When D.C. Water announced possible contamination of the city’s water supply last month, it was an irritating nuisance for residents, but for staff at the National Zoo, responsible for animals who consume thousands of gallons of water a day, the alert was a dangerous emergency. Continue reading How do you tell a thirsty elephant not to take a drink?
Human beings have been trying to build a better mousetrap since the first caveman caught the first field mouse stealing a scrap. A new display at the Smithsonian Castle highlights our restless spirit of invention. Continue reading The impulse to innovate is the focus of an inventive new display
The third season of our acclaimed podcast opens with the tale of a coveted blue gem and a curse that crossed continents and centuries. Continue reading Sidedoor: The Curse of the Hope Diamond
Evan Keeling’s comics show how we can all be our own superheroes. Continue reading Talking comics and culture with artist Evan Keeling
Rudy Watley and Syvera O’Pharrow explain why it is important to think outside the Big Box Store when it comes to purchasing goods and services. Continue reading Diversity is never in short supply at the Smithsonian
It took Magellan four years to circle the globe, but we can cross oceans in hours and reach the other side of the world in a day. But just as diseases such as smallpox and measles and chicken pox hitched a ride with early explorers to wreak havoc in the New World, globalization means that worldwide pandemics can be just an airplane flight away. A new exhibition offers insight and practical advice into avoiding global epidemics. Continue reading Going viral: OUTBREAK weighs the risk of epidemics in a connected world
What do a 500-year-old travelogue, a sandstone castle and a recipe for cooking wolves have in common? Ask the deputy director of Smithsonian Libraries. Continue reading A few of my favorite things: Mary Augusta Thomas
Nothing says summer on the Chesapeake Bay like crabs. The Environmental Research Center is looking for volunteers to do some serious crabbing–but you’ll probably want to forgo the drawn butter and Old Bay. Continue reading Citizen Scientists help tackle creepy threat to native crabs
As is traditional, the day of the Smithsonian Staff Picnic was blindingly hot and stiflingly humid, but as is also traditional, that didn’t keep everyone from having a great time! Continue reading The 2018 Smithsonian Staff Picnic
Primate keeper Melba Brown takes us behind the scenes as baby western lowland gorilla Moke begins to explore his world.. Continue reading #Gorilla Story: Moke makes a move
Lori D. Yarrish, director of the Anacostia Community Museum, on August 6, 2018. Continue reading In Memoriam: Lori D. Yarrish
August is prime vacation time, so this month we're loading up the metaphorical minivan and heading out on a Smithsonian family road trip. Continue reading Road trip!
Beth Kleiman has been a volunteer at the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York city for 15 years. She shares some of her more memorable experiences. Continue reading Volunteer Spotlight: Beth Kleiman
We went looking for life forms in the depths of the oceans and at the limits of the universe this week. After all that heavy cogitation we rewarded ourselves with a beer. Continue reading ICYMI: Highlights from the week that was July 29 – August 4, 2018
August 21, 1857. One of the original "storm chasers" tracks the path of a tornado in Wisconsin. Continue reading Today in Smithsonian History: August 21, 1857
