The @Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Understanding the natural world and our place in it. Legal: s.si.edu/legal

Joined March 2008
7,760 Photos and videos
29 Jan 2025
“This is the kind of finding you hope you’re going to make on a mission.” – Tim McCoy, curator of meteorites and lead author on a new paper out today. Find the paper here: s.si.edu/3EgZz16
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29 Jan 2025
The discovery suggests that extraterrestrial brines provide a crucial setting for the development of organic compounds. “We now know from Bennu that the raw ingredients of life were combining in really interesting and complex ways on Bennu’s parent body,” said McCoy.
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In addition to McCoy, Smithsonian-affiliated co-authors included Cari Corrigan, Rob Wardell, Tim Gooding and Tim Rose.
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28 Jan 2025
Interested in writing about meteorites and mammoths, squids and sloths, diamonds and dinosaurs? Apply now for our paid Summer 2025 #SciComm internship! This 12-week, part-time internship may be virtual. Apply here by Feb 21: s.si.edu/3BXZnma
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16 Jan 2025
Congrats to curators Dr. Andrea Quattrini and Dr. Sabrina Sholts for receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.
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Smithsonian NMNH retweeted
A frosted pumpkin treat at our snowy @hirshhorn. Smithsonian museums in the DC area are closed on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Yayoi Kusama’s "Pumpkin" (2016), installed in the museum's plaza. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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Smithsonian NMNH retweeted
Due to inclement weather, Smithsonian museums in the DC area, including the National Zoo, will be closed to the public on Monday, Jan. 6.
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The National Museum of Natural History will be closed to the public on Tuesday, January 7 due to street closures as part of ceremonies honoring former President Jimmy Carter. All other Smithsonian museums on the National Mall will be open as usual.
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Smithsonian NMNH retweeted
In the event of a government shutdown, our museums, research centers, and the National Zoo will remain OPEN through at least Thursday, Dec. 26. Please note that we are closed on Dec. 25. Visit si.edu for updates. Image: Richard Lippold’s “Ad Astra” on view outside our @airandspace.
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25 Nov 2024
Today we mourn the loss of our friend and colleague Dave Johnson, Curator of Fishes. Dave was a world-renowned comparative morphologist and ichthyologist who joined our Fish Division's curatorial staff in 1983.  He was by nature a collaborator and had many co-authors worldwide.
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25 Nov 2024
He served as a mentor to staff – long-time and new, young and old – and took particular interest in ensuring that future generations had the support they needed to be successful.
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25 Nov 2024
This included recently partnering with his friend and colleague Bruce Collette to endow a permanent curatorial position in the Fish Division. We’re going to miss Dave a lot.
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14 Nov 2024
In Aug 2023, a shark seemingly appeared out of nowhere and the three female epaulette sharks at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois had a new roommate: a teeny-tiny baby shark. Where'd it come from? Short answer: parthenogenesis Find the long answer here: s.si.edu/3UDGk7s
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13 Nov 2024
In late 1872, Captain Charles Hall lay dying on the U.S.S. Polaris, off the coast of Greenland. Before his death, Hall accused his chief scientist of wanting to poison him. Could a specimen in the museum's collection help solve this mystery? Read more: s.si.edu/4enP34l
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Eighty-four years, six months and seven days. That's how long it took for an octopus collected by John Steinbeck in the Gulf of California to be correctly identified. Read more here: s.si.edu/3Uty8X7
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31 Oct 2024
This T. rex skull is ready for Halloween! Standing about 15 feet tall with large, serrated teeth, a Tyrannosaurus wouldn't need much help striking fear. The largest meat eater in western North America, it feasted on dinosaurs large and small.
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