-
4 days ago | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
From the legendary Hope Diamond to a rainbow of colorful gemstones, a multigenerational bond between the Winston family and the Smithsonian transformed the museum’s world-renowned gem collection On November 10, 1958, a small brown parcel arrived by registered mail at the National Museum of Natural History. Plastered with postage stamps and marked with bright red letters reading FRAGILE, the unassuming package concealed a glittering treasure.
-
2 months ago | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Imagine a diamond glowing like molten gold, blushing in rose petal pink or shimmering with a deep, oceanic blue. While we often picture diamonds as flawless, clear gems set in engagement rings, colorful diamonds — one of nature’s rarest and most captivating phenomena — dazzle with hues that rival the rainbow.
-
Mar 6, 2025 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Imagine peering into a tiny, ancient world that existed long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Encased within a series of 300-million-year-old coal ball fossils lies an intricate record of ecological interactions. For Scott Lakeram, a paleobiology fellow at the National Museum of Natural History, coal balls are time capsules ripe with insights about the evolution of ancient plants and insects.
-
Nov 27, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
The rhythmic sound of fingers brushing against beach rye grass filled the room, punctuated by quiet laughter and the occasional gasp of discovery. Alaska Native Elders leaned over young hands, guiding them through the delicate weaving of taperrnat grass into tegumiat, traditional Yup’ik dance fans. For some learners, this moment was more than a workshop – it was a reconnection to centuries of cultural wisdom and heritage.
-
Sep 30, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Flies come in an astonishing variety— some tiny enough to balance on the tip of a pencil, others larger than the palm of your hand. From shimmering metallic blues to earthy browns, their diverse colors and bizarre shapes are proof that these overlooked insects are anything but boring. For research entomologist Torsten Dikow, the curator of Diptera at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the study of flies is teeming with potential discovery.
-
Sep 13, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Deep in the winding corridors of the National Museum of Natural History’s vast bird collection, museum specialist Jim Whatton carefully opened a large wooden drawer. A group of researchers from the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL) program peered over the collection case, their eyes fixed on rows of speckled bobwhite quail specimens. The birds looked pristine, as if they had been collected that morning.
-
Sep 12, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Beneath the perpetually bright subarctic summer sun, a team of researchers ventured deeper into the vast, untamed wilderness of Canada’s Northwest Territories. As their boots sank into the marshy tundra and mosquitoes buzzed in their ears, the scientists were driven by a singular mission: to collect the oldest rocks on Earth. Earth was formed over 4.5 billion years ago, but little physical material has survived from that early period.
-
Aug 1, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
How did Earth go from a fiery planet covered with oceans of magma to a lush biosphere that supports life? Understanding a process that took over 4 billion years to unfold has proven difficult but answers to these geologic mysteries may be hiding in the chemical makeup of tiny and tough crystals known as zircons. Only a handful of these ancient minerals have ever been collected. As a result, scientists have never had enough material to conduct research that could unlock their planetary secrets.
-
Jul 30, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
From a towering T. rex skeleton to galleries of glittering gemstones, every visitor's journey to the National Museum of Natural History begins with a sense of wonder. But beyond its enchanting exhibits, the museum is committed to creating an inclusive experience where all audiences can enjoy the marvels of the natural world. For the tens of thousands of people who wander the museum’s vast halls every day, accessible options and resources are front and center.
-
Jun 5, 2024 | 
smithsonianmag.com | Emma Saaty
Even if you can’t always see them, traces of life on Earth are all around you. A small scoop of water from the ocean or a cup of dirt from your backyard may seem unremarkable, but these environmental samples hold a treasure trove of information: hundreds of genetic fingerprints left behind by fish darting beneath the water and tiny insects burrowing into the soft earth.
