Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

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The Name Game: A 'Celebrity' Cephalopod Specimen Correctly Identified More Than 80 Years After Discovery

Collected by the iconic American writer John Steinbeck, the octopus has received a number of scientific monikers

Brown mussel shells sit in a white box with orange paper underneath.

Interested in Using Museum Collections to Better Understand Freshwater Mussels? There’s Now an App for That

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Museum Collections Provide Some Muscle for Mussel Conservation

6) Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland.JPG

When Was the World Our Oyster? We Asked the Anthropologist Investigating Sustainable Oyster Practices Through History

The inside of a lumpy white and brown seashell is smooth and pink.

The Story Behind the Seashells By the Seashore

Smooth pearls in the shape of orbs and ovals are usually created by bivalves, like mussels, in pearl farms. As with all gems, the less blemishes they have, the more valuable they are. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

The True Story Behind How Pearls Are Made

Chris Meyer, a marine invertebrate zoologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, dives around French Polynesia with equipment used to track coral reef health. (Jenny Adler)

Meet the Reef Expert Collecting Environmental Time Capsules

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Newly Described Fossil From Wyoming Sheds Light on When Frogs and Toads Lost Their Teeth

To Bridge Heritage and Science, the Smithsonian’s Inclusive Education Programs Empower Learners Through Culture and Community

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