Smithsonian Stories

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

Red pressure cooker with image of a world map carved in the side
Smithsonian Story

This Converted Pressure Cooker Makes a Global Statement

The artwork has a message about women’s representation around the world.
Painting of a line of trees with orange leaves behind a grassy slope
Smithsonian Story

Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?

The start of fall brings cooler temperatures and shorter days that transform trees.
Cell Phone from Sept. 11
Smithsonian Snapshot

9/11 Cell Phone

This cell phone helped save a life.
Painting of a farm with a large white house and barns. There is a group of people on the grass near a road.
Smithsonian Story

Grandma Moses Started Painting at Age 77

Born September 7, 1860, the self-taught artist painted nostalgic scenes inspired by her rural past.
Man leaning over to look at a clear cube
Smithsonian Story

How Do You Take Care of an Artwork That’s Full of Water?

Hirshhorn conservators keep the fungus out of Hans Haacke's "Condensation Cube."
A group stands at a large balloon. A couple is in the basket, with another man standing above them.
Smithsonian Story

19th-century Balloon Weddings

When flight was a novelty, these “destination weddings” became quite the spectacle.
Steinberg Dog
Smithsonian Snapshot

A Whimsical, Thinking Pup

Possibly thinking about the Smithsonian’s birthday…?
Arts and Industries Building
Smithsonian Story

How the Arts and Industries Building Shaped the Smithsonian’s Future

Many museums started in a place built to explore big ideas.
Three giraffe sculptures in many bright colors
Smithsonian Story

Art Made from Ocean Debris

These giraffes are made from flip-flops washed up on the Kenyan coast.
Captain Video Game
Smithsonian Snapshot

A Game Takes Spaceflight

“Captain Video” was based on the first TV show to feature spaceflight.
Poster with the Olympic rings and text: "Montreal 1976"
Smithsonian Story

Go for the Gold

While you watch the Tokyo Games, explore Olympic history collections from across the Smithsonian.
Megalodon with its moth open, showing many sharp teeth
Smithsonian Story

Shark Week

Take a bite out of these species from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Red jellyfish
Smithsonian Snapshot

Seeing Red

This jellyfish hides in plain sight.
Two outfits of red, white and blue clothes featuring the word Vote.
Smithsonian Story

These Groovy Duds Encouraged Young People To Vote

The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 on July 1, 1971.
3 pictures of sleeping cats saying going going gone
Smithsonian Snapshot

A 19th-Century Cat Nap

People have enjoyed cute cat photos long before the advent of the internet.
Glass sculpture of a blue hermit crab emerging from a brown and white striped shell.
Smithsonian Story

It Would Be Shellfish Not to Share These Hermit Crab Facts

This glass hermit crab is blue, which might mean it’s freshly molted.
Group of people holding a rainbow-striped banner across a city street. There is a parade behind them.
Smithsonian Story

Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and the History of Pride Month

The first Pride parades marked the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.
A 1919 penny. Its face is partially melted.
Smithsonian Story

A Penny Charred in the Tulsa Race Massacre

This object is from the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history. For nearly a century, the story was rarely told.
Blue stamp with gold calligraphy and text: Eid Greetings.
Smithsonian Story

Eid Mubarak!

“May your religious holiday be blessed." Eid al-Fitr, or "The Feast of Breaking the Fast," marks the end of Ramadan.
X-wing Starfighter
Smithsonian Snapshot

X-wing Starfighter Stays on Target, Lands at the National Air and Space Museum

"Red Five Standing By!"
Frozen margarita machine
Smithsonian Story

The Real History of Cinco de Mayo

Learn about the origins of the holiday and frozen margaritas.
Purple, blue and white clouds on a dark sky with stars.
Smithsonian Story

What If You Could Hear Space?

Learn how scientists are translating data captured by telescopes into sound. 
Harry the Hipster Hepcat
Smithsonian Snapshot

Harry the Hipster

Hey, cool cats, it's Jazz Appreciation Month!
Small glass vial with label for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Smithsonian Story

Six Stories on Vaccines, Disease, and Public Health

Through our collections, we connect stories of science and history.

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