Riders--who will descend in inflatable rafts of four rather than alone--will reach speeds of more than 65 miles per hour

The firebrand politician once quipped that she would like to be remembered as a woman who ‘had guts’

Sometimes, in fact, nature is stranger than fiction

Sometimes, in fact, nature is stranger than fiction

Why are we equipped with this curious modification? Find out in this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze gives us the info on our wrinkled digits.

Christopher Gray | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Youth Achievement Christopher Gray is the founder and CEO of Scholly, the groundbreaking web and mobile app that matches current or future college students who need financial support with scholarships that can help them. Scholly has been downloaded 850,000 times and has connected college students with some $50 million in scholarships. Philadelphia-based Gray, an ABC “Shark Tank” winner and recipient of a $100,000 grant from philanthropist Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest competition, sees his digital platform as a 21st-century tool for helping countless young Americans achieve their college dreams without piling on crushing debt.

Vice president of engineering and chief evangelist at Google on the connected world in 2050

Through painstaking work, photographer Drew Gardner transformed Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin into her ancestor, a famous women’s rights activist. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

Nearly 300,000 people gather every Memorial Day to witness the legendary Indianapolis 500, one of the greatest spectacles in U.S. racing

In 1925, an Alaskan adventurer and his trusted Siberian husky completed a grueling 600-mile journey across the frozen plains. Their exploits would end up saving the lives of 2,000 people.

From This Object in History, aired on @SmithsonianChannel

High-speed video captures the unique ability of a leaping praying mantis to control its spin in mid-air and precisely land on a target.

Photographer David Burnett focused his camera on the many tourists who flocked to Florida in 1969 to watch the launch of Apollo 11 (Produced by Molly Roberts; Photographs by David Burnett/Contact Press Images)

In the remote Pacific, the Phoenix Islands provide an unspoiled center for marine science

To soar over Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire is to be transported back in time to the age of William Shakespeare, a man born in humble circumstances who would go on to become the most celebrated writer of all time.

Archaeologists in Saqqara make a dazzling discovery: a late period Egyptian coffin with a gilded mask. Now, to bring it to the surface, they use a pulley known as a "tambora," a technology that dates back to Ancient Egypt

Fans strap on their blue suede shoes and join the celebration of Elvis Presley's 75th birthday at the National Portrait Gallery. Read more at http://Smithsonian.com

What are freckles, and how do they form? In this one-minute video, our Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze, shines a light on the subject.

Henry Ford was a genius who virtually created the automobile industry as we know it. But what's less lauded was his talent for publicity—and his ability to partner with other pioneers such as Ohio's Harvey Firestone.

While Thomas Edison is best-known for inventing the lightbulb, it's often forgotten that he also set up the world's first movie studio, in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Much more than you’d think – and it’s whirling around at dangerously high speeds

The answer depends on how you feel about cluster headaches

In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers arrived home when he was shot and killed. It would be over 30 years before his killer was brought to justice.

In a conversation with architect David Rockwell, the philanthropic chef urges an invested effort to create technology that could collect water from the clouds

Ruth Glacier’s Great Gorge is quite simply one of the continent’s most awe-inspiring sights. At 2,000 feet and over ten miles long, it’s one of the deepest canyons in the world.

The "Manned Orbiting Laboratory," or "MOL," was built to capture high-resolution images of Soviet targets on the ground. It was so advanced, it could pick up objects on earth as small as a baseball

Experts are working on a unique experiment that will use an inflatable aeroshell/heat shield to protect a spacecraft when entering a planet's atmosphere or returning to Earth

The space suits used by the astronauts on Gemini 7, known as grasshopper suits, were designed for comfort. But after two weeks inside them, that was the last thing on the crew’s minds.

Building captive colonies for eventual re-introduction to the wild, scientists from Atlanta rescue endangered frogs and other amphibians threatened with extinction by a fatal fungus spreading through South American forests

Discover evidence of natural selection and evolution at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum (Meredith Bragg)

The Liège-Guillemins railway station looks like it belongs far in the future: a vast curving monolith of glass, steel and concrete curves extending high above the train tracks. Just as astonishing as its design is the fact that it was built while the normal train schedules continued, with no disruption.

A series of remarkably well-preserved human remains in a remote cave in Scotland has archaeologists grappling with a staggering question: were these bodies brought here during the Bronze Age to be mummified?

After mapping the movement of stars for years, astronomers believe they have found a black hole at the center of the Milky Way

A London blacksmith has perfected a technique known as pattern welding to create elaborately-designed replica Saxon swords and knives. He demonstrates his technique on camera.

Under exuberant coach, Knute Rockne, Notre Dame set the standards for football excellence. But off the field, the Fighting Irish was a PR sensation, capturing the hearts of a riveted nation.

Zookeepers at the National Zoo keep orangutans mentally stimulated with an innovative use of iPads

Scientists have created thin polymer sheets that expand and contract when in contact with water

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma talks with the founder of the Girls Computing League about the promise of her generation

Tod Machover, an MIT professor whose classroom produced Guitar Hero and Rock Band, talks about a future in which everyone can make music

The first computer is thought to be the invention of a 19th century mathematician

Every week, the Floyd Country Store draws musicians and their fans from across southwest Virginia

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time. 

Researchers are able to track Venus flytrap plants that were stolen from protected areas

Coffee - it's a staple of American life, and inside the vaults of the National Museum of American History, they know the secret to its wide spread success: packaging

In this trailer, experts discuss the importance of sharks to the health of coral reefs. Marine ecologist Enric Sala of Scripps Institution of Oceanography talks about the role of sharks as top predators in ocean ecosystems. Peter Knight, executive director of WildAid, and Sonja Fordham of the Ocean Conservancy detail the decline of shark populations worldwide as a result of fishing pressure

In 1969, three men traveled to the moon cameras documented their every move

Credit: David Marshall, University of Bristol

To save a species from extinction, scientists scour the Panamanian jungle for the few remaining frogs. But will they be too late?

How did a god fearing church-goer like Lizzie Borden become a suspect in the gruesome crime of the century? Her inconsistent account, and an eerie nonchalance, immediately damaged her credibility with investigators.