Natural History Museum

In 1897, British troops looted thousands of pieces of culturally significant art, which came to reside in private and public collections, including this cooper plaque (detail) now held at the Smithsonian Institution.

As African Art Thrives, Museums Grapple With Legacy of Colonialism

Museum leaders met in Washington D.C. to talk about what's next for the continent's cultural sector

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History are filled with all sorts of eerie specimens.

Six Bewitching Smithsonian Specimens to Get You Ready for Halloween

Check out some of the spookiest (read: coolest) items in the National Museum of Natural History's collections.

The excavation of the whale specimen from the “slime pit” in Florida.

Saving This Rare Whale Skeleton Was a Dirty Job

The Smithsonian welcomes a rare whale skeleton that was found dead on an island in the Florida Everglades

The Spectacled Flowerpecker

The Spectacled Flowerpecker Is Now Known to Science

First spotted a decade ago, this elusive bird hangs out in the canopy of Borneo’s lowland forests

Scientists analyzed hundreds of bison and brown bear fossils collected in the field or held by major museums

Why Are Animals in Natural History Museums Overwhelmingly Male?

Researchers say the sex imbalance stems from factors including animal size, sex-specific behavior and human collecting preferences

At right is a left front foot followed by the hind foot of the mysterious Chirotherium, or "hand beast." The tracks were first found in the German town of Hildburghausen.

The Long, Strange Tale of the Hand Beast Footprints

A Triassic creature left curious tracks in the sandstone; it took decades to unravel the mystery

Electrophorus voltai, a newly discovered species of electric eel, pictured swimming in the Xingu River, a southern tributary of the Amazon.

Smithsonian Researchers Triple the Number of Electric Eel Species, Including One With Record-Setting Shock Ability

It’s literally shocking news

Using heavy picks, Smithsonian researchers in 1923 worked on excavations in Dinosaur National Monument on the border of Colorado and Utah.

How to Discover Dinosaurs

Smithsonian paleontologist Hans Sues reveals some of his tips for finding and excavating a Mesozoic monster

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This Smithsonian Scientist Is on a Mission to Make Leeches Less Scary

Curator Anna Phillips is on a quest to make leeches less repulsive to the public

In a fit of pique, according to one of Aesop's fables, the god Hermes made the animal carry its house forever on its back.

How the Turtle Got Its Shell, With Apologies to Aesop

Smithsonian paleontologist Hans Sues unpacks the complicated evolution of how this creature grew a home upon its back

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A New Species of Leech Is Discovered Near Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian researcher describes a previously unknown species of olive-green bloodsucker that has three jaws with up to 59 teeth

“Re:Frame,” a video web series produced by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, investigates the compelling role graphite has played in the history of art—and in Teresita Fernández’s work.

How Artist Teresita Fernández Turns Graphite, the Stuff of Stardust, Into Memories

A new episode of the Smithsonian’s ‘Re:Frame,’ explores the origin of graphite, a material artists have used for centuries

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Citizen scientists can submit leaf samples from their hometowns through the end of August

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Megalodon May Be Extinct, but There’s a Life-Size One at the Smithsonian

A 52-foot, life-size model of a <i>Carcharocles megalodon</i> shark is now on display in the National Museum of Natural History

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Reflections on the New Fossil Hall From the Experts Who Created It

The team behind the Smithsonian's new dinosaur and fossil hall reflect on what "deep time" means to them.

Using a geologist’s magnifying glass, Erin DiMaggio carefully scans a piece of volcanic ash in search of tiny minerals that hold the key to determining the age of nearby fossils.

How Do Scientists Date Fossils?

Geologists Erin DiMaggio and Alka Tripathy-Lang explain techniques for targeting the age of a fossil find

The sequoia tree slab is an invitation to begin thinking about a vast timescale that includes everything from fossils of armored amoebas to the great Tyrannosaurus rex.

A 16-Million-Year-Old Tree Tells a Deep Story of the Passage of Time

To explain the exceedingly long life of the planet, the Smithsonian’s new fossil hall designers began with this arboreal wonder

How do parts of ancient creatures, like this fossil skull of an extinct herbivore, Miniochoerus from 33 million years ago, manage to survive and end up in a museum exhibition?

How Do Fossils Form?

Learn from the Smithsonian’s curator of vertebrate paleontology Anna K. Behrensmeyer, a pioneer in the study of how organic remains become fossils

The nuance of the new exhibition, "Fossil Hall—Deep Time," plays out in elaborate art, entertaining digital displays and magnificent fossil displays. But don't miss the small stuff.

Here Are 12 Things You Might Miss in the Smithsonian's New Fossil Hall

Hidden among the dinosaurs and megafauna, are these small details that make "Deep Time" all the more impressive

“In order to interpret the past," says Matternes (above), "you have to have a pretty good working knowledge of conditions in the present.”

Meet the Master Muralist Who Inspired Today's Generation of Paleoartists

The treasured Jay Matternes murals of lost Mesozoic worlds are featured in a new Smithsonian book

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