National Museum of Natural History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/blog/national-museum-of-natural-history/RSS feed for National Museum of Natural HistoryenThu, 31 Oct 2024 14:40:00 +0000The Murder Mystery Linking a Bird Specimen at the National Museum of Natural History to the Mysterious Death of an Arctic Explorerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/10/31/the-murder-mystery-linking-a-bird-specimen-at-the-national-museum-of-natural-history-to-the-mysterious-death-of-an-arctic-explorer/In 1871, a naturalist aboard the U.S.S. Polaris collected scientific specimens — and possibly poisoned the ship’s captainThu, 31 Oct 2024 14:40:00 +0000Meet the Scientist Decoding Human History in South America Through Giant Ground Sloth Fossilshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/10/29/telltale-traces-meet-the-scientist-decoding-human-history-in-south-america-through-giant-ground-sloth-fossils/Thaís Pansani examines the marks humans left on megafauna bones to determine when people arrived in South America and how they interacted with giant mammalsTue, 29 Oct 2024 16:00:00 +0000The Name Game: A 'Celebrity' Cephalopod Specimen Correctly Identified More Than 80 Years After Discoveryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/10/22/the-name-game-a-celebrity-cephalopod-specimen-correctly-identified-more-than-80-years-after-discovery/Collected by the iconic American writer John Steinbeck, the octopus has received a number of scientific monikersTue, 22 Oct 2024 14:30:00 +0000Our Planet On the Big Screen: New Museum Exhibition Explores Ever-Changing Earth from Space and on the Groundhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/10/17/our-planet-on-the-big-screen-new-museum-exhibition-explores-ever-changing-earth-from-space-and-on-the-ground/The Smithsonian partners with NASA to present the Earth Information Center, a larger-than-life display that visualizes interconnected changes on the planetThu, 17 Oct 2024 15:00:00 +0000Fearsome Flies: Meet the Scientist Studying the Top Predators in the Insect Worldhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/09/30/fearsome-flies-meet-the-scientist-studying-the-top-predators-in-the-insect-world/Entomologist Torsten Dikow, a leading expert on assassin flies, is working to connect a global community of researchers through the democratization of insect scienceMon, 30 Sep 2024 18:30:00 +0000Pawpaw-Palooza: The Inside Scoop on North America’s Taste of the Tropicshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/09/26/pawpaw-palooza-the-inside-scoop-on-north-americas-taste-of-the-tropics/The strange plant is ingrained in American history and well-represented in the museum’s herbarium and gardensThu, 26 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000Fetching Fossils and Unwrapping Mannequins: Here’s What Happens When a Museum Exhibition Closeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/09/19/fetching-fossils-and-unwrapping-mannequins-heres-what-happens-when-a-museum-exhibition-closes/In the wrap-up of “Objects of Wonder,” hundreds of the museum’s most treasured specimens are returning to the collectionThu, 19 Sep 2024 14:30:00 +0000Across the Smithsonian, Researchers are Working Together to Save Virginia’s Birdshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/09/13/across-the-smithsonian-researchers-are-working-together-to-save-virginias-birds/This National Virginia Day, learn how Smithsonian scientists are using historic collections and current conservation practices to bring back declining populations of grassland birdsFri, 13 Sep 2024 16:02:01 +0000Searching for Earth's Oldest Rocks: Follow a Smithsonian Expedition to the Remote Northwest Territorieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2024/09/12/searching-for-earths-oldest-rocks-follow-a-smithsonian-expedition-to-the-remote-northwest-territories/High in the Canadian wilderness, Smithsonian scientists search for ancient minerals that could explain the origins of the continents, oceans and life on EarthThu, 12 Sep 2024 19:48:59 +0000