Articles

The house of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" books

The Science of "Little House on the Prairie"

A mutual passion for Laura Ingalls Wilder inspired scientists in unrelated disciplines to investigate events from the famous author's world

Nikiko Masumoto works with raisins on her family's farm.

Age of Humans

Where Will Our Future Food Come From? Ask a Farmer

Two farmers with different viewpoints talk about organic farming, GMOs and farm technology

Opuntia cacti grow in the desert near Twentynine Palms, California. The area is home to plenty of dry plants and weeds—perfect for the city's annual Weed Show.

At This Unique Flower Show, Weeds Are the Stars

The women of this small desert town have found beauty in getting in the weeds

In Wisconsin, Evidence of Human Sacrifice

Wisconsin's Aztalan State Park is home a mysterious pyramidal mound built by the prehistoric Native Americans who once lived there

Chelonoidis donfaustoi was named after Ecuador’s oldest park ranger.

New Research

New Species of Galapagos Tortoise Found on Santa Cruz Island

The newly recognized reptile was thought to be part of a more populous species of tortoise sharing the island

An artist’s rendering shows a white dwarf star shredding a rocky asteroid.

New Research

Dead Star Shredding a Rocky Body Offers a Preview of Earth's Fate

The stellar corpse spotted by a NASA telescope backs up a theory that white dwarf stars eat planetary remnants

Montsechia’s origins in freshwater lakes challenge the idea that flowers evolved on land before moving into water.

These Are the Oldest Known Flowers in the World

Found in the fossil record, these plants are more than 100 million years old

Ask Smithsonian

Why Do Astronauts on the International Space Station Float and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

"I think this thing will make Beethoven," Disney once said.

Disney's "Fantasia" Was Initially a Critical and Box-Office Failure

More than seventy-five years after its debut, a look back at the animated masterpiece

A spaghetti squash explodes with color. Maciek Jasik does not reveal his technique for making produce expel colorful smoke.

These Fruits Explode With Color. Literally.

Artist Maciek Jasik won't share the secrets behind his work, but the mystery is part of the fun

Behold the Blobfish

How a creature from the deep taught the world a lesson about the importance of being ugly

A bowl done in a style first seen around A.D. 1100 has “acid blooms” on its interior—imperfections suggesting that someone used modern soaps to clean the bowl up, possibly to fetch a higher price on the black market.

An Exclusive Look at the Greatest Haul of Native American Artifacts, Ever

In a warehouse in Utah, federal agents are storing tens of thousands of looted objects recovered in a massive sting

The pivotal accuser at the trials, Tituba, would go down in history as a purveyor of satanic magic. An 1880s engraving depicts her in the act of terrifying children.

Secrets of American History

Unraveling the Many Mysteries of Tituba, the Star Witness of the Salem Witch Trials

No one really knows the true motives of the character central to one of America's greatest secrets

Secrets of American History

That Time When Custer Stole a Horse

The theft of a prize-winning stallion gave the famous general a glimpse of a future that could have been

A coffle of slaves being marched from Virginia west into Tennessee, c. 1850.

Secrets of American History

Retracing Slavery's Trail of Tears

America's forgotten migration – the journeys of a million African-Americans from the tobacco South to the cotton South

Secrets of American History

Thirty Years Later, We Still Don't Truly Know Who Betrayed These Spies

Was there a fourth mole in the U.S. intelligence system that blew these secret agents' covers?

A tiny camera is embedded in the horn of a black rhino.

How Technology May Help Save the Rhino From Extinction

Horns grown in a laboratory and hidden cameras could be the key to tackling this conservation challenge

Did Diplodocus walk with a spring in its neck?

New Research

How Long-Necked Dinosaurs Pumped Blood to Their Brains

Well-preserved fossils include spring-like neck bones that may have helped the giants get blood from their hearts to their heads

The app uses facial expression-tracking technology.

Can an App Help Detect Autism?

Duke University researchers are using facial expression-tracking technology to screen for autism spectrum disorders

"We pass from one realm of water to another," Brodsky told the author during their late-night walk through the city, which lasted until the first rays of dawn glinted over the sea.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The City Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky Called Paradise

A journalist recalls his witching-hour walk through Venice with the famous poet

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