance she used in cooking, as a replacement for gelatin, which scientists used to study microorganisms.

Meet the Forgotten Woman Who Revolutionized Microbiology With a Simple Kitchen Staple

In order to build ships strong and technically savvy enough to traverse through some of the most remote and challenging landscapes on Earth, several cruise companies borrowed designs from other parts of the shipping industry.

How a New Line of Expedition Ships Is Turning the Tides on Polar Seas

Arts & Culture

American video artist Brian Fridge created a five-billboard series in Dallas called View Finder that portrayed a solar eclipse.

The Long History of Art Inspired by Solar Eclipses

For centuries, curious artists have been trying to make sense of the celestial event

An oak peacock moth lands on a window behind dancing wedding guests, illuminated in red light. This photograph won the category for butterflies and dragonflies.

See 11 Winning Images From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards

The latest winner of a Japanese literary prize said she used ChatGPT to write parts of her novel.

ChatGPT Helped Write This Award-Winning Japanese Novel

Travel

More than just a place to eat, many French country bistros offer lodgings and sell local produce. But the transactions of greatest value are the social ones, in which locals come together over a meal or a drink to discuss everything from pressing politics to idle gossip. 

Will the Bistro Save France's Rural Villages?

Because these social hubs are the glue holding communities together, a growing movement seeks to protect them on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list

Aspen, Colorado gets around 300 days of sunshine per year.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2024

In order to build ships strong and technically savvy enough to traverse through some of the most remote and challenging landscapes on Earth, several cruise companies borrowed designs from other parts of the shipping industry.

How a New Line of Expedition Ships Is Turning the Tides on Polar Seas

At the Smithsonian

A member of the Indigenous Bolivian women's skateboard collective Imilla Skate in La Paz on June 16, 2022.

How Indigenous Communities Preserve and Practice Heritage at the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The annual festival returns to the National Mall to celebrate Indigenous traditions that span continents and generations

An artist's portrayal of Lokiceratops rangiformis, which lived in the swamps of western North America about 78 million years ago.

Dinosaur With Giant, Loki-Like Horns Has the 'Craziest, Coolest' Headgear—and Could Be a New Species

The badges identify the wearer's occupation, such as servant or porter. 

These Badges Shed New Light on the Enslaved Workers Who Built Charleston