The fossil represents the youngest nodosaur ever discovered, and the only known specimen of a new genus and species of dinosaur that lived approximately 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Era. [...more]
The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, the oldest rare book collection of the Smithsonian Libraries, recently enriched its collection with an intriguing 16th century work in astronomy titled, Christop Clavius’s In sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco commentarius. Romae, 1570. Apud Victorium Helianum. [...more]
More than 500 carats of rough diamonds were recently donated to the Department of Mineral Sciences of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum by Jewlers Mutual Insurance Co. of Neenah, Wis. [...more]
This interior robot was recently added to the permanent robotics collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as a donation from Sandia National Laboratories. First introduced in 1985, it was the only robot at that time able to navigate a building without a pre-programmed pathway or floor wiring. Other recent donations from Sandia [...] [...more]
The National Zoo has received a breeding pair of Asian small-clawed otters at Asia Trail for the first time. Mac, a three-year-old male from the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Wash., and Smidge, a five-year-old female from the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, arrived in April and are now in their exhibit. [...more]
The National Zoo’s great cat program recently expanded with the arrival of two-and-a-half-year-old female Sumatran tiger, Damai, who is now out of quarantine and spending time outside in her exhibit where visitors can see her. [...more]
The pendant took Grand Prize in the National Saul Bell Design Competition in 2008 and features a beautiful 3.76-ct pink tourmaline from Nigeria. [...more]
Faced with insufficient time and inadequate library resources to tackle the problem on their own, they instead posted a catalog of specimen images to Facebook and turned to their network of colleagues for help. [...more]
Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)
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