On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called 'Large' Prepares to Open Its Doors

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a 'Community Anchor' of Latino Life

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

London's Oldest Restaurant, Frequented by Monarchs and Pop Stars Alike, Is a Site of 'Living History.' Now It's Protected by the National Trust for Generations to Come

Wildlife Biologists Start Vaccinating Shy Albatrosses by Hand, Taking Aim at the Spread of Avian Flu in Tasmania

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Construction Work on the North Dakota Governor's Residence Accidentally Unearthed Seven Coffins Dating Back to the State's Early Settlement

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

A New Contender for the World's Oldest Shipwreck Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Turkey. Its Ancient Cargo Is a 'Time Capsule' From 4,700 Years Ago

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man's Father

Mourners Placed an Ancient Sippy Cup in a Roman Toddler's Grave. It May Have Been Meant to Sustain the Child on the Journey to the Afterlife

A Family of Barn Owls Has Moved Into New York City's Upper West Side, Perhaps the First to Nest in Manhattan in Modern History

One of the World’s Largest Chinstrap Penguin Colonies Is Shrinking Fast

After an American Bomber Crashed Into an English Moor During World War II, a Corporal Was Declared Missing in Action. Archaeologists Have Now Revived the Search for His Remains

An Unprecedented Trove of Ancient Wooden Tools Uncovered at a Rock Shelter in Spain Shows Neanderthals Were Skilled Woodworkers

With the Help of Family Wealth and Instagram, Gen Z Is Spending Big in the Art Market

This Tiny Sardinian Village Might Be a New 'Blue Zone'—and Could Hold the Secrets to Female Longevity

Volunteers Are Helping Unearth One of England's Oldest Leprosy Hospitals, Giving a Glimpse Into How Victims of the Disease Were Treated in Medieval Times

Did Industrialization Gut Our Microbiomes? A New Study on Rural Foraging Communities in South America and Africa Hints the Answer Is Yes

In the 1970s, the U.S. Commissioned Photographers to Document the Country’s People and Places. You Can Now See More Than 200 of the Powerful Images

Watch Five Adorable Newborn Cheetah Cubs Grow on a Livestream From the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute

1mo

A Digital Swamp Coming to New York City’s MoMA Is 'Made to Envelop You' in Nature With the Help of Cutting-Edge Technology

1mo

Raised in Apartheid South Africa, 2026 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay Is One of the World’s Leading Human Rights Jurists

1mo

Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America's Waterways?

1mo

Scientists Took a Cheek Swab From the World's Oldest Tortoise. His DNA Could Reveal Hints to Longevity

1mo

Smithsonian RSS Feed

It's Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead

On an Island Outside Paris, a Sprawling Contemporary Arts Center Aptly Called 'Large' Prepares to Open Its Doors

This Soldier Kept a Diary in the Trenches of World War I. A Child Found It at the Dump Decades Later, Pierced by a Bullet and Stained With Blood

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a 'Community Anchor' of Latino Life

Venetian Artist Canaletto Merged Fantasy and Architectural Detail in This Previously Unseen Sketch, Heading to Auction This Month

A Detailed Martian Rover Photograph Highlights Mysterious Cliffs on the Edge of One of Mars’ Mountains

London's Oldest Restaurant, Frequented by Monarchs and Pop Stars Alike, Is a Site of 'Living History.' Now It's Protected by the National Trust for Generations to Come

Wildlife Biologists Start Vaccinating Shy Albatrosses by Hand, Taking Aim at the Spread of Avian Flu in Tasmania

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Construction Work on the North Dakota Governor's Residence Accidentally Unearthed Seven Coffins Dating Back to the State's Early Settlement

See the Stunning Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest, Capturing the Splendor and Drama of Nature

A New Contender for the World's Oldest Shipwreck Has Been Discovered Off the Coast of Turkey. Its Ancient Cargo Is a 'Time Capsule' From 4,700 Years Ago

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Has Not Been Seen in Public for Over 60 Years. It Is Now Poised to Set a Record at an Upcoming Auction

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man's Father

Mourners Placed an Ancient Sippy Cup in a Roman Toddler's Grave. It May Have Been Meant to Sustain the Child on the Journey to the Afterlife

A Family of Barn Owls Has Moved Into New York City's Upper West Side, Perhaps the First to Nest in Manhattan in Modern History

One of the World’s Largest Chinstrap Penguin Colonies Is Shrinking Fast

After an American Bomber Crashed Into an English Moor During World War II, a Corporal Was Declared Missing in Action. Archaeologists Have Now Revived the Search for His Remains

An Unprecedented Trove of Ancient Wooden Tools Uncovered at a Rock Shelter in Spain Shows Neanderthals Were Skilled Woodworkers

With the Help of Family Wealth and Instagram, Gen Z Is Spending Big in the Art Market

This Tiny Sardinian Village Might Be a New 'Blue Zone'—and Could Hold the Secrets to Female Longevity

Volunteers Are Helping Unearth One of England's Oldest Leprosy Hospitals, Giving a Glimpse Into How Victims of the Disease Were Treated in Medieval Times

Did Industrialization Gut Our Microbiomes? A New Study on Rural Foraging Communities in South America and Africa Hints the Answer Is Yes

In the 1970s, the U.S. Commissioned Photographers to Document the Country’s People and Places. You Can Now See More Than 200 of the Powerful Images

Watch Five Adorable Newborn Cheetah Cubs Grow on a Livestream From the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute

A Digital Swamp Coming to New York City’s MoMA Is 'Made to Envelop You' in Nature With the Help of Cutting-Edge Technology

Raised in Apartheid South Africa, 2026 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay Is One of the World’s Leading Human Rights Jurists

Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America's Waterways?

Scientists Took a Cheek Swab From the World's Oldest Tortoise. His DNA Could Reveal Hints to Longevity