Articles

Some facets of the 1918 influenza pandemic echo today's crisis: There were mask mandates, campaigns against spitting and pleas for people to cover their mouths, and more than half a million Americans died. The decade that followed the pandemic, however, was marked by social change and economic prosperity—for some.

What Caused the Roaring Twenties? Not the End of a Pandemic (Probably)

As the U.S. anticipates a vaccinated summer, historians say measuring the impact of the 1918 influenza on the uproarious decade that followed is tricky

Smithsonian Associates Streaming presents surprising stories behind the jewels in the Smithsonian National Gem Collection.

Smithsonian Voices

Dive Into National Gems, Study Photography, Discover Women Architects in These 34 Online May Programs

Stream online multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours in these offerings from the Smithsonian Associates

An aerial view of Skaneateles, New York

Five Agritourism Destinations to Visit This Summer

Because we call could use a vacation right now

Through co-creation efforts with K-12 educators and Asian American community partners, the National Veterans Network, elementary and middle school educators, Asian Pacific American Center interns and National Museum of American History staff, learn more about the stories behind objects.

Smithsonian Voices

What's Missing from Classrooms When Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices Aren't Included?

When grappling with our current moment of increased hate and violence, AAPI students need the educational resources to contextualize what we are witnessing

This month's book picks include African Europeans, X Troop and Chasing the Thrill.

Books of the Month

African Europeans, Jewish Commandos of WWII and Other New Books to Read

These May releases elevate overlooked stories and offer insights on oft-discussed topics

A beaver peers out of a Hancock live trap after being captured by Molly Alves, a biologist with the Tulalip Tribe in Washington.

Scientists Are Relocating Nuisance Beavers to Help Salmon

When the rodents are moved from backyards to wild areas, they make their new watersheds better for fish

Elexia Alleyne and her family have lived in what they call “the barrio of Washington, D.C.” for three generations.

Smithsonian Voices

Coming of Age in Poetry: Meet Elexia Alleyne

Growing up in D.C.’s barrio, the young poet remembers a vibrant, tight-knit Dominican community.

Reopening July 24, 2020, the Smithsonian's 300,000 square-foot Udvar-Hazy Center includes singular, memorable and colossal items of air and space history.

Twelve Must-Sees When the Smithsonian Reopens Udvar-Hazy Center May 5

The massive showcase facility offers plenty of space for social distance along with plenty of air and space travel history

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery holds an Italian poster (above: Il Quarto Potere, detail) promoting the film.

The Lasting Riddles of Orson Welles' Revolutionary Film 'Citizen Kane'

This year’s award-winning "Mank" attracts new attention to the 80-year-old American classic; two Smithsonian curators share insights

A behind-the-scenes look at the installation of a massive piece of stained glass art inside the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.

Artisan America

Celebrating America's Oldest Family-Run Stained Glass Studio

A new exhibition spotlights Judson Studios, the Los Angeles group that's been creating iconic pieces of art for nearly 125 years

Michael Collins' NASA astronaut portrait.

Smithsonian Voices

Remembering Michael Collins

As the third director of the National Air and Space Museum, the former astronaut campaigned for a museum on the Mall in time for the nation’s bicentennial

This drawing of a performance of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus has given scholars an understanding of how blackface was used in Elizabethan England.

Blackface Is Older Than You Might Think

From medieval European theater troupes to American minstrelsy, the harmful tradition has a surprisingly long history

A prairie warbler greets the spring in New Jersey.

Smithsonian Voices

How Scientists Are Deciphering the Many Mysteries of Migratory Birds

Each spring across the forests, lakes and suburbs of North America, millions of birds take a long journey north in search of summer nesting territory

The dunes of White Sands National Monument stretch for hundreds of miles in New Mexico.

How Extreme Temperature Swings in Deserts Stir Sand and Dust

Understanding the movement of particles, some of which enter the atmosphere, may help scientists improve climate models and forecast dust storms on Mars

The new species of toadlet, Brachycephalus rotenbergae, opens its mouth in a defensive posture.

Biologists Discover New Species of Glowing Pumpkin Toadlet

The bright orange amphibian, which shines green under UV light, is different from other pumpkin toadlets due to its appearance and call

The lunar module Eagle, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, ascends back up to the command module Columbia with Michael Collins. It is often said that Michael Collins is the only human, living or dead, who is not in this photograph.

Future of Space Exploration

Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins on the Past and Future of Space Exploration

On the occasion of the lunar landing's 50th anniversary, we spoke to the former director of the National Air and Space Museum

Back in the Day, These Vintage Supplies Kept Libraries Running.

Smithsonian Voices

Back in the Day, These Vintage Supplies Kept Libraries Running

Modern technology replace these tools and supplies, but these drawings bring back many happy memories of checking out a book

In this late 17th-century comb, created by a craftsperson from either the Seneca or Susquehannock peoples, two animated figures wearing frock coats—likely a Native American and a Euro-American—face one another.

A 1722 Murder Spurred Native Americans' Pleas for Justice in Early America

In a new book, historian Nicole Eustace reveals Indigenous calls for meaningful restitution and reconciliation rather than retribution.

A children's seesaw stands among former apartment buildings in Pripyat, Ukraine. Pripyat, built in the 1970s to house the workers and families of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, now stands abandoned inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Thirty-Five Years Later, a First Responder at the Chernobyl Disaster Looks Back

In her new book, Alla Shapiro shares her experience of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history

America’s public, partisan and passionate campaigns fired up uniformed young men who participated in torchlit marches, a style pioneered by the Republican Wide Awakes stumping for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 (above: a procession stomped through Lower Manhattan’s Printing House Square).

The Little-Known Story of 19th-Century America's Partisan Warfare

In a new book, Smithsonian curator Jon Grinspan examines the history of America's furious and fractious politics

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