Get the latest from Smithsonian magazine in your inbox every weekday.

By checking this box, I agree to receive other information from the Smithsonian, including relevant content and programming, news about Smithsonian events, trips and offers, and museum updates. Click to visit our Privacy Statement.
Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.

Latest Features

No room for cars, it’s much easier to traverse the narrow streets on islands near Venice by bicycle

TRAVEL

See 15 Remarkable Photos That Will Make You Fall in Love With Italy

Dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes sported feathers.

SCIENCE

Dinosaurs Evolved Feathers for Far More Than Flight

Survivors of the Indianapolis disaster en route to a hospital following their rescue in August 1945

HISTORY

The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis Triggered the Worst Shark Attack in History

This fossil palm leaf (Sabalites sp.) found in Alaska can be seen in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Sixty million years ago, dense, wet forests covered North America, and many plants, including palms, grew in places such as Alaska where temperatures are too frigid for them today. A new study published in Science gives scientists a picture of when the Earth was warm and when it was cool over the past 485 million years.

SCIENCE

In a Landmark Study, Scientists Discover Just How Much Earth's Temperature Has Changed Over Nearly 500 Million Years

Blossom Time, Willard Metcalf, oil on canvas, 1910

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How Century-Old Paintings Reveal the Indigenous Roots and Natural History of New England Landscapes

A lead canister carrying the fuel rods from the U.S. Army’s Camp Century nuclear reactor in Greenland, during decommissioning in 1960s.

SCIENCE

The Odd Arctic Military Projects Spawned by the Cold War

An 1860 photo of New-York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, who challenged President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 election

HISTORY

This Defeated Presidential Candidate, Once the 'Best-Known Man in America,' Died in a Sanatorium Less Than a Month After Losing the Election

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz eloped in 1940. Eleven years later, “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS, and they would become one of the most iconic couples for decades to follow.

TRAVEL

Desi Arnaz Is Getting a Much-Deserved Historical Marker in Miami Beach

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine September/October 2024 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

An 11-Year-Old Boy Rescued a Mysterious Artwork From the Dump. It Turned Out to Be a 500-Year-Old Renaissance Print

Experts have confirmed that the image of "Knight, Death and the Devil" is a real master engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

2.

Smart News

Archaeologists Say They've Solved the Mystery of a Lead Coffin Discovered Beneath Notre-Dame

New research suggests the sarcophagus' occupant, previously known only as "the horseman," is Joachim du Bellay, a French Renaissance poet who died in 1560

3.

Smart News

Low Water Levels Reveal Sunken Nazi Ships Full of Unexploded Munitions in the Danube River

Due to a drought in Eastern Europe, the scuttled German vessels are reemerging 80 years after they disappeared beneath the river's surface

4.

History

This Defeated Presidential Candidate, Once the 'Best-Known Man in America,' Died in a Sanatorium Less Than a Month After Losing the Election

Newspaper editor Horace Greeley unsuccessfully ran against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant in November 1872. Twenty-four days later, he died of unknown causes at a private mental health facility

5.

Smart News

Georgia O'Keeffe's Breathtaking New York City Paintings Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

The artist's cityscapes, once dismissed as too masculine, would later influence the floral artworks that became central to her iconic style

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Books

How the Constitution Was Drafted With Hope and Compromise

National Museum of Natural History

Fetching Fossils and Unwrapping Mannequins: Here’s What Happens When a Museum Exhibition Closes

Smithsonian Education

Creativity and Co-Creation Bring Local Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Histories to the Classroom

National Museum of American History

Smithsonian Artifacts Reveal the Historical Significance of Presidential Debates

National Museum of Natural History

Across the Smithsonian, Researchers are Working Together to Save Virginia’s Birds

National Museum of Natural History

Searching for Earth's Oldest Rocks: Follow a Smithsonian Expedition to the Remote Northwest Territories

See All

Special Report
None

Our Sustainable Future

A hub dedicated to the latest on how global change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are researching to build a more sustainable planet

View Full Report

Featured Stories

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Inside the Effort to Save Earth's Biocrusts

Can the Noise in Sports Arenas Be Turned Into Electricity?

  image   image

Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

Photo of the day

Mam, I am hungry. Please Wait

History

Survivors of the Indianapolis disaster en route to a hospital following their rescue in August 1945

The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis Triggered the Worst Shark Attack in History

In the final weeks of World War II, a Japanese torpedo sank an American heavy cruiser. Only 316 of the 900 sailors who survived the initial attack were ultimately rescued

An 1860 photo of New-York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, who challenged President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 election

This Defeated Presidential Candidate, Once the 'Best-Known Man in America,' Died in a Sanatorium Less Than a Month After Losing the Election

In 2022, researchers nicknamed the occupant of the lead sarcophagus "the horseman." Now, they say he's actually a 16th-century poet.

Archaeologists Say They've Solved the Mystery of a Lead Coffin Discovered Beneath Notre-Dame

Science

This fossil palm leaf (Sabalites sp.) found in Alaska can be seen in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Sixty million years ago, dense, wet forests covered North America, and many plants, including palms, grew in places such as Alaska where temperatures are too frigid for them today. A new study published in Science gives scientists a picture of when the Earth was warm and when it was cool over the past 485 million years.

In a Landmark Study, Scientists Discover Just How Much Earth's Temperature Has Changed Over Nearly 500 Million Years

Researchers show the average surface temperature on our planet has shifted between 51.8 to 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit

Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system, is best known for its layered rings.

The Seven Most Interesting Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Saturn

A lead canister carrying the fuel rods from the U.S. Army’s Camp Century nuclear reactor in Greenland, during decommissioning in 1960s.

The Odd Arctic Military Projects Spawned by the Cold War

Innovation

Divers saw nine species of game fish and soft coral starting to grow on the submerged cars last month.

No Longer Full of Commuters, Atlanta's Old Subway Cars Are Now Filled With Fish

Two Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority railcars were added to an artificial reef off the coast of Georgia to create more wildlife habitat

Kids cool down at an animal-themed splash pad at Zoo Miami. Mist stations also help visitors avoid overheating on sweltering days.

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Robotic kitchens aren’t on homemakers’ must-have lists yet, but they are starting to gain traction in restaurants.

Robots Are Coming to the Kitchen. What Does This Mean for Everyday Life?

Arts & Culture

A self-portrait taken in New York by Vivian Maier in 1954

Meet Vivian Maier, the Reclusive Nanny Who Secretly Became One of the Best Street Photographers of the 20th Century

The self-taught artist is getting her first museum exhibition in New York City, where she nurtured her nascent interest in photography

The Museum of Perfume, presented by Paris’ Fragonard Perfumery, is dedicated to exploring the methodology and history behind perfume making.

Museums in Paris That Surprise and Delight, From Medical History to Magic to Marie Curie

The weapons are adorned with gold and silver designs and an engraved image of Napoleon.

Napoleon's Elaborately Decorated Pistols Sell for $1.8 Million at Auction

Travel

Fossil teeth are quite abundant in Southwest Florida.

Four Places to Find Fossilized Shark Teeth in the United States

Sharks have been losing teeth for 400 million years. Here’s a guide to uncovering some of these plentiful fossils across the country

The color-coded map shows predictions for each week between September 2 and November 18.

This Map Lets You See When Magnificent Fall Foliage Will Peak in Your Area

The miniature cakes, which fit in the palm of a hand, are most commonly made with a thin pastry layer encasing a dense filling of sweetened red beans, melon purée or mixed nuts.

The Rebellious History of Mooncakes, the Note-Passing Dessert That Liberated China

At the Smithsonian

Bokmakierie's nest and eggs from the collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring

See the Wonders of Bird Engineering in These Photos of Intricate Nests

In a new book, a curator at England's Natural History Museum describes rare and interesting nests and eggs—from the house sparrow to the village weaver—and the lessons they hold for avian conservation

Gambel oak branchlet

This Massive New Guidebook Will Forever Change the Way You Look at Trees

Station VI: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, Bruce Onobrakpeya, linoleum block print on rice paper, 1969

After Nigerian Independence, One Renowned Artist Made Jesus a West African Savior in His Vibrant Work