You’ve got nothing on the Greater Sage Grouse, the only bird species known to thrive on poisonous sagebrush leaves. A new study shows that the real heroes are microorganisms. Continue reading Stop grousing about your toxic relationship with food
Being an Unsung Hero isn’t about an individual act, but rather an overall attitude and set of achievements that reflects the best aspects of the Smithsonian and its employees. Continue reading Going the extra mile every day: 2019 Unsung Heroes of the Smithsonian
Most young human primates are looking forward to the end of school for the summer, but for the Zoo’s youngest orangutan, learning has just begun. Primate keeper Erin Stromberg gives us a peek behind the scenes. Continue reading Orangutan Story: Redd goes to school
Old-fashioned field work and new-fangled technology reveal the identities of four prominent citizens of the first English colony in America and raise some intriguing questions about how they lived and why they died. Continue reading America’s earliest colonists may have taken their secrets to the grave, but that doesn’t mean they’ll remain there
We may not judge a book by its cover but it’s tempting to judge a book collector by what they covet. Continue reading Collecting the Collectors
The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System must be be very energetic indeed to capture 300 images a second. On Feb. 22, 2018, as the asteroid Imprinetta passed between the Earth and a distant star known as TYC 5517-227-1, a team of astronomers who had predicted the event captured it with a camera… Continue reading Visiting asteroids help scientists measure the size of distant stars
Andrea Martin tags along as more than 300 kids find out just what their parents are up to all day during the annual Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Continue reading Inspiring our future colleagues
Ellen Stofan shares the stories of women who inspire her—women who defied conventional wisdom, who defied preconceptions, who defied the odds. Continue reading Women Who Defy
May the Fourth be With You. This month marks the 42nd anniversary of the premier of “Star Wars,” the first film in the epic series. Matthew MacArthur explains how this iconic film enthralled a generation and why it still resonates today. Continue reading Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away
On April 15, 2019, the world watched as the Cathedral of Notre Dame caught fire, destroying much of one of the most important buildings in the world. Eleanor Harvey, senior curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, reflects of why this iconic French cathedral has been such a beloved subject for American artists. Continue reading Smithsonian Voices: Notre Dame
For decades, scientists with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Conservation Ecology Center and partners have traveled to Myanmar to study Asian elephants, a species threatened by poaching, habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. Continue reading Field in Focus | Saving Elephants in Myanmar (Part 3)
From exposing the secret lives of mammals to protecting native orchid growth, citizen scientists strengthen Smithsonian conservation around the world. Continue reading Citizen scientists: You don’t need a doctorate to help heal the Earth
Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton recently tweeted his gratitude to the Smithsonian's thousands of volunteers. Follow him at https://twitter.com/David Skorton Continue reading We’re all a-twitter!
We learned about efforts to make art more representative of the nation’s citizens and Trump’s efforts to make the nation more representative of … Trump. Continue reading ICYMI: Highlights from the week of May 5 – May 11, 2019
May 19, 1883. The relics of George Washington are transferred to the National Museum. Martha is not part of the deal. Continue reading Today in Smithsonian History: May 19, 1883
