Smithsonian Stories

Stories that spark curiosity from the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex.

Waving Skeleton
Smithsonian Snapshot

Hi, Halloween!

A cheerful skeleton gives a wave.
Traditional calaveras, or skulls, which are prominent on Día de los Muertos.
Smithsonian Story

5 Facts About Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

What do sugar skulls, marigolds, and monarch butterflies have in common? 
fossil of seed fern
Smithsonian Story

Connecting Ancient CO2 Records with the Future

Researchers used fossilized plants to reconstruct the ancient atmospheric carbon dioxide record. 
animated gif of skeletons dancing on book page
Smithsonian Snapshot

Tequila!

A Neanderthal makes some moves.
Spikey sea worm.
Smithsonian Story

Bizarre New Marine Worms Named

An extraordinary arrangement of bristles, wrinkles, and wart-like bumps cover newly described worms.
Chuck Berry's red Cadillac on display
Smithsonian Snapshot

Rock ’n’ Roll Ride

The legendary Chuck Berry's red Cadillac.
historic Bell
Smithsonian Story

Historic Freedom Bell to Ring

It rang this year for the first time since segregation, for a congregation that formed as our nation was founded
dogs grouped into letters
Smithsonian Snapshot

Sit! Stay! Spell!

Whimsical wallpaper.
mule train in Grand Canyon
Smithsonian Story

Mules Still Deliver Mail in the Grand Canyon

Today in 1908, the Grand Canyon became a national monument. Here’s how its residents get their mail by mule.
Starship Enterprise Studio Model
Smithsonian Story

Five Things Only a Conservator Would Know about the USS Enterprise

Learn about the 200-pound Enterprise studio model used in the original 1960s television series.
brightly colored woven sculpture of bird
Smithsonian Snapshot

A Finery-Feathered Friend

Crocheted suits carry a message about biodiversity.
Steve Thornton
Smithsonian Story

Global Genome Initiative

In the face of mass extinctions, the Smithsonian’s Global Genome Initiative quietly saves the world’s DNA.
Mark Spitz in Speedo wearing gold medals
Smithsonian Snapshot

Let the Games Begin

Mark Spitz set the world record for the most gold medals in a single Olympics.
Neon sculpture of the United States composed of televisions
Smithsonian Snapshot

See the U.S.A. on Paik’s “Electronic Superhighway”

This neon artwork shows the viewer the U.S. by highway--no car needed.
balloon over crowd
Smithsonian Snapshot

Up, Up and Away

In 1805, the first female aeronaut, Sophie Blanchard, took flight.
Babe Ruth in Red Sox uniform with other players
Smithsonian Snapshot

The Sultan of Swat

Babe Ruth was the ballpark sensation of his sensational era, the Roaring ’20s.
mosquito
Smithsonian Story

Smithsonian’s Mosquito Collection Is Weapon in Battle Against Zika

As the Zika virus takes hold around the world, health officials are racing to find its cause and prevent its spread.
Big Man sculpture (overweight bald man sitting with head on hand)
Smithsonian Snapshot

The Big Man

Why so grumpy, big guy?
Muhammad Ali visiting the Smithsonian in a crowd
Smithsonian Story

Muhammad Ali (1942–2016)

Risk taker, sports figure and fearless social icon, Ali is ever alive in the hearts of those who know him as the greatest boxer of the 20th century
Our View From Here installation
Smithsonian Snapshot

Linn Meyers: An Ephemeral Ebb and Flow

Rippling lines and patterns that pulse with energy.
Braille Wallpaper
Smithsonian Snapshot

Wallpaper That Tells a Story

Written in Braille, this wallpaper reveals how it was created.
purple mite
Smithsonian Story

Mites Are Everywhere!

Get up close with seven of the Earth's 3–5 million mite species.
Adults encourage some very partisan children to don uniforms
Smithsonian Story

How 19th-Century Youth Shaped Democracy

Politicians campaigning for the youth vote isn’t anything new.
blue bird on a conifer.
Smithsonian Story

When Is a Blue Bird Not Blue?

Smithsonian asked Scott Sillett, a wildlife biologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

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