Natural Sciences

Last October, archaeologists discovered the mud dock where the HMS Beagle was dismantled by using specialized drone photography

The Final Home of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status

The naturalist famously conducted the research that led to the "Origin of Species" on board the ship

Herbert Spencer introduced the phrase "survival of the fittest" in his 1864 book, Principles of Biology.

The Complicated Legacy of Herbert Spencer, the Man Who Coined 'Survival of the Fittest'

Spencer's ideas laid the groundwork for social Darwinism, but scholars say there was much more to the Victorian Age thinker than that

A new analysis of insect abundance surveys finds the decline may not be as dire as previously thought.

New Study Gives a More Complex Picture of Insect Declines

The researchers gathered data from 166 surveys of insect abundance around the world, mostly conducted since the 1980s

Former First Lady (and bestselling author) Michelle Obama has teamed up with PBS Kids and Penguin Random House for a live story time every Monday at noon.

A Read-Along With Michelle Obama and Other Livestream Learning Opportunities

Schools are shuttered, but kids can dance with New York's Ballet Hispánico and listen to a story from a certain former First Lady

Stream live or watch repeated broadcast overnight.

LIVE NOW: Watch the Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Digital Summit

The two-day virtual event will bring scientists and many other experts to highlight success stories in conservation

The list covers findings in biology, justice and human rights, the environment, and more.

Fifty Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since the First Earth Day

On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since

"A Peep into the Life of a Data Scientist"

Poo-Sniffing Peeps, Miss Ameripeep and More Emerge Victorious in #PeepYourScience 2020 Competition

Blending marshmallows with scientific rigor, the contest offers levity during a difficult time

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Education During the Coronavirus Crisis

With school closures underway, teachers, students and parents around the globe venture into remote learning. Here are some resources to help.

A stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is one of many artworks available for your perusal.

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks, browse interactive maps and more

Carl Cotton places individual letters on a label for an exhibition featuring hybrid birds.

The Chicago Field Museum Celebrates the Work of African American Taxidermist Carl Cotton

Cotton started working at the museum in the late 1940s, but he first became interested in taxidermy much earlier

An author of blockbuster books and a pioneering photographer, she braved the wilderness to collect these moths and butterflies.

As Popular in Her Day as J.K. Rowling, Gene Stratton-Porter Wrote to the Masses About America's Fading Natural Beauty

Despite her fame, you wouldn't know about this beloved writer unless you visit the vanishing Midwestern landscape she helped save

Three Cassiopea, or upside-down jellyfish, seen from above in a lab at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The cloudy matter floating above and to the left of the jellyfish is a mucus that they exude.

These Jellyfish Don't Need Tentacles to Deliver a Toxic Sting

Smithsonian scientists discovered that tiny 'mucus grenades' are responsible for a mysterious phenomenon known as 'stinging water'

The blue-throated barbet, illustrated here in 1871, is native to southern Asia.

You Can Now Download 150,000 Free Illustrations of the Natural World

The artworks, collected by the open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, range from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies

Anarchist Emma Goldman, who dedicated her life to combatting inequality, repression and the exploitation of workers

At Long Last, an Exhibition Celebrates Centuries of Women at Work

A new show at New York's Grolier Club features the collection of Lisa Unger Baskin, who sought to share the untold stories of women in the workforce

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies are endangered in New South Wales.

Australia’s National Park Staff Is Now Air-Dropping Food to Wallabies

Wallabies often survive the bushfires, but their natural food sources do not

Even for grasshoppers, being upside-down can be a high (blood) pressure situation.

Like Humans, Grasshoppers Grapple With Gravity's Effects on Blood Pressure

After putting the insects into a linear accelerator, researchers got some surprisingly weighty results

Watch the Spectacular Eruption of One of Mexico’s Most Active Volcanoes

Officials say no one was hurt in the explosion. But over in the Philippines, a brewing eruption in threatens to be more severe

Iridescent spots found on the dot-underwing moth suggest that even nocturnal insects might rely on visual cues

How These Nocturnal Moths Sparkle at Night

The nocturnal insect might flash its reflective spots at a potential mate

A Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) specimen.

The Extinction of This U.S. Parrot Was Quick and Driven by Humans

A new study sequenced the genome of the Carolina parakeet, once the only parrot native to the eastern part of the country

The Ten Best Science Books of 2019

New titles explore the workings of the human body, the lives of animals big and small, the past and future of planet earth and how it's all connected

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