Articles

Deep, lush colors in the Turkey Red Cabinet set of 1911 (above, Safe at Third) led many to tack these on their walls as works of art.

Would Baseball have Become America’s National Pastime Without Baseball Cards?

Tobacco companies spurred the mania, but artistry won the hearts of collectors

A cartoon from a U.S. newspaper from 1880 reads: 'Terrorism in the South. Citizens beaten and shot at."

The Deadliest Massacre in Reconstruction-Era Louisiana Happened 150 Years Ago

In September 1868, Southern white Democrats hunted down around 200 African-Americans in an effort to suppress voter turnout

Interior view of the House of Culture.

Armenia

Photos Document What Remains of a Soviet Atomic City

A new book explores the architectural history of Metsamor, Armenia, once a planned utopia for nuclear power plant workers

Wild Bilberry.

Armenia

Mapping Armenia’s Edible Landscape, One Wild Bilberry Bush at a Time

The 1000 Leaf Project aims to document Armenia's hundreds of edible plants and mushrooms with help from local residents

The coating, if used on enough buildings at once, could also help deal with so-called “urban heat islands.”

This New Coating Could Help Keep Buildings Cool

The porous polymer uses tiny air holes to reflect all wavelengths of sunlight, cooling buildings far better than white paint

In the installation, astronaut Mae Jemison appears as a 3D rendering (above, left) and discusses her career and those of other women involved in the space program.

A Hologram of the First Woman of Color in Space Debuted on Museum Day

An installation at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum featuring Mae Jemison highlights diversity in space exploration

Haile Gerima’s 1993 classic film Sankofa envisions an African-American model visiting present-day West Africa mystically thrust into the life of a slave.

Smithsonian Film Festival Examines African-American Life Through Dozens of Distinct Lenses

The first of its kind, the late-October event brings together perspectives both historical and contemporary

Billie Jean King is the fifth recipient of the Smithsonian “Great Americans” medal.

Smithsonian Names Billie Jean King One of Its 'Great Americans"'

The tennis icon chatted about her life and legacy in a wide-ranging conversation at the National Museum of American History

Illustration of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observing an M dwarf star with orbiting planets.

TESS Space Telescope Will Find Thousands of Planets, but Astronomers Seek a Select Few

NASA's new space telescope has already discovered two planets, but the hunt for a world like Earth is just getting started

The antennas are made from a special two-dimensional metallic material called MXene.

Are Spray-On Antennas the Future of Wearables?

The ultra-thin, flexible antennas can be applied to nearly any surface using an airbrush

A Mobius strip.

The Mathematical Madness of Möbius Strips and Other One-Sided Objects

The discovery of the Möbius strip in the mid-19th century launched a brand new field of mathematics: topology

When stimulated, OLM cells in the brain encourage risk-taking behavior.

The Brain's "Bravery Cells" Encourage Risky Behavior

Cells in the hippocampus help determine whether to be apprehensive in stressful situations, and they could be stimulated to treat anxiety

Before He Was a Musician, John Lennon Was a Philatelist

Marking the arrival of a new postage stamp, the musician’s boyhood collection is on view at the National Postal Museum

One skull found showed evidence of a gruesome, violent death

The Dead Beneath London's Streets

Human remains dating back to the Roman Empire populate the grounds below the surface, representing a burden for developers but a boon for archaeologists

Thousands of migratory birds fly over Northern California in February.

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Lava Tentacles to Abandoned Car Lots, This Acclaimed Violinist Turned Aerial Photographer Captures Our World From 2,000 Feet Up

Jassen Todorov, a professor of music, shares his journey into the world of aerial photography

Mildred Gillars, a.k.a. Axis Sally, in custody at U.S. Counter Intelligence HQ, Berlin, 1946.

'Axis Sally' Brought Hot Jazz to the Nazi Propaganda Machine

The voice of Nazi Germany’s U.S. radio disinformation campaigns would have had great success in the media landscape of today

Ants and honey bees have been observed reproducing without males before, and now all-female termite colonies join the asexual group.

All-Female Termite Colonies Reproduce Without Male Input

These insects seem to have dispensed entirely of the need for males and their sperm

A 1903 photograph of family and relatives of Noah Benenhaley (1860-1939) and his wife, Rosa Benenhaley (1857-1937), both descendants of Joseph Benenhaley.

Tracing the Mysterious "Turks" of South Carolina Back to the Revolutionary War

For generations, this ethnic group was shunned, but new research sheds light on its origins

A record 105 tons of ivory was burned in Kenya in 2016, destroying tens of millions of dollars in illegal wildlife goods.

Rhino Horn and Tiger Wine: How the Illegal Wildlife Trade Is Growing Bolder

Wildlife author and journalist Rachel Nuwer discusses her new book <i>Poached</i> about one of the world's fastest-growing contraband industries

A satellite image of Los Angeles

What Can Satellite Imagery Tell Us About Obesity in Cities?

A new AI can figure out which elements of the built environment might influence a city's obesity rate

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