Articles

How Yosemite Became the Setting of a Chaotic 1970 Riot

Independence Day in 1970 at Yosemite National Park should have been an occasion for celebration. Instead, it became a day of violence

Dennis Wiist inspects an eagle's foot at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado.

Inside a Remarkable Repository that Supplies Eagle Parts to Native Americans and Science

The repository, which has long provided feathers to tribes for traditional uses, also helps bird conservation researchers

The prototype solar vapor generator

Future of Energy

How a Sponge, Bubble Wrap and Sunlight Can Lead to Clean Water

With simple materials, MIT researchers have developed a cheap, easy-to-build device to desalinate water and treat wastewater

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Life Aboard a Renovated World War II Tugboat

With help from friends, a transplanted Philadelphian embarks on a voyage of discovery through Alaska's waters

Laser Scientists Are Developing Star Trek's Phaser

Some of the technology from Star Trek is already coming to life in the Lockheed Martin lab

Boldly going where no curatorial object has gone before.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Mission to Restore the Original Starship Enterprise

The beloved 1960s studio model stars in <em>Building Star Trek</em>, a documentary premiering on Smithsonian Channel this Sunday

The only one who really understands me.

New Research

Dogs Know When You're Praising Them. That Doesn't Mean They Understand Human Speech

A dose of caution with the results of an intriguing new study

Gas or charcoal? It's the perpetual debate. And despite many grilling advances, many still prefer good old fashioned charcoal.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Story of the Weber Grill Begins With a Buoy

When metalworker George Stephen, Sr. put two halves of a buoy together, he didn't know he was making a charcoal grill that would stand the test of time

Think Curiosity is cool? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Think Big

How the Next Generation of Mars Rovers will Search for Signs of Life

The Mars 2020 rover doesn’t even have a name yet—but it already has an ambitious goal

Inside the Church of Saint Nicholas, Father Nikolai Yakunin blesses parishioners during Pascha (Russian Easter), which begins at midnight and ends at dawn. The smoke of the incense is said to lift prayers to heaven.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

In a Remote Alaskan Town, a Centuries-Old Russian Faith Thrives

Residents of Nikolaevsk remain true to the traditions of their ancestors, who fled religious persecution in the 17th-century

Oil painting of the Great Fire, seen from Newgate.

History of Now

The Great Fire of London Was Blamed on Religious Terrorism

Why scores of Londoners thought the fire of 1666 was all part of a nefarious Catholic conspiracy

A Falcon 9 explodes on the launch pad, 9:07 a.m. on September 1, 2016.

Air & Space Magazine

SpaceX Explosion Sets Back Launch Date, Hopes

The Falcon 9 blow up may be a sign that Elon Musk is moving too fast

Crazy Vintage Footage of Park Visitors Feeding Bears

Wildlife management in national parks has come a long way in recent decades. In the '70s, visitors were regularly encouraged to feed bears

An artist's impression of the Milky Way six million years ago, depicts an orange bubble at the galactic center and extending to a radius of about 20,000 light-years. Scientist think that outside of that bubble, a pervasive "fog" of million-degree gas might account for the galaxy's missing matter.

Solving the Mystery of the Milky Way’s Missing Mass

Smithsonian scientists have discovered a huge cloud of super hot gas expanding from the middle of our galaxy

Fabric containing the same material as plastic wrap was found to make human skin almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

Future of Energy

Is Plastic the Secret to Clothes That Will Keep You Cool?

Because it allows infrared radiation to escape your body, polyethylene could become key to what we wear in a warming world

The Williams Dreamland Theatre, Tulsa, OK, c. 1921

Your Questions About African-American History, Answered

A special edition of Ask Smithsonian on the occasion of the opening of a new Smithsonian museum

Two Giant Killer Hornet Colonies Battle to the Death

A giant killer hornet war is waged between two colonies, and the resources, territories, and survival of a new generation are at stake

Once 2,000 square miles in Virginia and North Carolina, the swamp today is perhaps one-tenth that size.

Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom

The Great Dismal Swamp was once a thriving refuge for runaways

The Browns in Topeka, Kansas

The Children of Civil Rights Leaders Are Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize

The next generation is following in the footsteps of its forebears

A beach in Juneau, Alaska. Sea levels in Alaska are not rising, but dropping precipitously due to a phenomenon known as glacial isostatic adjustment.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Melting Glaciers Are Wreaking Havoc on Earth's Crust

Sea levels are dropping, earthquakes and volcanoes are waking up, and even the earth's axis is moving—all because of melting ice

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