Smithsonian Magazine: Explore History, Science, Arts & Culture

By examining the fossils of ancient creatures, scientists are able to see the origins of features that make mammals different from other animals.

How to Make a Mammal in Nine Evolutionary Steps

From the formation of inner ear bones to the rise of hair to cover our bodies, these developments made us distinct from other animals

Robert Falcon Scott (far left) and his crew at the South Pole in January 1912

When a Search Party Discovered the Frozen Body of a British Explorer Who Raced to the South Pole—and Lost

Smart News

A Rare 'Otherworldly' Sculpture by Surrealist Artist Leonora Carrington Is Going to Auction

November 12, 2024 4:27 p.m.

These Elephants Can Use Hoses to Shower—and Even 'Sabotage' Each Other, Study Suggests

November 12, 2024 3:39 p.m.

Father and Son Discover Rare Trove of 16th- and 17th-Century Silver Coins While Metal Detecting in a Polish Forest

November 12, 2024 2:51 p.m.

These Tiny Snails Are Breeding in the Wild for the First Time in 40 Years in French Polynesia

November 12, 2024 10:54 a.m.

DNA Evidence Is Rewriting the Stories of Victims Who Perished in Pompeii Nearly 2,000 Years Ago

November 12, 2024 10:32 a.m.

When a Search Party Discovered the Frozen Body of a British Explorer Who Raced to the South Pole—and Lost

November 12, 2024 5:00 a.m.

Latest Features

Reflecting on Romare Bearden's art, playwright August Wilson wrote, “What I saw was Black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness.”

The Surprising Artwork That Inspired Netflix's 'The Piano Lesson,' a New Movie Based on August Wilson's Award-Winning Play

November 12, 2024 10:57 a.m.

A sperm whale swims away, leaving a cloud of feces.

Scientists Are Crafting Fake Whale Poop and Dumping It in the Ocean

November 12, 2024 9:35 a.m.

By examining the fossils of ancient creatures, scientists are able to see the origins of features that make mammals different from other animals.

How to Make a Mammal in Nine Evolutionary Steps

November 12, 2024 8:00 a.m.

The white substance on this fly is a fungus called Entomophthora muscae.

This Parasitic Fungus Turns Flies Into Zombie Insects

November 8, 2024

A white mob poses outside of the razed office of the Daily Record, a Black-owned newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898.

When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History

November 8, 2024

A polar bear mother and her clingy, but cute, cubs are photographed along the Hudson Bay.

Celebrate the Beloved Yet Threatened Polar Bear With These 15 Photos

November 7, 2024

Cyclists pass a preserved section of the Berlin Wall.

How the Berlin Wall Became a 100-Mile Bike and Pedestrian Trail

November 7, 2024

The Island, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, single-channel video, color, 5.1 surround sound, 42 minutes, 2017

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

See a Film That Reimagines History on the Malaysian Island That Served as a Refugee Site After the Vietnam War

November 7, 2024

Current Issue
November 2024

Smithsonian magazine November 2024 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Check Out the Stunning New Images of Jupiter From NASA's Juno Spacecraft

On its 66th flyby of the king of planets, Juno has captured spectacular views of the stormy atmosphere, processed by citizen scientists

2.

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be

The fight over Robert E. Lee's beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades

3.

After the Death of Cassius, the World's Largest Captive Crocodile, Scientists Are Trying to Solve the Mystery of His Age

The beloved reptile in Australia died last weekend and was thought to be up to 120 years old, though that age is only an estimate. Research on his bones might reveal a more exact number

4.

"The Hatpin Peril" Terrorized Men Who Couldn't Handle the 20th-Century Woman

To protect themselves from unwanted advances, city women protected themselves with some sharp accessories

5.

Archaeologists Are Bewildered by a Skeleton Made From the Bones of at Least Eight People Who Died Thousands of Years Apart

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

Special Report

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Our Sustainable Future

A hub dedicated to the latest on how global change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are researching to build a more sustainable planet

View Full Report

Featured Stories

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Inside the Effort to Save Earth's Biocrusts

Can the Noise in Sports Arenas Be Turned Into Electricity?

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Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

Photo of the day

Damiana Chauca, 84 climbs to her wheat field daily to collect grain for soup and her animals. Living a hard life not by choice but by necessity.

I’m grateful for these relationships. They’ve nourished me with wisdom and fostered humility.

History

Reflecting on Romare Bearden's art, playwright August Wilson wrote, “What I saw was Black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness.”

The Surprising Artwork That Inspired Netflix's 'The Piano Lesson,' a New Movie Based on August Wilson's Award-Winning Play

A Romare Bearden print served as a starting point for the American playwright's 1987 drama, which follows a Black family's struggle to decide the fate of an ancestral heirloom

Robert Falcon Scott (far left) and his crew at the South Pole in January 1912

When a Search Party Discovered the Frozen Body of a British Explorer Who Raced to the South Pole—and Lost

Four plaster casts from the House of the Golden Bracelet were made in 1974.

DNA Evidence Is Rewriting the Stories of Victims Who Perished in Pompeii Nearly 2,000 Years Ago

Science

The crowning glory of the Gardenia brighamii is its pearly flower.

Can Fungi Save This Endangered Hawaiian Tree?

By inoculating greenhouse na’u seedlings with mycorrhizal fungi, researchers hope to boost survival odds when the plants are returned to the wild

Tourists watch leatherback sea turtle hatchlings crawl toward the sea under the glow of less intrusive red lights. Artificial white lighting can attract the hatchlings away from the ocean, where predators may be lurking.

From Prolonging Wallaby Pregnancies to Disorienting Hatchling Turtles, 11 Ways Artificial Lights Affect Animals

A new study suggests that among adolescents mental health disorders could be “socially transmitted,” though its researchers could not establish any direct cause.

Is Depression Contagious?

Innovation

Thirty-six homes—the world’s last topped with a traditional eelgrass roof—all sit here on Laeso.

Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potential

John Larson's original polygraph, a gift to the Smithsonian from the Berkeley Police Department, where Larson was the first rookie cop with a PhD.

Why the Creator of One of the First ‘Lie Detectors’ Lived to Regret His Invention

“Cité Mémoire” is a digital multimedia installation illustrating the moments that have shaped Montreal’s last 400 years.

Cities Are Projecting Their History Onto Streets and Buildings After Dark

Arts & Culture

The theme of this year's creepy doll contest at the History Center of Olmsted County is "Circus After Dark."

The Creepy Doll Contest Is Back—and It's Time to Cast Your Vote for the Most Terrifying Toy

Step right up and see the spooky circus dolls—from creepy clowns to frightening fortune-tellers—in a Minnesota museum's vintage toy collection

Mask, Jackson Pollock, 1941

Before He Created His Vibrant Drip Paintings, Jackson Pollock Took Inspiration From Pablo Picasso

The Ofaerufoss waterfall is part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River, meaning the “impassable northern river.” The river flows into Eldgja, or the “Canyon of Fire.”

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

Travel

“Cité Mémoire” is a digital multimedia installation illustrating the moments that have shaped Montreal’s last 400 years.

Cities Are Projecting Their History Onto Streets and Buildings After Dark

Pedestrians in Montreal, Grand Rapids and other locations can time-travel thanks to installations that map historical scenes directly onto the cityscapes

The Ofaerufoss waterfall is part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River, meaning the “impassable northern river.” The river flows into Eldgja, or the “Canyon of Fire.”

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

Sculpted monsters, open tombs and dramatic depictions of supernatural combatants make visiting the Sacro Bosco more akin to braving a Renaissance version of a haunted house.

Discover the Mysteries of Italy's Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatures

At the Smithsonian

Allosaurus

This Captivating Guide Uncovers the History and Mystery of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils

A paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London chronicles the age of the famous and fascinating massive reptiles

A polar bear looks out of a window frame on a deserted Russian island.

See 11 of the Best Wildlife Photographs From Years Past

A view of the exhibition "Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return" at the National Portrait Gallery

From Candy to Lightbulbs, Felix Gonzalez-Torres Showed Life and Loss Through Everyday Objects