Find Out If Your Ancestor Is Among These 19th-Century Silhouettes in This Newly Digitized Collection

The itinerant artist William Bache’s portraits are contaminated by arsenic, but now the National Portrait Gallery offers easy access | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How the Nazi Regime Upended the Lives of These Bavarian Villagers

A new book draws on long-overlooked sources to chronicle how Oberstdorf's residents navigated the rise—and dictatorship—of Adolf Hitler | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How to Move a 450,000-Pound Sculpture

After a tumultuous six years, 'Sudama' has settled into its new home at American University in Washington, D.C. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Climate Change Is Making Home Runs Easier to Hit

A new study attributes more than 500 homers since 2010 to increased global average temperatures, an effect that will only increase the hotter Earth gets | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Methane Emissions Are Higher Than Thought From Gulf of Mexico Drilling

The climate impact of oil and gas production in the Gulf is double what government agencies estimate, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

You'll Need a Microscope to See These Miniature Masterpieces

Sometimes painted with a single eyelash, Willard Wigan's tiny sculptures fit in the eye of a needle | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What the Nation's Founders Said About the Indictment of a Former President

Alexander Hamilton wrote that a commander in chief removed from office would be "liable to prosecution and punishment" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

You Can Now Buy the Estate Where Jane Austen Wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'

The writer spent more than half her life on the property, where she drafted some of her most famous novels | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Microplastics Linked to Changes in Seabirds’ Guts

Birds that ingested more microplastics had more microbes linked to diseases and antibiotic resistance in a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Our Sustainable Future

The latest on how climate change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are innovating | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Country Star Reba McEntire Wants to Revitalize a Small Town in Oklahoma

Atoka is now home to Reba's Place, a restaurant that has already attracted half a million guests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Texas City Where Mermaids Inspire River Conservation

“Aquamaids” were once the stars at an amusement park in San Marcos. Now, they are making a comeback to help the environment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Youngest Victims of Belgium's African Rule Are Still Seeking Justice, Decades Later

Colonialism's brutal legacy, including the European nation's policy of forcing mixed-race children into orphanages, is still keenly felt today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Readers Respond to the March 2023 Issue

Your feedback on World War II heroes, baby puffins and more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Probiotics May Help Corals Fight a Dangerous Disease Off Florida’s Coast

The new treatment shows promise in lab experiments | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Manet and Degas Were Dear Friends—and Spirited Rivals

The complex relationship between the two French painters is the subject of a new exhibition in Paris | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Behold the Deepest Fish Ever Filmed

A juvenile snailfish was caught on video more than five miles below sea level in waters south of Japan | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Shipwrecks Reveal About the Origins of the Benin Bronzes

A new study traces the metal used to craft the brass sculptures to manilla bracelets produced in Germany and used as currency in the slave trade | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Humans May Have Eaten Giant Snails 170,000 Years Ago

Shell fragments from a cave in southern Africa show signs of exposure to extreme heat, suggesting they were cooked | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This 16th-Century Cloth Is Scotland's Oldest-Known Tartan

A bog in the Highlands preserved the fabric, now on view for the first time, for hundreds of years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Mediterranean Monk Seal Is Making a Comeback

The endangered sea creature, known for its reclusive nature, has re-emerged out of the shadows | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Grand History of Westminster Abbey

The church’s many chambers and crypts hold the story of Britain’s past, present and future | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A New Graphic Novel Takes Readers Inside the Fight of the Century

The pages highlight the dramatic, racially charged match between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Deforestation Is Linked to Lower Rainfall, Study Says

The Amazon rainforest and other tropical regions face drying climates due to loss of trees | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Colorful Paintings of the Zodiac Signs From an Ancient Egyptian Temple

Newly restored, the Ptolemaic era reliefs were previously covered by a layer of dirt and soot | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Parisians Vote to Ban For-Rent Electric Scooters

In a referendum on Sunday, city residents overwhelmingly opted to do away with the iconic mode of transportation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Planet Positive

From stories about rebounding species to dispatches about green innovations, Smithsonian magazine shares environmental practices that are working. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A 19th-Century Textile Stitches a Tale of Women's Liberation

Beloved by her pupils, schoolteacher Leah Maguire embraced her freedom through sewing this sampler | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Plants Make Noises When Stressed, Study Finds

Scientists detected high-frequency sounds emitted by plants that had been cut or dehydrated | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Great Australian Modernist the World Almost Never Knew

A new exhibition shines a light on the stunning work of Clarice Beckett | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Students Are Part of a 75-Year Study to Map Alaska’s Glaciers

Traversing an icefield by foot and on skis, the young researchers experience one of the coolest classrooms in the nation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Can Apple Solve Classical Music's Streaming Problems?

The tech giant has created a new app with a search engine tailor-made for the genre | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: South Carolina

From Lowcountry artisan works to regional food traditions, the Palmetto State is brimming with opportunities to see, shop, eat, and explore | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: Louisiana

From experiencing true New Orleans jazz, visiting fascinating historical sites, or biting into a beignet, the Bayou State is sure to inspire | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: Arkansas

Float down a national river. Delve into presidential history. Peruse world class art. In The Natural State, you can do it all | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: Missouri

Home to the Ozarks, barbecue and brews, and the birthplace of Route 66, this crossroads of American culture is calling all visitors | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: Kentucky

The Bluegrass State has something for everyone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Travel South: Mississippi

Whether you're seeking wild outdoor adventures, culinary temptations, or cultural attractions, Mississippi is a perfect choice for all who love to wander | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

As Glaciers Retreat, New Streams Offer Homes for Salmon

After the waterways form, insects move in, alders and willows spring up, and spawning fish arrive in thousands | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Monument in London Will Honor Victims of Transatlantic Slave Trade

After removing a statue of an enslaver in 2020, the city aims to tell a new story | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Brief History of the Mug Shot

Police have been using the snapshots in criminal investigations since the advent of commercial photography | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

NASA Announces Crew for Artemis 2 Moon Flyby Mission

These four astronauts are poised to travel farther than any humans have been from Earth since 1972 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

E.U. Agrees to Raise Its Renewable Energy Target

The 27 member countries will strive to reach 42.5 percent renewable power by 2030, up from their current goal of 32 percent | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Research Rewrites the History of American Horses

Native Americans spread the animals across the West before Europeans arrived in the region, archaeological evidence and Indigenous knowledge show | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Teddy Roosevelt’s Perilous Expedition on the Amazon

The dangerous—yet victorious—trip wouldn’t have been possible without Cândido Rondon, an icon of Brazilian history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Author of 'Anne of Green Gables' Lived a Far Less Charmed Life Than Her Beloved Heroine

L.M. Montgomery created a classic of children's literature, but what about her lesser-known works? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Power of Portraits

An exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcases the photography of Brian Lanker—and the remarkable lives of his subjects | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

From 'the Brick' to the iPhone, the Cellphone Celebrates 50 Years

As the technology turns 50, science fiction might hint at the cellphone's next chapter | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago