Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine takes you on a journey through history, science, world culture and technology with breathtaking images from around the world.

Smithsonian Magazine

“We admired the toughness of our Bakhtiari companions.”

Precedent and Promise • AS SMITHSONIAN CELEBRATES ITS 175TH YEAR, WE REFLECT ON A VIBRANT HISTORY—AND LOOK AHEAD TO THE NEXT TWO MUSEUMS

Innovation Nation • It was once the Smithsonian’s most forward-looking museum. Soon it will be again

Quite a Legacy • JAMES SMITHSON NEVER IMAGINED HOW FAR HIS IDEA WOULD GO

Whistle Down the Line • The golden spike made the newspapers. But another railroad made an even bigger difference to the nation

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS • NEARLY ALL WERE SENT TO PRISON OR KILLED. BUT NOT BEFORE THEY PULLED OFF SOME OF THE BIGGEST TRAIN ROBBERIES EVER

LISTENING TO STONEHENGE • A new understanding of what it meant to be a member of the inner circle

Collect, Wait, Study • Bird specimens gathered during an illustrious expedition nearly two centuries ago only grow more valuable to science

Riis to the Rescue • The famed social reformer’s role in a sensational turn-of-thecentury murder case prefigures today’s exonerations

Don’t Be Puzzled • YOU CAN FIND NINE ANSWERS IN THESE PAGES

INSIDE THE TOMBS OF SAQQAR • Dramatic new discoveries in the ancient Egytptian burial ground. A special report produced with Smithsonian Channel

Rule of the Pharaohs • Power, glory, the spoils of war and awe-inspiring monuments mark ancient Egypt’s historical epochs

On the edge ofthe everglades • Chronicling the historic struggles and the strange beauty of a Florida farming community

The Spy in the Forest • An 18th-century French botanist supported by Thomas Jefferson faced a historic decision. He chose betrayal

BOUT TIME • WITH THE GAMES SET FOR JAPAN, KARATE IS FINALLY RECOGNIZED AS WORTHY OF THE OLYMPICS

CRESCENT CITY MEMORIES • Making art out of disaster, a couple of photographers salvage their affectionate portraits of life in New Orleans

Don’t Call It Doo-Wop! • The world’s greatest record store is run by a lovable grouch obsessed with the magic of American sidewalk harmony

True Grit • Learning to love the hardscrabble life on Lanzarote, a sunblasted island formed by volcanoes

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