Trove of 13,000 Artifacts Sheds Light on Enigmatic Chinese Civilization

The Bronze Age Sanxingdui culture is known for its intricate masks and artworks | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

After Long Absence, the Folklife Festival Returns to the National Mall

The much-loved summer event, featuring the United Arab Emirates and Earth Optimism programs, opens with a concert hosted by Yo-Yo Ma | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

When Abortion Was Illegal, Chicago Women Turned to the Jane Collective

A new documentary spotlights the group that helped thousands seeking abortions in the 1960s and '70s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

This Underwater Canyon Could Become America's Newest Marine Sanctuary

Hudson Canyon, the largest submarine canyon on the East Coast, is home to hundreds of species of fish and marine mammals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Wreck of Long-Lost Royal Battleship Discovered Off English Coast

Divers discovered the H.M.S. "Gloucester" in 2007, but authorities kept the news buried for 15 years as they waited to secure the site | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Black Buffalo Soldiers Who Biked Across the American West

In 1897, the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps embarked on a 1,900-mile journey from Montana to Missouri | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

This Past Winter Was the Busiest Ski Season Ever

As the pandemic still raged, more and more Americans took part in the snowy sport | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

FDA Says Both Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccines Are Effective for the Youngest Children

A panel of experts is set to vote Wednesday on whether the agency should authorize the use of the vaccines for little kids | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Hidden Life Found Far Beneath World's Largest Ice Shelf

Hundreds of shrimp-like creatures were found living 1640 feet beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

These Salt Flats in Puerto Rico Are Cotton-Candy Pink

The distinct color of Las Salinas comes from a combination of algae, bacteria, salt and water | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Blue Holes Show Hurricane Activity in the Bahamas Is at a Centuries-Long Low

Many more powerful storms battered the region in the past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Beginning in Mid-July, Dial 988 for the Mental Health Hotline

The three-digit code will be like 911, but for mental health emergencies only | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Curious Case of Charles Osborne, Who Hiccupped for 68 Years Straight

A 1922 accident sparked the Iowa man’s intractable hiccups, which suddenly subsided in 1990 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The First Broadway Theater to Bear a Black Woman's Name Will Honor Lena Horne

The Brooks Atkinson Theater will be renamed for the award-winning actor, singer and civil rights activist | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

First Dinosaur Belly Button Discovered in Fossil From China

The navel was found with unique imaging technology and is similar to scars living alligators sport | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

At This Once-Secret Exhibition, the Met's Security Guards and Staff Display Their Own Art

For the first time since 1935, the show is finally open to the public | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

A Brief History of Televised Congressional Hearings

From a 1951 investigation into organized crime to the Watergate scandal, the ongoing January 6 hearings are part of a lengthy political tradition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Ancient Forest Discovered in Chinese Sinkhole

Researchers say the forest may contain small animal species unknown to scientists | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

'The Scream' Gets a New Home in Norway's $650 Million National Museum

The recently opened facility has an entire room dedicated to Norwegian painter Edvard Munch | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

How Humanlike Do We Really Want Robots to Be?

The latest development in robotics wraps a mechanical finger in human skin, leading to broader questions about the future of cyborg technology | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Renaissance Masterpiece Found Hanging in a 90-Year-Old Woman's London Bedroom

"The Depiction of the Madonna and Child," by a follower of Filippino Lippi, sold for around $320,000 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Daring Rescue Mission That Freed 15 Hostages Held in the Colombian Jungle for Years

A new exhibition at the International Spy Museum revisits Operación Jaque, a covert 2008 plot led by the Colombian military | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Fifty Years Later, Kim Phuc Phan Thi Is More Than ‘Napalm Girl’

While the image freezes in time a moment of wartime horror, its subject has been moving forward | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Carbon Dioxide Levels Now Higher Than Ever in Human History

Levels have risen more than 50 percent in the last two centuries alone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Five Reasons Why a Trip to St. Pete/Clearwater is an Artistic Experience Like No Other

Find everything from local arts to internationally-renowned masterworks in this world-class art city | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

National Parks Aim to Phase Out All Single-Use Plastics by 2032

Visitors to the iconic U.S. sites will see utensils and cups made from biodegradable, compostable and recycled materials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

What Will It Take for Smart Windows to Go Mainstream?

Specialized glass that keeps heat in during winter and lets it out during summer could make buildings much more efficient | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Tour a Submerged Cave Packed With Paleolithic Art—Without Ever Venturing Underwater

As sea levels rise, an immersive new exhibition in Marseille lets visitors explore an inaccessible cavern’s archaeological treasures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Margaret Atwood Tried—and Failed—to Burn a Copy of 'The Handmaid’s Tale.' Here's Why

A fireproof version of her bestseller is a weapon in an ongoing fight against literary censorship | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Royal Scandal That Rocked Elizabeth I's Teenage Years

A new Starz series, "Becoming Elizabeth," dramatizes the future queen's controversial relationship with her much-older stepfather, Thomas Seymour | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Small Cancer Trial Resulted in Complete Remission for All Participants

The results are promising, but experts say the trial should be replicated | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

FDA Advisers Recommend Novavax’s Covid-19 Vaccine for Use in Adults

The vote of support is a step forward for the long-in-production protein-based vaccine that may be a different option from current mRNA-based vaccines | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

This Lavish Silver Box Tarnished Mary, Queen of Scots—and Contributed to Her Downfall

The controversial container played a role in the deposed monarch’s fall from favor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Researchers Pinpoint Date When Chickens Were First Domesticated

New findings push back the fowl’s domestication thousands of years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

What Really Happens When You Pop Champagne, According to Science

Researchers now have a clearer picture of the supersonic shock waves that form when carbon dioxide escapes from a bottle of bubbly | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

107 Critically Endangered Sea Turtle Eggs Found in Texas State Park

This is the first time in ten years that a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has nested at the park | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The Lost Story of Lexington, the Record-Breaking Thoroughbred, Races Back to Life

For her latest novel “Horse,” the Pulitzer-prize winning author Geraldine Brooks found inspiration in the Smithsonian collections | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Footage Shows How Daily Life Didn't Change After Chernobyl—and the Cover-Up's Toxic Aftermath

A new documentary shows how the disaster transformed—and endangered—those who lived near the nuclear plant | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Five Places to See Trilobites in the United States

In a new book, fossil collector Andy Secher takes readers on a worldwide trek of trilobite hotspots | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Dolphins Have Different Whistles Based on Their Environment

Genetics have little influence on the differences between dolphin whistles, but location and population demographics play an important role | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

The U.K. Is Launching the World’s Largest Four-Day Workweek Experiment

More than 3,300 employees at 70 companies get an extra day off each week for the next six months—without a reduction in pay | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

1,300-Year-Old Corn God Statue Shows How the Maya Worshipped Maize

The deity was linked to renewal and creation in Mesoamerican culture | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

2,000-Year-Old 'Yearbook'-Like Tablet Celebrates a Group of Ancient Greek Grads

Attikos and his friends were ready to become full Athenian citizens | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Where Could Gay Men Dine in the 1960s South? This Coded Guide Held the Answers

For locals and tourists alike, the "International Guild Guide" identified places of refuge in a ruthlessly homophobic society | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Dogs Sniff Out Covid-19 With Surprising Accuracy

Canines were even able to detect asymptomatic cases | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

New Polish Museum Bytes Into the History of Apple Products

Over 1,000 artifacts get to the core of the iconic brand’s popularity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Driverless Taxis Are Coming to San Francisco

The California Public Utilities Commission is allowing Cruise to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicles, without a safety driver | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago

Drought in Iraq Reveals 3,400-Year-Old City

Archaeologists raced against time to map the once-submerged ancient metropolis | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 years ago