From the Collections

Spindly legs and thick, red fur have earned maned wolves the nickname “foxes on stilts,” but the animal is neither fox nor wolf.

Smithsonian Voices

What the Rhythm of a Maned Wolf's Heart Reveals

Smithsonian researchers are monitoring stress rates of this keystone species for better ways to manage them

The National Zoo shares favorite moments as curators and keepers train their expert eyes on the Giant Panda Cam, monitoring the young cub's first weeks.

Pandamonium

Top 10 Giant Panda Cub Cam Moments

Two National Zoo curators and the panda keeper journal their favorite moments of the new cub's first days

Thomas Jefferson, who had suffered great criticism for his religious beliefs, once said that the care he had taken to reduce the Gospels to their core message should prove that he was in fact, a “real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.”

Why Thomas Jefferson Created His Own Bible

In a new book, Smithsonian curator of religion Peter Manseau tells of how <em>The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth</em> first sparked hot controversy

Photograph of Chiura Obata teaching a children's art class at Tanforan Art School, 1942 / unidentified photographer.

Smithsonian Voices

The Papers of Artist Chiura Obata Chronicle Life Inside World War II Incarceration Camps

At the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the artist's story is one of resilience amidst the upheaval

Smithsonian anthropologists hold up the world’s longest beard after it was donated to the National Museum of Natural History in 1967.

Smithsonian Voices

Celebrate Five of Nature's Best Beards on World Beard Day

In the sea, the sky and the land between, organisms sport bristles, fuzz and fur of all styles

In an interview, the L.A. artist Sterling Ruby says his new sculpture addresses the duality of love loss and "celebrate light while motioning towards an expiration."

In Washington, D.C., Towering Candles Shine as a Beacon of Hope in Dark Times

Artist Sterling Ruby reflects on the recent installation of his sculpture <em>Double Candle</em> at the Hirshhorn

Emilio Sanchez with children in Puerto Rico, 1964. Emilio Sanchez papers, 1922-2012.

Smithsonian Voices

How the Desolate Architectural Paintings of Emilio Sanchez Were Crafted From the Artist's Travel Snapshots

In the Archives of American Art, a scholar pieces together the Cuban-born painter's complex artistic practice

Audrey Flack, Spitfire, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 73 x 110.5 inches, Gift of Stuart M. Speiser from the Stuart M. Speiser Photorealist Collection

Smithsonian Voices

Take a Deep Dive Into This Awesome Example of 1970s Photorealism

Smithsonian's Carolyn Russo says to study this 1973 artwork by photorealist painter Audrey Flack is like looking at a plane spotting puzzle

The Smithsonian’s National Mosquito Collection has about 1.9 million specimens from around the world that researchers use to study diseases like malaria.

Smithsonian Voices

Meet the Smithsonian's Mosquito Keeper

Scientist Yvonne Linton reveals what it means to oversee a world-renowned collection of 1.9 million specimens

In the first days, Mei Xiang kept the cub mostly hidden, but a new photograph and video recently revealed the new arrival—born at 6:35 on August 21, 2020.

Pandamonium

Giant Panda Mama Gives Birth to Baby Cub at National Zoo

The pink, squeaking infant is about the size of a stick of butter and will be named in 100 days

“The postal service is one of the oldest federal agencies,” says Daniel Piazza, a curator of philately at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. “Maybe for that reason, we tend to take it for granted. But we have always relied on it, whether for news from home, prescription medications or e-commerce.”

A Brief History of the United States Postal Service

To forge a nation, the founders needed an efficient communications network

Ruth Law stands in front of her Wright Model B biplane at the New York State Fair, Yonkers, 1913.

Smithsonian Voices

Suffragists Took to the Skies

At the Air and Space Museum, the archives reveal touch on how women aviators advanced the suffrage movement

"Halo 2600" game map.

Smithsonian Voices

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting and Preserving Video Games

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a researcher develops strategy for digital preservation

Since late July, Mei Xiang has been sleeping more, eating less, nest-building and body-licking—all signs that she is preparing for a newborn.

Pandamonium

Is There a New Baby Panda Due at the National Zoo?

An ultrasound today revealed that the National Zoo's resident giant panda, Mei Xiang, could be expecting

Queen Liliʻuokalani (above: circa 1891) became the first and only queen regnant of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1891 and shepherded the country through a period of intense growth.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

How the 19th Amendment Complicated the Status and Role of Women in Hawai'i

For generations, women played a central role in government and leadership. Then, the United States came along

Man’s Robe (China), 1796–1820

Smithsonian Voices

What Can You Create With These Five Design Treasures From the Cooper Hewitt Collections?

Open Access means you can share, remix and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images

Scientists use a California condor specimen from 1835 — part of the Smithsonian’s very first collection of items — to study the critically endangered species. Pictured: a young California condor in Grand Canyon National Park.

Smithsonian Voices

Celebrate the Smithsonian's 174th Birthday With a Look at Its First Collections

Historic museum specimens help us learn more about what a species once was like and what it could be like in the future

"The lines of this song repay me in elation, almost of exquisite anguish, whenever I hear them sung," wrote James Weldon Johnson in 1935.

Why the Black National Anthem Is Lifting Every Voice to Sing

Scholars agree the song, endowed with its deep history of Black pride, speaks to the universal human condition

Plunguian’s watercolor of Einstein in his Princeton office.

Smithsonian Voices

Did Einstein Understand the Limitations of Testing?

Smithsonian fellow Kimberly Probolus looks into the past and future of knowledge tests

Susie and Paul Sensmeier of Christiansburg, Virginia, got front row seats to the arrival of the first drone-shipped home delivery in the fall of 2019.

This Drone Made the First Home Delivery in the United States

Wing’s tether-toting drone delivered a winter vest to a retiree in Virginia and now its headed to the Air and Space Museum

Page 13 of 47