Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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The state shell of Rhode Island, Mercenaria mercenaria is a large bivalve found along the East Coast from Nova Scotia to...
06/20/2026

The state shell of Rhode Island, Mercenaria mercenaria is a large bivalve found along the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Florida. In most of their range they are called hard clams or chowder clams, but in Rhode Island, they get the name "quahog" from the Narragansett word "poquauhock."

Humans have been harvesting quahogs for thousands of years, and commercial fishing is anchored in the Narragansett Bay, an ideal home for quahog that is full of soft, sandy-bottomed coves and inlets sheltered from rough seas.

The specimen was collected in the North Atlantic Ocean off Rhode Island in 1880.

Open today, the museum's newest exhibition, “From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage” invites visito...
06/18/2026

Open today, the museum's newest exhibition, “From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage” invites visitors to celebrate and reflect on the nation’s rich natural and cultural heritage through more than 600 specimens and cultural objects.

Drawing from the museum’s unparalleled collection, the exhibition includes items from across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories people call home to showcase the remarkable range of American nature, geology and cultural traditions.

The exhibition highlights science in action, from feather fragments used to identify bird species involved in airplane strikes to the story of efforts to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon coast. “From These Lands” will also explore the enduring ties between people and place, from the fishing practices of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and African American oyster harvesting communities on the Chesapeake Bay to the artistry and stewardship behind traditional Samoan bark cloth.

The exhibit will be on view through December 2029.

06/15/2026

Maine’s state crustacean can grow up to forty-four pounds (20 kg) and twenty-five inches (64 cm). That makes the northern lobster the heaviest living arthropod species in the world. They live in cold, shallow waters along the Atlantic coast from northern Canada to North Carolina but are rare south of New Jersey. They are easily recognized by their two long antennae, which they use to detect odors, and their asymmetrical front claws, which they use to hold, crush, and tear into mussels, clams, snails, starfish, sea urchins, bristle worms, and other marine life on the seafloor.

Learn more about the specimen that will be included in "From These Lands" from Danielle Olson, the museum's Digital Producer and resident Mainer.

06/11/2026

Before the widespread use of plastics, buttons were often made of natural materials, including nacre or “mother of pearl” from the abundant freshwater mussel shells of the Mississippi River. When German immigrant John Frederick Boepple (1854–1912) opened a button factory in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1891, it kicked off an intense period of mussel harvesting that lasted until the 1950s, when the industry declined due to the collapse of the mussel population, the pollution of the river, and the rise of plastics. The United States is home to about three hundred freshwater mussel species—roughly a third of the global total—but most are threatened, endangered, or in decline.

These mussels were collected in 1907 from Dubuque and Muscatine Counties, Iowa, and the buttons created in early 20th century. Hear more from our Curator of Bivalves John Pfeiffer.

Mark the start of summer and celebrate America’s 250th by hanging out with us late night on June 19th and 20th!We'll be ...
06/10/2026

Mark the start of summer and celebrate America’s 250th by hanging out with us late night on June 19th and 20th!

We'll be open until 11 p.m. both nights, with special programming on the 19th from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

On the 19th, enjoy music in our Rotunda (first floor) from DJ Clamazon, a self-guided scavenger hunt, and then make your own postcard with "Find Your Place," a new museum-wide project guiding you to objects in our permanent exhibits from all U.S. states and territories.

This is a free event, and registration is encouraged but not required. Museum stores and the Atrium Café will be open until 10 p.m. both nights.

Learn more here: https://s.si.edu/4eaZ1YW

Be sure to stop and smell the roses this month! Rose is one of June's birth flowers.Roses can be grouped into one of thr...
06/09/2026

Be sure to stop and smell the roses this month! Rose is one of June's birth flowers.

Roses can be grouped into one of three categories: Species, Old Garden, and Modern roses.
Species roses, sometimes called “wild roses,” evolved and adapted to survive in unique environments. Most are found in Asia, with fewer numbers in America, Europe, and Africa.

For centuries, plant collectors across the globe cultivated roses with variations in color, flower form, bloom time and bloom frequency. Their early breeding efforts created a group of roses called Old Garden roses. All rose classes known before 1867 fall into this category.

Modern roses are descendants of both Species and Old Garden roses. This term is reserved for classes of roses developed after 1867, the year the rose believed to be the first hybrid tea was introduced. The first hybrid tea was a cross between a hardy, large-bloomed hybrid rose with a tall, elegant, but delicate tea rose.

Today, rose breeders target characteristics stored in the genetic material of existing rose collections when developing new varieties. Disease resistance is one of the most sought-after attributes in modern rose breeding.

Seen here are a variety of roses from Smithsonian Gardens Katherine Dulin Folger Rose Garden and the U.S. National Herbarium.

Image 1: 'Tequila'
Image 2: Rosa multiflora collected in Virginia in 1955.
Image 3: 'Poseidon'
Image 4: Rosa lucieae collected in Virginia in 1946.
Image 5: 'Cinco de Mayo'
Image 6: Rosa carolina collected in West Virginia in 1941.
Image 7: 'Yellow Submarine'

This carved walrus tusk illustrates the strong ties between walruses and the Cup’ig who live on the coasts of the Bering...
06/08/2026

This carved walrus tusk illustrates the strong ties between walruses and the Cup’ig who live on the coasts of the Bering Sea. For thousands of years, the Cup’ig have relied on walruses for food and material resources, from skin boats and drums to tools and crafts. Indigenous artists would showcase their skills and pay respect to the walrus through the creativity and complexity of their work on these tusks. This carving portraying Alaskan wildlife was made to be sold to visitors (including museum collectors). The Indigenous knowledge etched in the ivory speaks to the Cup’ig people's deep understanding of walruses—notice the walrus preying on a seal (image 2), an uncommon behavior but one that hunters knew to look out for.

This piece was carved around 1929 and was collected in 1957 from Nunivak Island, Alaska.

Located in Kentucky, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system on Earth, with over 420 miles (676 km) of mapped cave...
06/05/2026

Located in Kentucky, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system on Earth, with over 420 miles (676 km) of mapped caverns. It is a testament to the power of water to both shape spectacular chambers and structures. The slight acidity of rainwater and groundwater dissolves tunnels in Kentucky’s limestone. At the same time, mineral-filled water forms stalagmites, stalactites, straws, flowstones, and evaporites as it drips and pools inside the caverns. Several pools and streams flowing through the caves support fish, crayfish, shrimp, snails, and thirsty bats.

This gypsum stalactite was acquired from Mammoth Cave in 1892.

Environmental historian and Indigenous writer Rosalyn LaPier often encounters a common misconception when they collabora...
06/04/2026

Environmental historian and Indigenous writer Rosalyn LaPier often encounters a common misconception when they collaborate with international colleagues. “People from other parts of the world often think that Americans have all seen bison because they’re the national mammal,” said LaPier. “But many Americans still haven’t seen a bison outside of a zoo.”

This lack of familiarity with bison (which are commonly referred to as buffalo) would have been unimaginable to LaPier’s ancestors, whose entire existence revolved around buffalo. LaPier is a member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana and Canada’s Métis people. Both are Great Plains Native communities that revered buffalo and utilized the massive mammals for nearly every aspect of their daily lives including food, clothing and shelter.

The relationship between Native communities and buffalo is a central theme of the museum's new exhibition “Bison: Standing Strong,” which opened in May. LaPier and several other Indigenous scholars and representatives worked with the museum as advisors on the new exhibition. Click the link to read more: https://s.si.edu/43OmLNG

Image: Dennis W. Zotigh, a member of the Kiowa, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and Isanti Dakota groups and a cultural information assistant at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, performs a traditional buffalo dance song.

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