72 Hours of Art Immersion in Charlotte

Brimming with cultural richness, the city's ever-evolving arts scene offers something memorable for everyone who visits. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Looking for an Unexpected Place to Glimpse the Milky Way? Try Nebraska.

From ancient rock formations to tranquil rivers under the stars, Nebraska's dark skies offer a stellar experience a bit closer to home. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

NASA's Orion Capsule Heat Shield Wore Away in More Than 100 Places During 2022 Test Flight, Posing 'Significant Risks'

A new report highlights safety issues that NASA must address before using the spacecraft to send astronauts to the moon, and the agency is already working on fixing the problems | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

'Liberty Leading the People' Returns to the Louvre After a Breathtaking Restoration

Eugène Delacroix's 1830 oil painting had been covered in grime and discolored by eight layers of varnish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See 1,000 Perfect Replicas of Objects Unearthed From King Tut's Tomb

A traveling exhibition on view in Washington, D.C. blends education and entertainment, letting visitors get up close and personal with the ancient Egyptian pharaoh's treasures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Engineers Created a Flying 'Star Wars' X-Wing

The starfighter-outfitted drone was the first remotely piloted aircraft of its kind and size approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for public demonstration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Rare Tornado Spinning the 'Wrong' Direction Forms Over Oklahoma

A powerful anticyclonic tornado uprooted trees and damaged some buildings on the night of April 30, and a second unusual twister changed direction, doubling back on its path | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Happy 400th Birthday to New Amsterdam, the Dutch Settlement That Became New York

In 1624, Dutch settlers arrived in Manhattan. Now, officials are marking the milestone with an honest examination of the past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

In a First, an Orangutan Healed His Own Wound Using a Known Medicinal Plant

The primate named Rakus chewed up yellow root and applied it to an open facial wound, closing the sore within days | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

World War II-Era Bomb Successfully Defused Near German Soccer Stadium

The 1,110-pound ordnance is one of many bombs that have surfaced in Europe decades after the war's end | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

World's First Race of A.I.-Driven Cars Was Filled With Spins, Swerves and Stops

Though the cars could not compare to human drivers, the event may help improve self-driving technology, experts say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Contentious History of the Pop-Tart

In the 1960s, two cereal giants raced to develop a toaster pastry | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Celebrate Spring With Terrific Tulips

These 15 Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest images give top billing to the beautiful blooms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Researchers Breed Mice With Hybrid Brains Containing Cells From Rats

In one experiment, rat neurons helped mice restore their senses of smell—the first time any animal has perceived the world through the sensory hardware of another species | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Louvre Is Thinking About Moving the 'Mona Lisa' to Its Own Room Underground

Officials hope to improve visitors' experience in the Paris museum's Salle des États | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Avalon Waterways’ European River Cruises: a New View of the Old World

Perfectly balance elegance and ease as you set sail down some of the world’s most legendary waters. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Archaeologists Discover Medieval Artifacts Ahead of Bridge Demolition in England

Found during a construction project near the railway station in York, the trove includes pottery and bones | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Seven Major Nations Agree to Phase Out Coal by 2035, Though Vague Language Leaves Wiggle Room

The wealthy, industrialized countries set a flexible schedule to cut one of the dirtiest fossil fuels from their economies | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Can Anger Affect Your Heart Health? Scientists Find the Strong Emotion Impacts How Blood Vessels Function

The results could even help explain why stress from anger may trigger a heart attack | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Antarctica's Ozone Hole Is Persisting Later Into the Year, Raising Concerns for Wildlife

As a result of the longer-lasting hole, harmful ultraviolet radiation is reaching Earth during a time when young penguins and seals are more vulnerable, scientists say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' Demonstrates the Limits of Holocaust Fiction

A new mini-series dramatizes the best-selling 2018 novel that sparked debate over the line between history and memory | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Across the United States, Vintage Motels Are Being Imagined for Modern Times

The re-envisioned lodgings offer easy car-to-door access but also all the amenities of a boutique property, from local artwork to on-site fire pits | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Venice’s First-Of-Its-Kind ‘Day-Tripper Tax’ Sparks Outrage

Protestors say the entry fee is an ineffective solution to the city’s overtourism challenges | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Massive Mosasaurs May Have Evolved More Than Once

The predators, which were made famous in the Jurassic World franchise, likely arose at least three times | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Artificial Intelligence Is Making 2,000-Year-Old Scrolls Readable Again

The innovative “Vesuvius Challenge” unlocked a mystery that had confounded archeologists for centuries | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Could Running Around a 'Wall of Death' Help Astronauts Stay in Shape on the Moon?

Short sprints on these cylindrical structures, long used by daredevil motorcycle riders, might promote muscle mass and bone density in low-gravity conditions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato's Grave

The mysterious site is mentioned in a text buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption 2,000 years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Four Zebras Escape From Trailer on Washington State Highway—One Is Still on the Loose

The animals ran around residential areas before community members—including a former rodeo bullfighter—helped corral three of them | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Man Finds John Lennon's Forgotten Guitar in His Father's Attic

The 12-string instrument, which is going to auction in late May, spent 50 years hidden away in the British countryside | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Should Colorado Handle Its Booming Moose Population?

Roughly 3,000 animals now roam the state's mountain ranges | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See New Images of the Horsehead Nebula, Captured in Striking Detail by the James Webb Telescope

The beautiful infrared imagery features one of the best known locations in space to study the evolution of stars and interstellar matter | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Filipina Spy Used Her Leprosy as a Cover to Thwart the Japanese During World War II

Enemy soldiers overlooked Josefina "Joey" Guerrero due to her condition. Later, her heroic actions on behalf of the Allies were largely forgotten | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How to Watch the Dazzling Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower, Bringing an Unusual 'Outburst' to Skies This Weekend

This year's spectacle will be more impressive than usual, as the Earth passes through a concentrated clump of 3,000-year-old comet debris | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Australian Museum Removes Mummified Body Parts From Display

"We have become so accustomed to seeing them on show that we often forget they once belonged to living people," says Melanie Pitkin, a senior curator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Historic Photograph May Depict the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic

The image, which sold for $22,000 at auction this week, was taken aboard a recovery vessel days after the famous ocean liner went down | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Extremely Rare Blue Rock Thrush Spotted in Oregon Might Be the First Ever in the United States

Amateur photographer Michael Sanchez captured photos of the blue-and-chestnut bird on a beach—but he didn’t realize just how special the “mind-bending” encounter was, until later | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Neolithic Monument Found in France Has No Equal

A trio of interlocking enclosures, the structure may date to the time of the Bell Beaker culture, but experts are unsure of its exact age and purpose | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

At Her Globe-Spanning Nightclubs, This Black Entertainer Hosted a 'Who’s Who' of the 20th Century

Ada "Bricktop" Smith, who operated venues in Rome, Paris and Mexico City, brushed shoulders with the likes of Langston Hughes, Salvador Dalí and Gertrude Stein | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Take a Closer Look at a Surprising New Sculpture That Rethinks Who We Put on a Pedestal

Korean artist Do Ho Suh’s “Public Figures” makes a grand arrival outside the National Museum of Asian Art | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

In This Ancient Cemetery, Romans Left Fine Glass Vessels, Platforms for Feasting and Phallic Pendants

Archaeologists in Narbonne, France, have been studying the necropolis since 2017 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Personalized Melanoma Vaccine Could Be a 'Game Changer' by Teaching the Body to Fight Cancer Cells

The mRNA therapy, designed to prevent treated skin cancer from returning, is entering its third phase of trials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Original 'Star Trek' Enterprise Model Resurfaces Decades After It Went Missing

The model used in the original series' opening credits is now back with Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the show's creator | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Intelligent Was T. Rex? Scientists Suggest the Dinosaurs Were Like 'Smart, Giant Crocodiles'

A new paper refutes the idea that T. rex was as brainy as a baboon, furthering the debate on the extinct reptile's intellect | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Moulin Rouge Windmill Blades Fall Off in the Middle of the Night

The iconic Paris landmark has never experienced such a mishap in its 135-year history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Public Finally Has Access to an Accurate List of Japanese Americans Detained During World War II

Researchers who spent years fixing errors in shoddy government records have partnered with Ancestry to make a wide selection of historical documents related to the period available for free | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Rescuers Save 130 Beached Pilot Whales in Western Australia After Mass Stranding

An additional 29 whales died, officials reported last week, while the reason behind the stranding remains unknown | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Move Over, Cicadas: These Living Things ‘Go Dark’ For a Long Time, Too

From frogs to orchids, many organisms go dormant or move underground for lengthy stints | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Fabulous Fabulist Lawyer Who Wasn’t, but Still Managed to Get a Man Off Death Row

Take in the remarkable tale of the fake attorney best known as L.A. Harris, whose scams put him in trouble with the law in jurisdictions nationwide | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago