Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

A man wearing a ripped white shirt stands among thick greenery, holding a plastic sample bag

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Untangling the Branches of Hawaii’s Evolutionary Tree

From fragile ferns to towering trees, NMNH botanist Warren Wagner has spent over 30 years researching plants from the dense forests of the Pacific Islands.

Magnolia_macrophylla_AliceTangerini.jpg

The Smithsonian’s Only Botanical Illustrator Transforms Science Into Stunning Works of Art

Multiple pages of paper adorned with brown and yellow pressed plant specimens sit, one after the other, on a dark gray table-like surface. In the background are two people with purple gloves on.

2022 in Review: The National Herbarium Goes Digital

Jun Wen sits at a wooden table in front of a bookshelf examining a herbarium booklet of pressed plant specimens.

Meet the Scientist Who Maps the World’s Past and Present Plants

Pages and jars of preserved plant specimens cover a counter in the foreground while cabinets full of pages of preserved plants line the background.

Iconic Photos Give Rare Glimpse of Smithsonian's Storage Rooms

A green ridged cactus towers vertically over the camera with a deep blue sky in the background

How a Smithsonian Botanist Cracked the Cactus Code a Century Ago

A large elm tree with branches full of green leaves stands in the sunlight

How a Historic Smithsonian Elm Thrives, Over 150 Years After its Planting

Yoshino cherry tree

The Hybridized Nature of Washington's Iconic Cherry Trees

Rain falls from a small group of clouds over the open ocean as the sun shines behind the clouds.

From Clouds to Currents, What Is the Water Cycle?

Five specimens of mistletoe fluid-preserved in clear jargs with black caps.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Mistletoe

Through research on living and preserved plants, botanists are learning more about how flora has responded to climate change over the past centuries. (USDA photo by Preston Keres)

Why Plants are Seeding Climate Studies

The National Museum of Natural History’s 146 million objects and specimens are studied by researchers worldwide who are looking to understand all aspects of the natural world. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

How Museum Collections Advance Knowledge of Human Health

Sylvester Musembi Musyoka, a Kenyan colleague and field crew leader, recording a large mammal fossil bone during a virtual field project to collect fossils in Kenyan excavation sites that were in danger of being damaged by severe weather. (Nzioki Mativo/Smithsonian)

How the Pandemic Changed Scientific Exploration

The broad-tailed hummingbird uses its fiery throat feathers, called a gorget, to attract a mate. (Kati Fleming, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Eight of Nature’s Wildest Mating Rituals

Leconte’s flatsedge (Cyperus lecontei) has distinctive spikelet scales and fruit which are used by scientists to identify it. (Carol Kelloff)

Get to Know the Scientist Behind the Smithsonian’s 140,000 Grass-Like Sedges

Plants and animals around the globe use a wide variety of evolutionary strategies to survive harsh winters.

How Seven of Nature’s Coolest Species Weather the Cold

Smithsonian anthropologists hold up the world’s longest beard after it was donated to the National Museum of Natural History in 1967. (Smithsonian)

Five of Nature’s Best Beards for World Beard Day

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that are similar to objects in the show “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” (Smithsonian)

Six Avatar-Themed Items in the Smithsonian Collections

Pressed flowers can be used in journals, plant identification booklets and other projects. (Erika Gardner, Smithsonian Institution)

How to Press Plants from Your Backyard

Invasive species like lionfish can harm natural, human, and economic health. (Barry Brown)

Five Species to Wrap Up Invasive Species Week

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