Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian is a magazine that focuses on science and nature, produced by the Smithsonian Institution based in Washington, D.C. While it is linked to this prestigious organization, it operates independently in terms of editorial content. The magazine launched its first issue in 1970. The Smithsonian also hosts various events, including the American Ingenuity Awards, Future Con, and Museum Day.

International, Consumer

English

Magazine

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#13342

United States

#3543

News and Media

#212

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

How the Charismatic King of Zydeco Introduced the Music of the Bayou to the Nation

2 days ago | smithsonianmag.com | Alicia Ault

The lively songs and performances of Clifton Chenier, who would have turned 100 today, brought fans—including the Rolling Stones—to their feet On a bright and humid afternoon in early May, Louisiana musicians gathered on the barn-like Fais Do-Do stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to celebrate royalty: Clifton Chenier, the “King of Zydeco.” As the musicians—including Chenier’s son, C.J. Chenier—ran through a set list of the elder Chenier’s songs, the audience bobbed their heads...
The World's Largest Camera Is About to Unveil Its First Photos of Space. Here's How to Follow Along With a Live Stream

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Sara Hashemi

The revolutionary Vera C. Rubin Observatory will unveil new insights about our universe—and you can catch a first look at a local event or online on Monday On a mountaintop in Chile sits the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a giant telescope equipped with the world’s largest digital camera. In just a few days, the world will get to see its first-ever images and videos.
Scientists Discover First Known Sea Spider Species That 'Eat' Methane With the Help of Bacteria

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Sara Hashemi

The research offers new insights on interactions between creatures on the mysterious seafloor and sheds light on the methane cycle Researchers have discovered three new sea spider species that are powered by methane deep beneath the ocean.
The Man Who Invented the Modern Zoo Tested Out His Ideas on People First

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Shoshi Parks

Carl Hagenbeck believed that animals should be housed in habitats that mimicked their natural environment. Earlier, he’d followed the same guiding philosophy when exhibiting Indigenous people in “human zoos” At the turn of the 20th century, the great zoological gardens of Paris, London and New York City would have been hardly recognizable by today’s standards.
Texas Will Invest $50 Million in Ibogaine Research, Testing the Psychedelic Drug's Medical Potential

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Amber X. Chen

The state’s new law marks one of the largest government investments into psychedelics to date, with advocates citing the drug’s potential to help veterans with traumatic brain injury and PTSD Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a new bill that will invest $50 million into research on ibogaine, a drug that has shown promise for treating neurological conditions and opioid addiction.
See the Birthplace of Juneteenth in These Atmospheric Photos of Galveston, Texas

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Leah Jones

A photographer’s journey to the Gulf Coast city yields 16 images that reveal how its natural beauty melds with its momentous role in Black history On June 19, 1865, over two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in Confederate states, Union troops in Galveston, Texas, announced that the enslaved people of the state were now free.
These Sandhill Cranes Have Adopted a Canadian Gosling, and Birders Have Flocked to Watch the Strange Family

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Anne Readel

Ornithologists and locals wonder what the future holds for this chick being raised by much taller, but still doting parents The first time I saw the family, I did a double take. Two tall sandhill crane parents strutted through the marsh, their downy red colt toddling behind them. And then, just a few steps later, came another chick—rounder, fluffier and distinctly yellow. A Canada gosling.
The World’s 'Most Trafficked Mammal' Might Soon Be Protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Sara Hashemi

The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing seven species of pangolin, often poached for their scales and meat, as endangered Federal officials have proposed declaring the pangolin endangered, a move that would help protect what is often considered the “most trafficked mammal” in the world. Pangolins are adorable, but they’re not exactly cuddly creatures.
See the Beauty of an Artificial Solar Eclipse, Created With a First-of-Its-Kind, 'Perfect' Satellite Formation

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Margherita Bassi

Two satellites’ highly precise alignment allows scientists to study the sun’s outer atmosphere like never before One of the ways that scientists study solar wind—charged particles streaming from the sun’s surface—is by observing the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona. But because the sun is so blindingly bright, observations of this ethereal region can only be conducted with a telescope attachment called a coronograph—or during a total solar eclipse.
Could the Semicolon Die Out? Recent Analysis Finds a Decline in Its Usage in British Literature and Confusion Among U.K. Students

1 week ago | smithsonianmag.com | Sara Hashemi

Not only are semicolons evidently becoming more rare, but young people are less aware of how to use them, according to a survey The semicolon has long been a divisive punctuation mark. Since its first reported use published by the Italian printer and humanist Aldus Manutius the Elder in the 1490s, people have both sung its praises and argued for its demise.