The post Smithsonian scientists work to ensure survival of North America’s wild orchids appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What can you do to bring some of the Smithsonian’s 137 million objects to life? Put them in 3-D! This is a full-time job for […]

The post VIDEO: 3-D scanning at the Smithsonian appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

South American rainforests thrived during three extreme global warming events in the past, say paleontologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in a new report […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover that rainforests take the heat appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As the Rim Fire burns deeper into Yosemite, park managers are fighting fire with fire—and one of the Smithsonian’s ForestGEO plots was caught in the […]

The post Smithsonian research plot burns in Yosemite fires appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tucked into the wooded landscape and rolling hills of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., is a new forest. Six months ago, a […]

The post Century-long Smithsonian experiment tests forest diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A 57-acre research plot at a University of Michigan forest preserve northwest of Ann Arbor has been added to a Smithsonian Institution global network used […]

The post University of Michigan forest preserve joins Smithsonian global network appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History announced today that scientists with the museum’s Global Genome Initiative will attempt to capture the genomic diversity of half the […]

The post Smithsonian and Partners To Preserve Earth’s Genomic Plant Diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive species have become a problem in marine environments around the world, and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are no exception. Non-native species of […]

The post Smithsonian Scientists Work to Stop Invasions appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rattlesnake, zebra and peacock plants have a new wild relative, discovered by Rodolfo Flores, Panamanian botanist and intern at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). […]

The post Smithsonian Botanist Discovers New Ground-Flowering Plant in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With net in hand and eyes peeled, Mauren Turcatel spent two-weeks last October chasing blood-thirsty predators through the Amazon jungle of Brazil. One-by-one they appeared […]

The post Blood-thirsty jungle horse-flies catch big chill from Smithsonian entomologist appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Given its scale and diversity, the Smithsonian’s collection of 154 million items presents a unique digitization challenge. This video showcases a conveyor belt driven imaging […]

The post Digitizing the Smithsonian’s Botany Collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) celebrated with Panama the completion of the Panama Canal expansion project on June 26, 2016. The $5.6 billion engineering […]

The post Smithsonian celebrates Panama Canal expansion! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fort Pierce, Fla. – Fall in southern Florida is festival season: when the weather stops being oppressively hot and 70 degrees is positively autumnal.  On […]

The post Annual Smithsonian-led science festival draws crowds in Fort Pierce, Florida appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Spending time in a beautiful garden can be transformative. In fact, some visitors to the Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden in Washington D.C. have taken […]

The post Monarch Butterflies Make the Most of the Smithsonian’s Gardens appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers a range of compelling residential, hands-on, interdisciplinary programs in conservation biology for undergraduate and graduate students and professionals at […]

The post Field Research: Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Earth Day weekend, the Smithsonian will convene the first Earth Optimism Summit, a three-day event featuring more than 150 scientists, thought leaders, philanthropists, conservationists […]

The post Smithsonian To Convene Earth Optimism Summit April 21–23 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian scientists have discovered two new gecko species—the Lenya banded bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus lenya) and Tenasserim Mountain bent-toed gecko (C. payarhtanesnsis)—in the little-studied lowland forests […]

The post Smithsonian Scientists Discover Two New Gecko Species in Vanishing Myanmar Rainforest appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian is celebrating Earth Day this month by hosting the first Earth Optimism Summit from April 21 to 23 in Washington, D.C. Its goal […]

The post The Smithsonian’s history is right in line with Earth Optimism appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This Earth Day weekend in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian is convening the first Earth Optimism Summit. The three-day event, taking place April 21–23, will look […]

The post Earth Optimism: Smithsonian’s “Agua Salud” Project restores degraded land with forest appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Is it foolish to be optimistic about our environment and its future prospects? Every day, we hear dire warnings about the health of the planet […]

The post The Argument for Environmental Optimism: Opinion by Smithsonian Secretary David J. Skorton appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A tiny invasive insect from Asia might have an effect on Chesapeake Bay waters. The emerald ash borer is killing millions of ash trees in […]

The post Invasive ash borer found in Smithsonian Environmental Research Center forest; ash deaths may impact Chesapeake waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

 Mass Digitization of the living orchid collection maintained by Smithsonian Gardens.

The post Smithsonian Digitization: Orchid Collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

No green thumb? You don’t need to water these dazzling orchids to enjoy them. More than 8,000 living specimens in the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection […]

The post See thousands of orchids in incredible detail in the Smithsonian’s newly digitized collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping scientists piece together the evolutionary history of whales and dolphins, including the origins of the endangered South Asian river dolphin.

read more

The new season of Smithsonian Channel's 'Polar Bear Town' will explore the intersection of humans and the 'Lords of the Arctic' in Manitoba.

NASA's space shuttle Discovery is set to land in Washington, D.C. this April, where the now retired fleet leader — the world's most flown spacecraft — will

After 467 days in orbit and a ticker-tape parade, a special litte astronaut will live out its days at the National Air and Space Museum.

The modified-Boeing 747, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center here on April 10. The jumbo jetliner came in f

Dailey, director of the museum, in a statement released Monday. "At the Udvar-Hazy Center, Discovery will be seen by millions of people in the coming years, esp

This Guam kingfisher chick is one of the rarest birds in the world.

One of the most highly anticipated museums of the past decade, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is finally opening.

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art focus is to inspire conversations about the beauty, power, and diversity of African arts and cultures worldwide.

Narrated by Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Richard Kurin, the 24-part video series blends history with modern mainstays

Airing on the aquarium's Twitch channel at 4 p.m. EST today, the two-hour session will focus on the video game's diverse insect population

With Washington, D.C. COVID-19 state of emergency, Smithsonian officials say museums to close Saturday, March 14; events canceled through May 3

In an official statement, the Institution announced temporary closures beginning Saturday, March 14

How do you select one image to represent half a century of photography and art? You don’t

When this publication first appeared five decades ago, it was happy to join the fray

Do some armchair traveling and see the breathtaking vistas of all 50 states while learning about their histories

From Vietnam to Antarctica, this year's winners bring you amazing glimpses of a changing world—and the indefatigable human spirit

The new viruses are not harmful to humans or closely related to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19

Test your mettle with this puzzle created exclusively for our readers

Find the capital cities, working from a list of state names

These paintings, sculptures and illustrations honor the bonds of motherhood

Tour a gallery of presidential portraits, print a 3-D model of a fossil or volunteer to transcribe historical documents

In a nation under quarantine, chronicling a crisis demands careful strategy

See how researchers at Smithsonian's National Zoo are trying to glean insight into elephant foraging behavior and more.

How Do American Indians Celebrate Mother's Day? | Smithsonian Voices | National Museum of the American Indian  Smithsonian.com

A team of Delaware archeologists and a preeminent anthropologist from the Smithsonian Institution Wednesday will unveil new findings from a years-long study of an archeological site in the West Rehoboth area.

The newly launched #SmithsonianEdu campaign highlights 1.7 million online tools geared specifically toward students and teachers