Encyclopedia Smithsonian

This major exhibition hall focuses on the story of human origins and probes the ecological and genetic connections that human beings have had with the natural world over time.

Concern about feathers for fashion adornment led to a campaign to preserve the nation's wildlife.

Dive in with Phoenix -- a model of an actual North Atlantic right whale -- and discover how the ocean is a global system essential to all life in this exhibition featuring hundreds of preserved marine specimens, a living coral reef, and many interactive displays. 

This exhibition explores the biology and evolution of animal thinking, focusing on primates

The Victory Garden represents a typical vegetable garden planted during World War II, when growing food for home consumption was an important part of the war effort.

Learn about the Smithsonian's dinosaurs with everything you want to know--including the top 10 misconceptions.

Edward Palmer (1831-1911) is regarded by many as “the father of ethnobotany,” Palmer collected plants and objects extensively in North and South America during the late 19^th century.   This Department of Botany site highlights the connections between the botanical and anthropological collections Palmer made in the North American Southwest and Mexico from 1867-1898.

Follows marine biologists on a research expedition to the remote Galápagos Islands.

The Heralds of Science are 200 books and articles selected by Bern Dibner from his collection, as the most significant titles in the formation and development of Western science and technology.

Follow the Lewis and Clark trail, and discover the flora and fauna as they described it along the way.

Follow what paleontologists do in each stage in the life of a vertebrate fossil.

Scientists explore both the present and the past through the natural history of deep-sea organisms and microorganisms.

The Ocean Portal is a unique, interactive online experience that inspires awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the world’s Ocean, developed by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and more than 20 collaborating organizations.

Explore science at the Smithsonian through video, feature article, photos and more.

Research papers on the ecological and social sustainability of cacao farms.

Many resources—from technical research to sources of "Bird Friendly®" Coffee.

Explore "camera trap" images of collected at research sites around the world! Explore by location or species.

More than 1/2 billion years old, these fossils preserve an intriguing glimpse of early animal life on Earth.

Smithsonian Institution's Sustainable Seafood website complements One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish - The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook by Carole C. Baldwin and Julie H. Mounts (Smithsonian Books, 2003).

Despite being produced not just by amateurs but largely by women, far from the publishing houses and intellectual centers of 19th-century America, the book was hailed as an extraordinary achievement from the moment its first few plates were published.