Encyclopedia Smithsonian

Create your own design for a cloud and send it up to the sky.

Try your hand as a planetary researcher. Please NOTE: do not use "save your work" feature. It is not functioning.

Are you a brainiac on the subject of the human brain? An authority on American authors? An ace on astronomy? A whiz on The Wizard of Oz? If not, don’t worry. The game Digging for Answers tests your research skills as well as your expertise.

Test your geography knowledge with this online quiz.

Contains activities intended for school children, grades 5 and up, under adult supervision.

The Smithsonian asks and answers questions about science, art, history and culture every day. Test your SI—Q!

Choose objects, like a basketball, to represent objects in the universe and use these to explore relative sizes in outer space.

Stay connected with Smithsonian Channel’s original series, documentaries and fun facts — on the go, anytime, anywhere with the Smithsonian Channel app for iPhone and iPod Touch. View full episodes and hundreds of video clips of your favorite Smithsonian Channel programs. Check the schedule for what’s on tonight, tomorrow or next week.

Find lots of fast, fun, cool, scary, patriotic, and beautiful things from the Smithsonian and send free E-cards to your friends!
 

A mystery is brewing at the Smithsonian Institution, and our scientists want the help of 11-14-year-olds to solve it! Through games, puzzles, online challenges, museum visits, and scientific thinking, can you help them uncover the truth before time runs out?

Journey back in time to experience the incredible Apollo 11 mission!

See some 90 African art objects that were inspired by astronomical observations and phenomena, including rainbows and eclipses. 

This exhibition traces NASA's manned space program from 1961 to 1972.

This showcase features a 11.5-meter tubular core sample that shows physical and biological effects of Earth's collision with a giant asteroid 65 million years ago, which resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

This exhibition features the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map, hand-drawn by Simeon De Witt, surveyor for George Washington.

With precise, up-to-date images captured by high-tech satellites, geologists, meteorologists, and other scientists can now study how the Earth changes from day to day and year to year.

Learn what scientists think our universe is like, how the present scientific view of the universe came to be, how our universe is being shaped today, and what mysteries remain.

This exhibition highlights the history and achievements of planetary exploration, both Earth-based and by spacecraft.