Smithsonian Stories

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

four unearthed skeletons
Smithsonian Story

Jamestown Colony Skeletons Identified

Forensic anthropologists and archaeologists piece together just who the four men were.
butterwort
Smithsonian Story

How Carnivorous Plants Avoid Eating Their Pollinating Insect Friends

Learn how carnivorous plants attract insects and what we know about those relationships.
pink bunny beating a drum labeled Energizer
Smithsonian Story

Five Batteries That Gave the World a Jolt

The development of these power-storing cells in the early 1800s energized American life and culture.
Woman holding an image of a tapeworm.
Smithsonian Story

Odd New Tapeworm Discovered

Learn how tapeworms can be a useful gauge for an ecosystem’s health.
magenta orchid spray
Smithsonian Story

Five Things to Know about Orchids

Why do we love orchids so much? Learn a few facts about orchids that may surprise you.
tick from above
Smithsonian Story

How Do Ticks…Tick?

With illnesses from ticks on the rise, learn about this blood-sucking parasite.
fungus spike on dead ant
Smithsonian Story

Zombies Already Walk among Us

Meet the "zombie" parasite that takes over the brains of insects.
Flamingos in water as snow falls.
Smithsonian Story

Keeping Warm in Winter Is for the Birds

Find out how birds survive the whipping winds of winter.
Cough cure.
Smithsonian Story

Six Cold and Flu Medicines You’re Not Taking Today

Many medications of the past contained ingredients that would never be allowed today.
tarantula
Smithsonian Story

Eight Strange but True Spider Facts

Spiders may seem spooky, but learn more about them and prepare to be amazed.
swirling spiral galaxy
Smithsonian Story

Five Planets that May Support Life

Learn facts about planets, and the search for planets, that may possibly support life.
bat face
Smithsonian Story

Bats: Icons of Cool

Bats are highly complex and the often-misunderstood rock stars of the animal kingdom.
woman with fossil at field site
Smithsonian Story

Five Amazing Fossil Finds

Check out these five amazing finds in celebration of National Fossil Day in October.
bat in flight
Smithsonian Story

Bats and Heavy Metal Music

How do you train a wild animal to come back to you after you have set it free?
view of lava field
Smithsonian Story

When Will a Volcano Explode?

Volcanoes are a source of fascination for many, attracting a steady stream of visitors worldwide. 
poison ivy vine
Smithsonian Story

A Poison Ivy Primer

Learn a few interesting facts about this woody vine offered up by botanists.
Bradypus variegatus sloth
Smithsonian Story

Little-Known Facts about Sloths

Discover sloths in a whole new way!
infected snail
Smithsonian Story

Crazy Eyes and Mind Control

Have you ever had a pet that seemed just a little bit crazy or odd?
zebra by fence
Smithsonian Story

Linking Large Mammal and Human Health

Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the humans?!
small furry mammal
Smithsonian Story

Olinguito Discovery

This mysterious creature that has been a victim of mistaken identity for more than 100 years.
facial reconstruction of woman
Smithsonian Story

Survival Cannibalism in Historic Jamestown

Findings answer a long-standing questions about the deadly winter of 1609–1610 known as the “starving time.”
Kudzu covered forest
Smithsonian Story

Escape of the Invasives

Learn about six common invasive plants and get suggestions for native stand-ins to plant instead.
A polar bear on an ice floe
Smithsonian Story

Polar Bears in a Warming World

A Smithsonian expert answers a few questions about rising temperatures and the future for polar bears.
mosquito in amber
Smithsonian Story

Prehistoric Mosquitoes Discovered

Two new mosquito species discovered in Eocene deposits from northwestern Montana.

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