Tiny Tornado Chasers: Why Rare Songbirds Rely on Destructive Winds

A new Smithsonian paper posits that Swainson’s warblers have tornadoes to thank for ideal habitats. Continue reading Tiny Tornado Chasers: Why Rare Songbirds Rely on Destructive Winds

Jul

New guidelines for managing COVID

In March, the CDC revised their recommendations for how Americans should manage COVID exposure and illness, aligning COVID health and safety recommendations to that of other common respiratory diseases. Continue reading New guidelines for managing COVID

Jul

Meet the Docents: This Air and Space Museum volunteer is in her ‘happy place’

Mary Dominiak should have been an astronaut. Or, at least, that’s what she wanted to be when she was growing up in Milwaukee. A lifelong airplane junkie and self-described “space cadet,” Dominiak says two strikes were against her: her poor eyesight and the fact that women weren’t admitted to NASA’s astronaut corps until 1978. By then, she… Continue reading Meet the Docents: This Air and Space Museum volunteer is in her ‘happy place’

Jul

SEE YOUR PHOTO HERE

Congratulations to Katelynn Kemp, the winner of the summer Windows Lock Screen Photo Contest! Continue reading SEE YOUR PHOTO HERE

Jul

Dr. Marian Pettibone Discovered and Described New Forms of Oceanic Life

The first female curator in the National Museum of Natural History Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Dr. Pettibone described 172 species and fought for the recognition of women in science. Continue reading Dr. Marian Pettibone Discovered and Described New Forms of Oceanic Life

Jun

Your Guide to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The time has finally come: participants have arrived from across the United States and nine other nations, and we invite you to meet them at the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival! Continue reading Your Guide to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Jun

The Conversation: How to achieve an Instagram-worthy glow up

From glowing corals to vomiting shrimp, animals have used bioluminescence to communicate for millions of years – here’s what scientists still don’t know about it Continue reading The Conversation: How to achieve an Instagram-worthy glow up

Jun

Think globally. Act locally.

Answer the call during this Civic Season to learn about, participate in and volunteer for your community to help make our nation a more perfect union. Continue reading Think globally. Act locally.

Jun