Articles

James J. Walker Park consists of soccer fields, pickleball courts, playground equipment and a community garden.

This New York City Park Was Built on Top of a Cemetery

In the late 19th century, city officials turned the final resting place for 10,000 souls into what's now Greenwich Village’s James J. Walker Park

Tourists watch leatherback sea turtle hatchlings crawl toward the sea under the glow of less intrusive red lights. Artificial white lighting can attract the hatchlings away from the ocean, where predators may be lurking.

From Prolonging Wallaby Pregnancies to Disorienting Hatchling Turtles, 11 Ways Artificial Lights Affect Animals

From the busy cities to ocean waters, our need to illuminate the world has had some strange and tragic consequences

The Ofaerufoss waterfall is part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River, meaning the “impassable northern river.” The river flows into Eldgja, or the “Canyon of Fire.”  

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

See photographs of the beautiful natural wonders from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Analysis of the Bullet Cluster, which was formed after two large clusters of galaxies collided, supports the existence of dark matter.

After Decades of Searching, Are Physicists Closing In on Dark Matter?

With no conclusive laboratory results, researchers are turning to other methods to find the elusive substance

Sculpted monsters, open tombs and dramatic depictions of supernatural combatants make visiting the Sacro Bosco more akin to braving a Renaissance version of a haunted house.

Discover the Mysteries of Italy's Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatures

The Sacro Bosco's meaning is the subject of debate, with scholars alternatively describing the sprawling complex as a memorial, an allegorical site or a tribute to ancient civilizations

Leo Reuss rehearses with celebrated stage actress Christl Mardayn in 1937. Reuss’ bleached hair and beard were remnants of his false identity as a farmer.

When the Nazis Seized Power, This Jewish Actor Took on the Role of His Life

After he was forced off the German stage in 1934 by antisemitic hecklers, Leo Reuss found a daring way to hide in plain sight

Medieval women’s lives were “more vibrant than people expect,” says lead curator Eleanor Jackson, “and [visitors] will be surprised by the sheer variety of roles” that they occupied in the fields of politics, religion and the arts.

These Rare Artifacts Tell Medieval Women's Stories in Their Own Words

A new exhibition at the British Library explores the public, private and spiritual lives of such figures as Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan and Hildegard of Bingen

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The Enterprising Woman Who Built—and Lost, and Rebuilt—a Booming Empire During the Klondike Gold Rush

With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier

Mark Muhn of Team Cleveland on his way to winning the Functional Electrical Stimulation bike race in the inaugural Cybathlon in 2016. Muhn’s legs are paralyzed; the muscles in them are activated by electric signals from a controller outside of his body.

Bionic 'Pilots' Compete for the Gold at the Cybathlon

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life

Jonathan Shapiro, a Vermont-based wilderness instructor and certified “specialist” tracker on the East Coast, during an evaluation in the California desert.

Even as A.I. Technology Races Ahead, the Prehistoric Science of Wildlife Tracking Is Making a Comeback

Humans perfected how to identify wild animals over millennia, and now biologists are rediscovering the exceptional worth of the tracks and marks left behind

A colorized photo of superhero rodent Mighty Mouse’s exuberant turn in the 1951 parade.

How the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Went From Its Modest Start to an American Tradition Rivaling Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie

A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights

Phil Little Thunder, a great-great-grandchild of the Lakota chief whose village was attacked in 1855. An ancient cottonwood known as the Witness Tree, right, still stands.

How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain

When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation

With its exquisitely vaulted ceiling and inlaid walnut bookshelves covering three floors, the East Room was designed as a treasury and showroom for Morgan's rare book collection.

Women Who Shaped History

This Savvy Librarian Was the True Force Behind New York’s Iconic Morgan Library

It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan's immense collection of books and art

A color-enhanced photo of Pluto that was captured by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made About Pluto

Though technically not a planet, it has as rich geology as any of its planetary siblings in the solar system

John Larson's original polygraph, a gift to the Smithsonian from the Berkeley Police Department, where Larson was the first rookie cop with a PhD.

Why the Creator of One of the First ‘Lie Detectors’ Lived to Regret His Invention

The early polygraph machine was considered the most scientific way to detect deception—but that was a myth

NBC News' 1988 electoral map marked states won by Republican George H.W. Bush in blue and states won by Democrat Michael Dukakis in red.

When Republicans Became 'Red' and Democrats Became 'Blue'

The 2000 presidential election cemented the color-coded nature of political parties. Prior to that race, the colors were often reversed on electoral maps

A view of the exhibition "Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return" at the National Portrait Gallery

From Candy to Lightbulbs, Felix Gonzalez-Torres Showed Life and Loss Through Everyday Objects

A new exhibition co-presented by the National Portrait Gallery and the Archives of American Art explores the seminal artist’s work

Clark Stanley’s snake oil was a marketing gimmick from the very start. 

How Snake Oil Became a Symbol of Fraud and Deception

The terms “snake oil” and “snake-oil salesperson” are part of the vernacular thanks to Clark Stanley, a quack doctor who marketed a product for joint pain in the late 19th century

A selection of the bounty from Isabella Dalla Ragione’s orchard, including apples, pears, plums, almonds, hazelnuts and grapes.

Meet the Italian 'Fruit Detective' Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table

Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

A selection of ballots from the 1860s shows a variety of the persuasive flourishes then in vogue.

Back in the 19th Century, Your Election Ballot Could Double as a Work of Art

During and after the Civil War, inventive illustrations allowed Democrats and Republicans to turn American ballots into powerful propaganda

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