Smithsonian Magazine

Mercury Has Wrinkles That Show It’s Shrinking. Now, Scientists Say the Planet Has Shriveled Far More Than Previously Thought

A new study suggests that our solar system’s smallest planet has shrunk by up to 30 percent since its birth roughly 4.5 ...
Smithsonian Magazine

For Years, the Smithsonian Strove to Bring the African American History and Culture Museum to the National Mall. Now, It Celebrates a Decade as a Beacon of Understa…

The museum lovingly called the "Blacksonian" chronicles the past and present and envisions the future to tell the stories of ...
Smithsonian Magazine

More Than 800,000 Bees, Worth Tens of Thousands of Dollars, Have Been Stolen in ‘Sophisticated’ Heists Across Northern Australia

At least 800,000 bees were stolen from several properties in far north Queensland, Australia. The theft coincides with the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Scientists Say the Human Brain Might Be Made of Two Distinct Nervous Systems That Got Squished Together

Two separate types of progenitor cells give rise to the front and back of the organ, according to a new study. The findings can help researchers study human diseases that affect the hindbrain, since i ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Workers Extracting Gravel From the Danube River Dredged Up a 2,200-Year-Old ‘Rusty Treasure’ That Could Have Equipped an Army

The cache comprises the remains of at least 500 iron bars, which were likely headed downstream to be forged into finished products ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Cameras Capture Adult Chimpanzees Passing Tools—and Know-How—to Their Young, Teaching Important Skills to the Next Generation

Researchers recorded footage of wild chimps in Senegal showing youngsters how to use sticks to fish out ants and how to smash baobab fruit against rocks to open it, among other instances of instructio ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Meet the Spatula-Nosed Fish Whose Anatomy has Hardly Changed Since the Cretaceous

The National Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition “From These Lands” features an American paddlefish, the last surviving species of an ancient lineage of fishes that predates dinosaurs ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Over 2,000 Early Childhood Educators Shared How They Integrate the Natural World into Their Teaching. Here’s What They Revealed About What’s Working and What’s Missing

The Smithsonian surveyed early childhood educators from across the nation to uncover their mindsets for finding educational resources. The results will inform how organizations can play a part in ...