Encyclopedia Smithsonian

Located inside "Beyond The Limits" (gallery 213), this small exhibition examines the history, development, and current applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Full-color photographs capture the awe-inspiring beauty of the cosmos as seen through high-powered terrestrial and orbiting telescopes.

This exhibition reveals why a good clock is crucial to navigation -- for 18th-century mariners to current-day GPS users -- and how increasingly accurate timekeeping has influenced how we find our way.

This outdoor exhibition brings to life the great distances between the planets through a scale model of our solar system at one ten-billionth actual size .

Imagery and information from manned Apollo missions.

Web feature presented by the Natural History Museum's Department of Paleobiolgy.

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.

Highlights particular moments from the space age that have inspired artists — the beginning of the space age in 1957, sending astronauts to the Moon and back in 1969, seeing the whole Earth from space in 1972, and creating a better picture of our home galaxy in 1992.

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

Bringing news from across the Universe to children all around the world. Universe Awareness and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Explores the evolution of spacesuit development from the first quarter of the 20th century until the dawn of the shuttle era.

Since our planet's birth 4.6 billion years ago, rocks have been continually forming and, over time, changing from one kind to another. Explore this online feature about geology, gems, and minerals.

Information on the planets from the research at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

The Department of Collections and Research at the National Air and Space Museum consists of five research and curatorial divisions: Archives Division, Collections Division, Aeronautics and Space History Divisions, and the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

Performs original research on planetary science, terrestrial geophysics, environmental change.

Disseminates publications and research developed for the museum community.

Observes X-rays from high energy regions of the universe, such as the remnants of exploded stars.

The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program seeks better understanding of all volcanoes through documenting their eruptions — small as well as large — during the past 10,000 years.

Researches astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences and science education.

Dedicated to the study of minerals, gems, rocks, volcanoes, and meteorites