Smithsonian Stories
Stories that spark curiosity from the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex.
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Smithsonian Story
Meet the Owls That Lived in the Smithsonian Castle
This pair stayed in a tower in the 1970s, but they weren't the building's only owl residents.
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National Museum of American History
How a Jewish Textile Artist Folded Her Identities into a Challah Cover
This challah cover reflects the artist's inseparable identities as a Jewish and American woman. -
Smithsonian Story
Remembering Abstract Artist Sam Gilliam
See pieces by Gilliam from across the Smithsonian’s collections.
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Smithsonian Story
Five Objects in the New National Museum of the American Latino Gallery
These Smithsonian collections tell how Latino history is American history.
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Smithsonian American Women's History Museum
Six Musicians Who Led Social Change
Learn about six women from the exhibition Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change. -
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum
Wilma Mankiller Led as First Woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
June 6, 2022, the U.S. Mint released a quarter featuring activist and writer Wilma Mankiller. -
Smithsonian Snapshot
Confirmation at Last of a Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way
Eight radio observatories across the planet formed a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope to capture the image.
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Smithsonian Snapshot
The Photographer Who Captured Humans and Animals in Motion
Muybridge’s groundbreaking photography captured the moment all of a horse’s hooves were off the ground at once.
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Smithsonian Story
A Dreamer’s Graduation Attire
Explore an object from the first online exhibition from the National Museum of the American Latino.
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Smithsonian Snapshot
The Coal Miner’s Daughter and a Canary Yellow Dress
Country music icon Loretta Lynn created her own look and sound.
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Smithsonian Story
Cozy Up with a Book for National Library Week
This dreamy library scene is from the pages of a 1919 design publication.
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Smithsonian Story
This Map Reimagines 1930s Chicago Without Redlining
Amanda Williams created Cadastral Shaking (Chicago v1) by cutting and shaking up map pieces.
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Smithsonian Story
Meet the Julia Child of Orchids
Rebecca Northen shared her knowledge of orchids with a wide audience.
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Smithsonian Story
Who Designed the Transgender Flag?
The first transgender pride flag debuted in 1999. Learn about the flag's designer and symbolism.
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Smithsonian American Women's History Museum
Women Innovators: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future
This activity guide includes stories of pioneering innovators and their life-changing innovations. -
Smithsonian Snapshot
Elizabeth Catlett Showcased Issues Through Her Art
Catlett’s sculptures show her long-standing interest in African American dignity, struggle, motherhood, and uplift.
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Smithsonian Snapshot
A Fearless Journalist
Journalist and civil rights activist Ethel Payne was often known as the First Lady of the Black Press.
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Smithsonian Story
This Bible Kept Record of One Family’s History After Slavery
During Reconstruction, newly freed African Americans embraced liberty by establishing families.
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Smithsonian Story
These Valentines Pushed for a Woman’s Right to Vote
Send some love that supports the suffrage cause from the National Museum of American History.
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National Museum of American History
Six Objects for Jewish American Heritage Month
Artifacts in the collections speak to the long history of Jewish presence first in British North America and then in the U.S. -
Smithsonian Snapshot
Her Moment in the Sun
Celebrated playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry in her Greenwich Village apartment.
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Smithsonian Story
Squirreling Away This Winter?
Meet the squirrel ancestor who lived millions of years before the last ice age.
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Smithsonian Gardens
Winter Garden Maintenance for Wildlife Friendly Habitats
If you are not looking forward to raking up all those leaves and cutting dormant perennials, you are in luck!
