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Select Art & Design, History & Culture, or Science & Nature to discover featured collections, stories, video, and more from around the Smithsonian. OR Search for your specific topic of interest in the search bar.
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Smithsonian Insider

Resin from Shipwreck Hints at Trade Routes and Botany of Ancient Asia

By examining an 800-year-old piece of resin or tree sap, a Smithsonian scientist is helping reconstruct ancient sea trading routes and human uses of plants.
Broadcast News cover
Smithsonian Spotlight

All That's Old Is News Again

Explore news related collection objects from across the Smithsonian.
balloon
Smithsonian Spotlight

Up, Up, and Away

Let balloonamania carry you away with these picks from the collections.
Bianca Gutierrez and Irene Mangon
Smithsonian Insider

Tattoos: Telling Stories in the Flesh. Q&A with Lars Krutak

Tattoos are not just skin deep; they tell us about individuals and their cultures.
Circus
Smithsonian Spotlight

The Circus is Coming

The 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will feature Circus Arts. Enjoy these related objects from across the Smithsonian.
Clara Bow
Smithsonian Spotlight

1927: First Solo Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight

Explore items related to the year, including the Spirit of St. Louis and its famous flight May 20-21, 1927.
illustration of moth with food source
Smithsonian Spotlight

The Illustrations of Maria Sybilla Merian

This 17th century natural science illustrator brought artistic observation to scientific practice.
cross section of a meteorite found
Smithsonian Insider

Ancient Native American Beads Traced to Otherworldy Source: An Iron Meteorite

How the Hopewell came by enough near-pure iron to produce a handful of exotic beads, small tools, and other decorations.
Starship Enterprise Studio Model
Smithsonian Insider

Five Things Only a Conservator Would Know about the USS Enterprise

Learn about the 200-pound Enterprise studio model used in the original 1960s television series.
Apollo 11 Command Module markings
National Air and Space Museum

3D Apollo 11 Command Module

Explore the spacecraft that carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon.
woman in hat
Smithsonian Spotlight

Hats off to These Pieces

Who wore it best?
Portrait of James Smithson painted by Henri Johns in 1816
Smithsonian Insider

James Smithson, The Scientist Who Started the Smithsonian

Collections Sampler