The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair

The first of these festivals debuted in the early 1960s, serving as a prime example of the United States' burgeoning counterculture | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

One Million Years Ago, Our Human Relatives May Have Challenged Giant Hyenas for Carcasses

Groups of hominins might have successfully scavenged large kills, new modeling finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Thief Steals $1.5 Million Buddha Statue From Los Angeles Gallery

Gallery officials say they are stumped as to why the 250-pound artwork was targeted | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why the Talking Heads' 40-Year-Old Concert Film Still Mesmerizes

"Stop Making Sense," known as one of the greatest movies of its kind, returns to the big screen | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Nine Orcas Have Died in Fishing Gear Near Alaska This Year

A "new behavior" from the animals might be linked to this sudden uptick in deaths, as they have been feeding in front of fishing nets, a trade group says | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Bible That Stopped a Bullet

In 1863, a New Testament tucked in the pocket of Union soldier Charles W. Merrill prevented a musket ball from mortally wounding him | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Prehistoric Humans May Have Dug Up Bodies to Make Tools

A study of bones from a Spanish cave suggests humans might have fashioned tools from the remains of recently deceased community members or relatives | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Before Fat Bear Week, Don’t Forget the Corpulent Cubs Competing in Fat Bear Junior

The offspring of Katmai National Park’s famous brown bears will face off in a bracket all their own | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Inside the Newly Reopened Tenement Museum

The Manhattan museum dedicated to telling the stories of everyday immigrants offers vital lessons for today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Where Did South Africa's Missing Sharks Go?

After a spate of orca attacks spooked the fish, they have now been found | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Beyond the Cobblestones: Unearthing Charleston's Authentic Outdoor Experiences

Beyond its brick-lined town center, the Charleston Area becomes a place where nature and heritage converge in unexpected and delightful ways | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

After a career as a schoolteacher, the Washington, D.C.-based painter flourished, creating vibrant patterns inspired by nature, the cosmos and music | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Water Worker Stumbles Upon 2,500-Year-Old Gold Necklaces in Spain

The artifacts could shed new light on the Iron Age history of the region | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Antarctic Winter Sea Ice Hits a Record Low 'by a Wide Margin'

On September 10, the ice reached its lowest annual maximum in the books amid a record-smashing year that's ringing "alarm bells" for polar ice | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

The revitalized space will feature a museum and contemporary art in addition to traditional bathing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Earth's Next Supercontinent Could Wipe Out Mammals in 250 Million Years

Termed “Pangea Ultima,” the predicted future landmass might be extremely hot, plagued by volcanoes and largely inhospitable, per a new modeling study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The World's Oldest Post Office Gets New Owners

A Florida husband-and-wife duo is taking over the 311-year-old site in southern Scotland | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Artificial Wombs for Premature Babies Might Soon Begin Human Trials

An FDA panel discussed the new technology—tested only on animals so far—along with its risks and potential to improve survival of preterm infants | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Four Unusual and Amazing Ways That Insects Team Up

The invertebrates create elaborate structures to escape danger and shimmer in synchronized performances to confuse predators | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How a Smithsonian Curator Discovered the Hope Diamond’s Many Secrets

The storied past of the 45.52-carat sapphire-blue gemstone hails back to the days before the French Revolution | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Washington National Cathedral's New Racial Justice-Themed Stained-Glass Windows

Designed by artist Kerry James Marshall, the panels replace windows depicting Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Brainless Jellyfish Are Capable of Learning, Study Suggests

Scientists provide evidence that tiny Caribbean box jellyfish—which lack a central nervous system—can learn to navigate through mangrove roots | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Discovered in English Palace's Storeroom

"Susanna and the Elders" was misattributed for some 200 years, first to a male artist and then to the "French School" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Sample of Ancient Asteroid Dust Has Landed Safely on Earth

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission retrieved bits of rock and dust from the asteroid Bennu, which could help scientists uncover the origins of life on our planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Ten Stunning Images From the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

The annual contest unveiled its winners this month, recognizing skilled captures from a striking falcon to grouse performing a courtship display | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Republic of Yemen and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art Come to Agreement Over Artifacts

The two pieces, which date back to the third millennium B.C.E., will remain in New York for now | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Century Before the Residents of a Remote Island Killed a Christian Missionary, Their Predecessors Resisted the British Empire

When a white clergyman tried to punish captive Andamanese for their supposed misdeeds, they slapped him back | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Angler Catches 283-Pound Alligator Gar in Texas, Potentially Setting Two World Records

Art Weston and Kirk Kirkland spent nearly three hours reeling in the gargantuan fish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Artist Who Submitted Empty Canvases to Danish Museum Must Repay $70,000

A court ordered Jens Haaning to return the money from his "Take the Money and Run" stunt | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Virginia Woolf Scorned Fashion but Couldn't Escape It

A new exhibition investigates the Bloomsbury Group's relationship with clothing, accessories and sartorial social norms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Jupiter's Moon Europa May Contain Carbon, a Crucial Ingredient for Life

The James Webb Space Telescope found carbon dioxide on Europa's surface, and astronomers say it likely originated in the moon's vast ocean | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Underwater Wreckage From the Battle of Midway in Stunning Detail

Never-before-seen photos and videos shed new light on the pivotal World War II conflict | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Archaeologists Uncover Notched Logs That May Be the Oldest Known Wooden Structure

The interlocking pieces, found near a waterfall in Zambia, date to 476,000 years ago—before Homo sapiens evolved | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Collect First RNA From an Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

No other RNA has ever been extracted from an extinct species, so the breakthrough opens doors to understanding the biology of long-gone organisms | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

2,000-Year-Old Child's Shoe Found in Austrian Mine

The leather shoe in "outstanding" condition is comparable to a U.S. children's size 12 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Would Signal Life on Another Planet?

Astronomers have long debated what kind of chemistry might serve as a bona fide alien biosignature | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Revisit 51 Years of Giant Pandas at the National Zoo, From Beloved Babies to Fun in the Snow

The Panda House's eight occupants have played a key role in conservation efforts over the decades | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Celebrate World Gorilla Day With 15 Primate Pictures

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature our close “cousins” | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

San Diego Closes Popular Beach for Seven Years to Protect Sea Lions

Visitors have been getting too close to the marine mammals—taking selfies and even harassing them—as they rear their pups | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Hong Kong Student Jailed Over Tiananmen Square Protest Banner

Zeng Yuxuan, 23, was sentenced to six months in prison on charges of sedition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Methuselah, the World's Oldest Living Aquarium Fish, Could Be More Than 100

Using a new and noninvasive technique, researchers analyzed the DNA of 33 lungfish in institutions across the U.S. and Australia to determine their ages | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Exhibition Examines the Many Converging Histories of Minnesota's Fort Snelling

The site was the backdrop for critical moments in Native American, African American and Japanese American history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Little Luxuries Made With Captured Pollution Hint at Big Frontiers in Climate Science

Entrepreneurs are using jewelry, fragrances and clothing to demonstrate what’s possible with repurposed carbon—and environmentalists have questions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Search for Near-Death Experiences of Cardiac Arrest Patients

Through survivor interviews and brain scans during CPR, researchers looked for evidence of awareness when people's hearts had stopped | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Research Reveals How the Nazis Targeted Transgender People

Last year, a German court officially recognized the persecution of trans people by Adolf Hitler's regime | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Eat Your Way Through the Idaho Potato Trail

The new trail, which winds through Boise, celebrates the top spud-growing state in the nation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Are Wild Animals Really Just Like Us?

A summer full of news reports about orca, otter and bird “attacks” has the public wondering if trying to understand animal behavior in human terms may be t | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

High Blood Pressure Is a 'Silent Killer' That Affects One in Three People, WHO Says

But nearly half of those living with the condition don't know they have it, according to the organization's first report on hypertension | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago