Smithsonian Magazine

A Discovery in the Archives Became a Treasure Map Leading a Diver to a 17th-Century Shipwreck Carrying Coins and Gold Jewelry

See artifacts recovered thanks to a clue about the last resting place of a lost captain from an East India Company ship that ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggests

Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Oldest Black Church in the U.S., the Wright Brothers’ Home and a New York Hospital Are Among the American Heritage Sites in Urgent Need of Preservation

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) just put out an urgent to-do list for preservationists in the United States. Entries include the country’s oldest surviving Black church, Spanish missions in New Mexico, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

To Recreate One of the American Revolution’s Most Famous Paintings, This Artist Painstakingly Crafted Miniature Wax Figures of the Nation’s Founders

Bartlett M. Frost’s diorama is modeled after John Trumbull's depiction of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence ...
Smithsonian Magazine

How Well Do You Know America’s Bird? 9 Fascinating Facts About the Bald Eagle

It soars on six-foot wings, graces our currency, and stares out from a thousand patriotic murals. But how much do you actually know about the bald eagle? Mike Bock From food-stealing habits to a call ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Kristin Hunt

Kristin Hunt is a senior staff writer for PhillyVoice. She is a history and pop culture junkie, and her work has appeared in ...
Smithsonian Magazine

We’re Celebrating What’s Special About Your Corner of the United States. Our New Postcards Are Something to Write Home About

The launch of our new postcard designs offer an opportunity for you to learn about your special part of the United States, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

As France Prepares to Light Up the Statue of Liberty for America’s 250th, Peek Into the History of the Symbol of Trans-Atlantic Friendship

Here’s how three French idealists—an abolitionist, a sculptor and the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower—brought the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Peek Inside Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Where ‘Sesame Street’ Characters and Other Whimsical Puppets Are Designed

Every weekend, the magical workshop opens its doors for the public to see how legendary film and television characters are ...
Smithsonian Magazine

‘The Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made’: The World’s Largest Digital Camera Begins a Historic, Decade-Long Survey of the Night Sky

After a year of testing, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has started capturing data as part of the much-anticipated ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Alexander Hamilton’s First National Bank Revolutionized the U.S. Economy. After Sitting Shuttered for Years, the Philadelphia Landmark Reopened as a Museum

A controversial idea right after the American Revolution, the First Bank of the United States proved prescient. Visitors can now check out its historic home after a $43 million makeover ...
Smithsonian Magazine

America’s First Space Station Proved Humans Could Live and Work in Orbit for Months. Now, the Public Can See What It Looked Like in Person for the First Time in Eight Years

A backup version of Skylab was displayed when the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum opened 50 years ago. After renovation of the building, the artifact is once more on view in a new gallery ...