Smithsonian Stories

Stories that spark curiosity from the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex.

face shield by Design That Matters.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

How National Design Award Winners Are Fighting the Pandemic

National Design Award winners are working to increase access to personal protective equipment for medical workers and face coverings for civilians. 
Victory garden at NMAH.
Smithsonian Gardens

Victory Garden 2020

Growing food and being more self-sufficient is a common reaction in times of national struggle.
blue chain symbolizing chain letters.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Chain Letters Reemerge in the Coronavirus Pandemic

The history of poetry in chain letters and the phenomenon of sending them during times of stress.
bottlenose dolphin.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Social Distancing and Dolphins

Smithsonian researchers are sharing new results about dolphin behavior with and without tourist boats as the coronavirus puts the world in lockdown.
Gather your supplies for flower exploration and natural dye lab. All photos by Gloria Kenyon.
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Flower Exploration and Natural Dye Lab

Bring nature indoors in this easy-to-do craft inspired by explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.
Families gather for a community iftar, or fast-breaking meal, outside the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Smithsonian Folklife Festival

An Introduction to Ramadan and How It Changes in 2020

This year, in light of COVID-19, Muslims will experience Ramadan in new ways. 
family at Passover seder.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Why Is This Year’s Passover Seder Different from All Other Years?

Would wandering in the desert be advisable at this time? Thoughts on Jewish humor in the midst of a pandemic. 
pear flower
Smithsonian Gardens

With Good Intentions

Everyone has heard the horror stories of a plant or animal species introduced to a new area with good intentions, only to find out years later it wasn’t such a good idea. 
Shuttle data scans.
National Air and Space Museum

3D Scanning Space Shuttle Discovery

Learn how the Smithsonian captured a comprehensive 3D dataset of the largest museum artifact ever to be digitized.
musicians and dogs.
Smithsonian American Art Museum

SAAM's Best Friends: Animals in Art and at Home

Modeling our sweet, sassy, bored, annoyed, sleepy, amusing pets after favorite artworks. 
Sunburst drawings.
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Crimilda Pontes: The Original Designer of the Smithsonian Sunburst

A celebration of the woman who originally designed the iconic Smithsonian sunburst.
Red Cross poster encouraging knittingn from Library of Congress
National Museum of American History

Showing Support for the Great War with Knitting Needles

When the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the military scrambled to secure the materials and industrial capacity necessary to outfit soldiers.
Kitty Cone with reporters holding microphones in her direction.
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Kitty Cone: Advocate for Disability Rights

Cone is one of four women featured in our new miniseries about women who shaped American history.
Malone and Walker photgraphs.
National Museum of African American History and Culture

Annie Malone and Madam C.J. Walker

Pioneers of the African American beauty industry, each woman launched highly successful businesses. 
Mrs. Maisel Costumes
Smithsonian Snapshot

Fashionably Funny

"Marvelous" costumes help tell the story of "Midge" Maisel, a Manhattan wife and mother who becomes a stand-up comedian.
two young women using computers.
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Five Women's History Stories You Can Explore at Home

Learn about five women who made their mark on American history through Smithsonian Learning Lab.
Patricia Cowings
Smithsonian Snapshot

In Space, No One Can Hear You Say "Ahhhh"

Patricia Cowings is a scientist astronaut who helps astronauts go to space.
Photograph of Katherine Johnson by Annie Leibovitz.
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Remembering NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson

She and her colleagues inspired Margot Lee Shetterly's book, Hidden Figures, and the movie of the same name.
Elizabeth Harmon
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Dr. Elizabeth Harmon Uncovers the Histories of Smithsonian Women in Science

19th-century women scientists played a much larger role at the Smithsonian than we've recognized.
Basquiat
Smithsonian Snapshot

Basquiat's Presence Continues To Loom Large in Modern Art

More than 30 years after his death, Jean-Michel Basquiat remains a strong presence in modern art.
Pink hat adorned with pink flowers.
National Museum of African American History and Culture

Hats Off to Mae Reeves!

Famed milliner and business pioneer Mae Reeves called her creations "showstoppers." Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Marian Anderson, and Lena Horne all donned her hats.
Octavia Butler Typewriter
Smithsonian Snapshot

Keys to the Future

Octavia Butler was a master storyteller and considered the godmother of Afrofuturism.
Chiura Obata, "Mono Crater"
Smithsonian Snapshot

Art That Bridges Cultures

Chiura Obata's artwork captures the "Great Nature" of the American West.
corningware casserole dish
Smithsonian Snapshot

Serving Up Holiday Classics

The iconic casserole dish with military roots.

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