Articles

The cracked-plate portrait of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner, 1865, albumen silver print

A Smithsonian Historian Wanders the “Bardo,” Exploring the Spiritual World of the 19th Century

George Saunders’ new novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo” recalls the melancholy that hung over a nation at war

After extreme weather swept from the plains states to the Ohio River valley in fall 1926, levees began bursting in the Lower Mississippi Valley in March of ’27 and kept breaking through May.

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 Laid Bare the Divide Between the North and the South

The 1927 disaster exposed a country divided by stereotypes and united by modernity

A noninvasive brain-computer interface based on EEG recordings from the scalp.

Melding Mind and Machine: How Close Are We?

Researchers separate what's science from what's currently still fiction when it comes to brain-computer interfacing

The critically acclaimed director James Gray took on the story of explorer Percival Fawcett's search for a lost city in Amazonia.

How Director James Gray Discovered the Insanity Behind the Search for “The Lost City of Z”

A story of Victorian-age madness and exploration in the South American jungle is coming to a theater near you

Busting apart this aging dam on the Jeremy River in Connecticut opened up 27 kilometers of salmon habitat and spawning gravel for the first time in close to 300 years. Other fish will benefit too, including the eastern brook trout, sea lamprey, American eel, and river herring.

The Environmental Price of Dams

Why some conservationists are demolishing dams in the name of rivers and fish

The material—the black blocks between the two plates, pictured here—could be used with cooking pots to charge phones or jewelry to power health sensors.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Is This New Material a Game Changer for Thermoelectricity?

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic material that converts heat to electricity

Ex-president Theodore Roosevelt speaks to crowds in Mineola, New York, in support of US entry into the First World War, 1917

World War I: 100 Years Later

Why Teddy Roosevelt Tried to Bully His Way Onto the WWI Battlefield

Tensions ran high when President Wilson quashed the return of the former president’s Rough Riders

Construction on the Pentagon was completed in January 1943. With about 6.4 million square feet, it is still today the world’s largest low-rise office building.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Is the Pentagon a Pentagon?

Planners battled to ensure the building kept its unique shape

From Jellyfish to Crocodiles: Where to See Unusual Migrations

Butterflies and wildebeests aren't the only species you can find migrating en masse

The lost colony of Roanoke

The Mystery of Roanoke Endures Yet Another Cruel Twist

An artifact found 20 years ago turns out to not be what archaeologists thought

Are orangutans aware that others have different minds than their own?

New Research

Monkeys May Recognize False Beliefs—Knocking Over Yet Another Pillar of Human Cognition

Apes may be aware of the minds of others—yet another remarkable finding about the cognitive abilities of non-human animals

The mechanical lung would function outside the patient's body.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

An Artificial Lung That Fits In a Backpack

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are developing a device that works like the sophisticated organ

Naomi Weisstein was a feminist activist, a neuropsychologist and, for a brief time, a rock 'n roll musician.

This Feminist Psychologist-Turned-Rock-Star Led a Full Life of Resistance

Naomi Weisstein fought against the idea of women as objects in both the fields of psychology and rock 'n roll

Developed by Komal Dadlani, Lab4U apps take advantage of a smartphone's built-in sensors.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This App Puts a Science Lab in Your Pocket

Lab4U turns smartphones and tablets into scientific tools

Two large litters of cheetah cubs were born at the National Zoo's Front Royal, Virginia, facility—the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Future of Conservation

Two Litters of Adorable Cheetah Cubs Born in One Week

Smithsonian's cheetah conservation program welcomes the springtime births after careful planning

An American aid worker in France writes a letter back home for a wounded soldier in 1918.

World War I Letters From Generals to Doughboys Voice the Sorrow of Fighting a War

An exhibition at the National Postal Museum displays a rare letter from General John Pershing

Snow at Fukagawa by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806), Japan, Edo period, ca. 1802–6

This Rare Display of a Japanese Triptych is Only Usurped by the Great Mysteries Surrounding It

Don’t miss this singular showing of Kitagawa Utamaro's three works reunited at the Sackler Gallery

This Asiatic cheetah, caught on camera in the Naybandan Wildlife Refuge in Iran, is likely one of just dozens in the region.

New Research

Poaching Isn't the Cheetah's Only Problem

Humans isolate the rare cats with roads and fences—which can be as devastating as hunting them outright

A poster by artist Edward Penfield promotes The Woman’s Land Army of America, created to encourage women to step into agricultural jobs after men were called into military service.

These Powerful Posters Persuaded Americans It Was Time to Join the Fight

The Smithsonian offers a rare opportunity to see an original iconic Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster, among others, of the World War I era

Former U.S. president Barack Obama goes book-shopping with his daughters in Washington, DC in 2015.

New Research

Liberals and Conservatives Read Totally Different Books About Science

The good news: Everyone likes dinosaurs

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