Smithsonian Institution

Is the Smithsonian Castle haunted? The Institution's founder, James Smithson, is said to be among the otherworldly visitors.

Busting 13 of the Smithsonian’s Most Persistent Myths

From castle hauntings to hiding evidence of giant humans, the Smithsonian has long been the subject of wild rumors and tall tales

A still from Andy Warhol's Empire

Watch Andy Warhol's Eight-Hour Film About the Empire State Building on the Skyscraper's 80th Floor

Released in 1964, the divisive experimental film is being screened in honor of its 60th anniversary

Moore loaned the scrap to the museum for two years.

This History Buff Found a Scrap of George Washington's Tent at Goodwill

The fragment, which was part of Washington's dining marquee during the Revolutionary War, is now on display at a museum in Philadelphia

Astronomers released 25 new images to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's launch.

See 25 Stunning Images of the Cosmos From the Chandra X-Ray Observatory as It Celebrates 25 Years in Space

Chandra, the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope, has been peering at black holes, stellar explosions and dark energy for a quarter-century

President Ronald Reagan, pictured waving to a crowd shortly before John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate him on March 30, 1981

The History of Presidential Assassination Attempts, From Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt

Before last weekend's attack on Donald Trump, would-be assassins unsuccessfully targeted Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and seven other sitting presidents or candidates for office

Could different backyard birds, such as a robin and a bluebird, produce viable offspring? 

Could a Robin and a Bluebird Have Babies? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Yun Chuan is "serious about his bamboo but mild-mannered toward others," according to the San Diego Zoo.

Two Pandas Arrive at the San Diego Zoo, the First to Enter the U.S. in 21 Years

For months, the only pandas in the country had been in Atlanta. Next, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are expected to also receive pandas this year

A circa 1846 portrait of Dolley Madison by John Plumbe Jr.

The Smithsonian Acquires the Earliest Known Photograph of an American First Lady

The National Portrait Gallery purchased an 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison for $456,000

A 1914 photo of the Star-Spangled Banner undergoing conservation in the Smithsonian Castle

The Real Story Behind the Star-Spangled Banner, the Flag That Inspired the National Anthem

How the flag that flew proudly over Fort McHenry in September 1814 made its way to the Smithsonian

An illustration of debris and satellites in the geostationary ring around Earth.

ISS Astronauts Forced to Briefly Take Shelter as Russian Satellite Suddenly Breaks Up in Orbit

Officials are unsure why the satellite fractured unexpectedly, splintering into nearly 200 pieces

The frog saunas are easy to make and cost around $50 to put together.

'Frog Saunas' May Be the Key to Saving Amphibians From a Deadly Fungal Infection

Providing frogs with sun-warmed bricks inside mini-greenhouses can help them recover from chytrid and make them more resilient against the disease in the future, a new study finds

An artist's portrayal of Lokiceratops rangiformis, which lived in the swamps of western North America about 78 million years ago.

Dinosaur With Giant, Loki-Like Horns Has the 'Craziest, Coolest' Headgear—and Could Be a New Species

The discovery sheds light on the evolution of a surprisingly diverse group of horned dinosaurs in the western United States

The badges identify the wearer's occupation, such as servant or porter. 

These Badges Shed New Light on the Enslaved Workers Who Built Charleston

The Smithsonian has acquired a collection of 146 slave badges from between 1800 and 1865

Archaeologists used manned and unmanned submersibles to recover artifacts from the wrecks.

Archaeologists Recover 900 Artifacts From Ming Dynasty Shipwrecks in South China Sea

The trove of objects—including pottery, porcelain, shells and coins—was found roughly a mile below the surface

Some of the newspaper articles describe the buying and selling of enslaved people, while others offer rewards for the return of runaways.

Ancestry Releases Records of 183,000 Enslaved Individuals in America

The genealogy company has digitized and published 38,000 newspaper articles from between 1788 and 1867—before Black Americans were counted as citizens in the U.S. census

“When I was making it, people laughed at me a good deal,” Charles F. Ritchel later said. “But so they did at Noah when he built the ark.”

Twenty-Five Years Before the Wright Brothers Took to the Skies, This Flying Machine Captivated America

First exhibited in 1878, Charles F. Ritchel's dirigible was about as wacky, dangerous and impractical as any airship ever launched

Taken in December 1968 during NASA's Apollo 8 mission, William Anders' iconic "Earthrise" photograph galvanized environmental movements and inspired people on Earth.

William Anders, NASA Astronaut Who Captured Iconic 'Earthrise' Photograph, Dies at 90

The Apollo 8 lunar module pilot also served in the U.S. Air Force and worked extensively on nuclear energy projects

A Juneteenth celebration held in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 2023

Why Juneteenth, the U.S.'s Second Independence Day, Is a Federal Holiday

The celebration commemorates June 19, 1865, when a military decree informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free

A blue-eyed cicada that's on exhibit at the Field Musum in Chicago. Four-year-old Jack Bailey found the bug in his yard, and his family donated it to the museum.

People Are Spotting Rare, Blue-Eyed Cicadas Around Illinois

As two broods of periodical cicadas emerge across the U.S. this spring, people have discovered a few of the bugs that don’t have their trademark red eyes

Bao Li, a 2-year-old male panda, is the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the Zoo in 2013.

Giant Pandas Are Coming Back to Washington, D.C.

A pair of the bears will arrive at the Smithsonian's National Zoo by the end of 2024

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