The Race to Save Florida’s Manatees

Researchers are nurturing sick and injured animals back to health while working to protect natural springs and curb seagrass decline | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Photographer Who Forced the U.S. to Confront Its Child Labor Problem

Lewis Hine's early 20th-century "photo stories" sparked meaningful legislative reform | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Extract Rocks From Earth’s Mantle

They drilled into a mountain at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These National Parks Are Hosting Stargazing Festivals in 2023

As more areas grow brighter with light pollution, national parks across the country have become dark-sky havens | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Lifesaving Fentanyl Test Strips Are Being Legalized in More States

The paper strips, which can help prevent drug overdoses and death, remain illegal in several states under drug paraphernalia laws from the 1970s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

'Ebony' Magazine's Vintage Test Kitchen Finds a Home at the Smithsonian

The 1970s-era kitchen will undergo conservation at the National Museum of African American History and Culture | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Wild Animals Were Really Doing During Covid-19 Lockdowns

Researchers around the world traced mammals' movements and behaviors when fewer humans and cars were outside in spring 2020 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Retiree Uncovers Wooden Artifact 2,000 Years Older Than Stonehenge

Markings on the timber may help piece together lost European history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How Spam Became an Asian Staple

When American G.I.s fought abroad in wars in the 20th century, they left behind an unlikely legacy: canned meat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Could This Futuristic Vessel Be the World's First Zero-Emissions Cruise Ship?

Hurtigruten Norway's new design includes batteries and retractable sails equipped with solar panels | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The First Self-Proclaimed Drag Queen Was a Formerly Enslaved Man

In the late 19th century, William Dorsey Swann's private balls attracted unwelcome attention from authorities and the press | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Canadian Wildfires Send Harmful Smoke Across Eastern United States

At least 20 states were air quality alerts this week, and in some places, air quality reached unhealthy levels for all groups | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Arctic Could Be Sea Ice-Free in the Summer by the 2030s

A new study estimates climate change will lead to unprecedented melting in the Arctic a decade earlier than previously projected | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

U.K. Museum Recovers 15th-Century Altar Panel Almost 50 Years After It Was Stolen

The piece was about to go to auction when researchers noticed similarities to another panel at the York Art Gallery | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Hawaii's Kīlauea Volcano Is Erupting Again—Here's How to See It

The youngest and most active volcano on the Big Island, it's expected to draw thousands of tourists | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Australia's Oldest Known Pterosaur Fossils Are From 107 Million Years Ago

The tiny bones include the first one from a juvenile found in the country | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Did the 'Barbie' Movie Cause a Pink Paint Shortage?

The film recreates the famous doll's brightly colored world—with the help of one specific shade of pink | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Develop New Birth Control for Female Cats—No Surgery Necessary

The one-time injection of a gene therapy could eventually be used to control cat populations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Have Alaskans Been Photographing This Volkswagen Beetle-Sized Boulder for 33 Years?

A scientist began taking shots after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and volunteers have since taken over | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Meet the Inhabitants of the Mythic World of Drexciya

Artist Ayana V. Jackson creates an undersea realm honoring those who jumped or were thrown overboard during the trans-Atlantic slave trade | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Françoise Gilot, Whose Art Transcended Her Relationship With Picasso, Dies at 101

Her artistic career began before she met Picasso—and flourished long after she left him | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Record the First 'Virgin Birth' in a Crocodile

A female American crocodile living in captivity reproduced without a mate—a finding that suggests dinosaurs might have done the same thing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Ancient Human Relatives May Have Buried Their Dead

Remains in a South African cave system predate the oldest known human burials by about 160,000 years or more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Unraveling the Secrets of the Long-Lost Shipwrecks in the Bahamas

Using historical records, a new initiative has identified and mapped 176 wrecks in the region | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Beaked Dinosaur Species Found in Utah

The creature, dubbed Iani smithi, was identified from a 99-million-year-old fossil | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This Fourth Grader Created Alabama's New Official State Cookie

Called the Yellowhammer, the dessert is made with ingredients that are important to the state | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Read the Poem NASA Will Send to Jupiter's Moon Europa

Alongside Ada Limón's words, you can add your name to the spacecraft that will search for life on the icy moon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

When Private Beaches Served as a Refuge for the Chesapeake Bay's Black Elite

During the Jim Crow era, working-class Washingtonians' recreation options were far more limited—and dangerous | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

At New Exhibition, Taylor Swift's Outfits Never Go Out of Style

Dresses, props and other ephemera from the pop star's many personal reinventions go on display | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Did the Ancient Romans Smell Like?

Scientists have analyzed the composition of a 2,000-year-old perfume unearthed in Carmona, Spain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Great White Sharks Come Much Closer to Swimmers Than Thought in Southern California

Juvenile white sharks and humans overlap 97 percent of the time in some warm Pacific waters, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Found Hatching in a Suitcase, Rescued Parrots Begin New Life

The 24 chicks are growing up at a conservation facility after being seized from a smuggler's carry-on | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Stunning Photography Projects Tell Stories of Conservation

A new grant from Vital Impacts funds long-term efforts to document environmental solutions in the photographers' own communities | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Italy Raises Museum Prices to Help Fund Flood Relief

Recent storms damaged museum collections and turned some cultural institutions into shelters | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The World’s First Wildfire Tornado Blazed a Path of Destruction Through Australia

A warming atmosphere due to climate change is increasing the chances similar natural disasters will occur again | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2023

From an ultramarathon capital in the Rockies to a laid-back village in the Florida Keys, these vibrant towns are calling your name | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Explore the Nine Newest National Recreation Trails

Announced on Friday, the newly designated routes span a total of 340 miles across nine states | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Mysterious Deep-Sea Creatures Live in a Potential Mining Zone

Scientists documented more than 5,500 animal species at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, but thousands more might remain undiscovered | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Medieval Manuscript Reveals 15th-Century Comedy Routine

Written to be performed live, a medieval minstrel's jokes poked fun at the powerful | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Woman Finds Mastodon Tooth on California Beach

The photos she shared set off a search for the fossil, which she had left behind. Now, scientists have the tooth, just the third of its kind found locally | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

You Can Now Make a Reservation to Go Through Security at These Airports

Denver and Minneapolis are the latest airports to roll out the service—just in time for the busy summer travel season | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Rare Wolverine Spotted in California—the Second in 101 Years

The elusive creatures disappeared from the Golden State in 1922 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A U.S.-China Collaboration a Century Ago Helped Find Riches of a Lost Civilization

The first U.S. exhibition to display the wonders of China’s ancient city of Anyang is on view at the National Museum of Asian Art | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Take an Out-of-this-World Road Trip Across Florida’s Space Coast

With 72 miles of pristine coastline, thrilling wildlife and attractions to explore, launch into an epic adventure that won’t soon be forgotten | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Did Martha Washington Have a Black Grandson?

Likely the child of Martha's son from her first marriage, William Costin used his position to advocate for D.C.'s free Black community | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Iron Age Residents of Jerusalem Suffered From Dysentery

A new analysis of 2,500-year-old toilets has found early evidence of a harmful parasite | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Sick Workers Connected to 41 Percent of Food Poisoning Outbreaks, CDC Reports

Paid sick leave policies could reduce the risk of spreading disease, notes the agency | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

National Genealogical Society Apologizes for 'Racist and Discriminatory' Past Actions

In a new report, the group reckons with its long history of racism and eugenicist beliefs | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago