Smithsonian Stories

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

guaridan figures
Smithsonian Snapshot

Guardians of More Than a Galaxy

These two large, wooden guardian figures once kept watch over the Buddha and his followers outside Ebaradera temple in Sakai, Japan.
men on horses surrounding a tree with guns pointed.
Smithsonian Story

An Artist Emphasizes Those Erased from History

During the American expansion west, many groups became the targets of racial violence.
tortoise
Smithsonian Story

Five Fun Turtle and Tortoise Facts

Learn about the differences between turtles and a tortoises and some fun facts.
backyard with man grilling and woman at outdoor dining table
Smithsonian Story

Invention of the American Backyard

Five facts about the American backyard to ponder with your patio pals.
watermelon seeds
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

It’s Watermelon Season!

This poster (detail), depicting a zoomed-in view of a watermelon, was designed by Stephen Frykholm for the Herman Miller Furniture Company.
woman in a dress on a bicycle.
Smithsonian Story

The 19th-Century Bicycle Craze

Millions of Americans rode bicycles at the end of the 1800s. Learn how the craze empowered women and changed fashion.
red white and blue shield with white star
National Museum of American History

“Get This Man a Shield!”

Equipped with a shield composed primarily of vibranium from the African nation Wakanda, Captain America fought the forces of evil.
femail cockroach
Smithsonian Story

Helicopter Cockroach Moms

The cockroach parenting method—which includes feeding, guarding, and keeping their young very close—has served the insects for at least 125 million years.
fire extinguisher
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Do Ho Suh’s Sheer Fabric Sculptures

Korean artist Do Ho Suh captures the objects of everyday life as dream-like sculptures.
Jackie Robinson
National Portrait Gallery

A Baseball First

This 1947 photograph by Harry Warnecke pictures Robinson at Ebbets Field during his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Ginger in a yellow dress with violin
Smithsonian Snapshot

Ginger Smock Is the Trailblazing Jazz Violinist You Might Not Have Heard Of

Smock was a critical figure in the development of the Los Angeles jazz scene.
discussing the name of a plant
Smithsonian Story

Why Languages Become Endangered, and How We Can Keep Them Alive

Animal species can become endangered, but what about languages?
Dolores Huerta by Barbara Carrasco. Silkscreen 1999. National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Snapshot

Dolores Huerta: A Latina Civil Rights Icon

A life spent advocating for workers and women’s rights.
Horten Ho 229
Smithsonian Story

Desperate for Victory, the Nazis Built an Aircraft That Was All Wing

Toward the end of World War II, the Nazis proposed a host of seemingly bizarre projects in an effort to turn the tide in their favor.
pin without extinction is liberty
Smithsonian Snapshot

Alice Paul and Suffragists Were First To Picket the White House

In January 1917, Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party (NWP) became the first people to ever picket the White House.
women working in an office
Smithsonian Story

Women “Computers” Mapped the Universe

At a time when women’s job opportunities outside the home were limited, the women computers at the Harvard College Observatory were challenging the norm.
red cardigan
National Museum of American History

Hi, Neighbor!

“There’s no person in the world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”—Fred Rogers
colorful stripes

Alma Thomas Became a Nationally Recognized Painter after 38 Years Teaching Public School

In her 80s, she was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
green tractor with large yellow spoked wheels
Smithsonian Story

Five Ways the Tractor Changed American Farming

Learn a bumper crop of facts about the unsung heroes of the American farm.
Chauncey in a crowd
National Air and Space Museum

Chauncey Spencer, Aviator

Chauncey Spencer after a successful parachute jump at a Chicago air show. Spencer became one of Chicago’s most well-known barnstorming pilots.
group of narwhals with tusks in the air
Smithsonian Story

Meet the World’s Weirdest Whale

Swimming in the frigid waters of the Arctic, the narwhal is one of the world’s most elusive and bizarre marine mammals. 
Ornate cupid bracelet in an open case lined with dark satin fabric.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Perfect for Valentine’s Day: Cupids and Jewelry

The bracelet is believed to have been made by the eminent French jeweler, Honoré-Séverin Bourdoncle.
Bessie on airplane
Smithsonian Snapshot

Bessie Coleman, First African American Woman Licensed Pilot

Coleman received the first pilot’s license issued to an African American woman from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.
shooting stars
Smithsonian Libraries

When You Wish Upon a Shooting Star

The verso of Galileo’s drawings of the Pleiades star cluster, makes an exceptional background for our shooting stars.

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