Articles

In recent years, the festival has begun including sculptures that draw inspiration from popular culture. In 2009, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh were represented at the festival.

All the World's a Frozen Sculpture at China's Ice and Snow Festival

Thousands flock to one of the country's coldest regions to see the stunning displays

A gondolier navigates the Venetian Lagoon, a shallow, 210-square-mile bay fed by the Adriatic Sea, at sunset.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Enduring Mystique of the Venetian Lagoon

Among islands barely emerging from the water, you find yourself in an ageless world

The entrance to the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur mall is covered with sparkling archways.

Giant Christmas Displays Are Taking Over Malls Throughout Asia

These malls know how to get into the holiday spirit

A pile of letters wait to be loaded in a sorting machine at a USPS processing and distribution center.

Have Bad Handwriting? The U.S. Postal Service Has Your Back

Don’t worry, your Christmas gifts and cards will make it to their destination, even if your writing looks like chicken scratch

Making Sugar Twice as Sweet

An Israeli startup has invented a process to coat inert particles with sugar molecules, tricking the tongue into thinking food is sweeter

Everybody Loves Lists

Our Top Ten Stories of 2015

From treasures buried in glaciers to the racial history of a vanished city in Oregon, here are the most-read stories on Smithsonian.com this year

Dogs, like humans, use mimicry to enhance social bonds.

New Research

Dogs Mimic Each Other’s Expressions, Too

The behavioral findings hint that dogs, like humans, might be capable of their own form of empathy

Artist Sidney Mobell created this gold and jewel-encrusted Monopoly set in 1988. Following strict guidelines put forth from Parker Brothers, the game's manufacturer, he used 24-karat gold and 165 precious stones to create the set, which is valued at about $2 million.

From Teeth to Toilets, This Dazzling Exhibit of Gold Artifacts Has the Midas Touch

An exhibit at New York City's Museum of American Finance tracks the allure of gold through the centuries

Are We on the Cusp of a Global Volcanic Winter?

If a supervolcano like the one at Yellowstone were to erupt, the world would be engulfed in a global volcanic winter. Estimated cost: $3 trillion

Farmigo relies on a decentralized system of neighborhood organizers and pickup locations.

Smart Startup

It's Like Uber, But for Farmers' Markets

A startup called Farmigo is trying to create a better food system for both eaters and farmers

The hydrogel bends and flexes like human skin.

Introducing the Band-Aids of the Future

MIT engineers are developing a "smart" bandage that can monitor and deliver drugs to a wound

How Deadly Explosives Inspired the Nobel Peace Prize

Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite was a terrifying addition to mankind's arsenal of destruction. Ironically, it also spawned the Nobel Peace Prize

Top Nine Ocean Stories That Had Us Talking in 2015

From fossil whales to adorable octopuses, here are some of the marine headliners that caught our attention this year

The robotic arms move across the range, cooking and cleaning.

This Robot Will Make You Dinner

Moley Robotics is developing a robotic kitchen that can prepare a meal from start to finish—cleanup included

Metal microlattice

This Metal Is 99.9 Percent Air

A new metal "microlattice" is strong yet incredibly light, lending itself to a wide variety of aerospace, automotive and medical uses

Jon Lovitch stands in front of the 2013 incarnation of GingerBread Lane. The village becomes larger and more elaborate each year.

Behold: The World's Largest (Three-Ton) Gingerbread Village

Experience the glory of GingerBread Lane

A female medium ground finch, one of at least 14 species of Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Age of Humans

Charles Darwin's Famous Finches Could Be Extinct in Half a Century

The finches on the Galapagos Islands are suffering from a parasitic fly introduced to the islands by humans

Dot is an affordable active Braille smartwatch.

A Smartwatch for the Visually Impaired

Developed by University of Washington students, Dot translates texts, tweets and e-books to Braille

Photos and Videos of the National Zoo's Panda Cub Making a Visit to the Vet

A check-up reveals that Bei Bei is now a hefty, thriving 18 pounds

Smithsonite, or zinc spar, is a carbon zinc ore.This mineral was named in 1832 after English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson (founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution).

We Are Missing At Least 145 Carbon-Bearing Minerals, and You Can Help Find Them

The Carbon Mineral Challenge is asking rock enthusiasts around the world to hunt for the undiscovered forms of this common element

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