What does it take to care for a pride of lions? Go behind the scenes with Great Cats Curator Craig Saffoe as he works with animal keepers and veterinarians to prepare the National Zoo's frisky lion cubs for their public debut. For more about the Zoo's growing pride and to watch them on live webcams: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GreatCats/default.cfm?cam=LC4

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The post Learn about the National Zoo’s flamingo flock with keeper Sara Hallager appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Device at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center examines how phytoplankton would react if the ozone layer vanished appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

National Zoo Veterinarian Katharine Hope treats about 2,000 animals from 400 different species. She and her colleagues care for a variety of animals, from small baby flamingos to adult Asian elephants, so there's no such thing as an average day.

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The post Roland Kays, curator of mammals at the New York State Museum, discusses a new Smithsonian Website for sharing camera-trap images of wild animals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian geologist Liz Cottrell discusses the March 11, 2011 Japan earthquake and its mechanics appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Which is more important for a career as a scientist, good grades in math or a strong sense of adventure? Hear what Smithsonian geologist Liz Cottrell has to say as she recounts her own school years and the steps that led to a career she can't imagine ever giving up.

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"I'm getting paid to do what I like doing," says entomologist David Roubik. He loved nature and being outdoors when he was a kid, and now he does fieldwork in the tropical forests of Panama. He loves to travel, and his research takes him around the world. Can his work, then, be called a job?

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As enjoyable as scientific work can be, says entomologist Dave Roubik, its greatest satisfactions are often long delayed. He gives the best example from his career: a seventeen-year study that finally helped to change our understanding of the notorious "killer bees."

The post Long-term killer bee study in tropics yields unexpected discovery: invasive killer bees are good for the native bees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This new PBS Newshour video takes a look at a new exhibit at the Air and Space Museum celebrating NASA's space art program.

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Mark Torchin, a marine ecologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, talks about how he studies the parasites of invasive marine animals such as snails. Much of his research focuses on biological invasions and the dynamics between the host, the parasites and the surrounding ecosystem.

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A short history of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

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Keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo perform an artificial insemination procedure on a pair of Stanley Cranes. A Stanley Crane chick was successfully hatched on May 23, 2011.

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Kari Bruwelheide, forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discusses how she came to work at the museum, the power of human remains and the information that bones can contain. She and her colleagues continue to discover new ways to interpret evidence from bones and burials.

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Meet Rachel Collin, a staff scientist and director of the Bocas Research Station at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Rachel studies the evolution of marine gastropods (snails) and oversees multiple disciplines of marine biology at the Collin Lab in Bocas del Toro.

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It takes a Tlingit artist up to 2,000 hours, or 83 days, to weave just one ceremonial robe. Not surprisingly, this art form is practiced by a dedicated few including Tlingit artists Teri Rofkar and Shelly Laws of Alaska. In their presentation for the Smithsonian Spotlight series hosted by the Arctic Studies Center at the Anchorage Museum, Rofkar and Laws discuss the methods and cultural significance of robes, spruce root baskets and more.
For more information, go to http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/alaska.htm

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The post How do we know if dinosaurs cared for their young? Smithsonian curator Matthew Carrano reveals the fossil evidence. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Natural History Museum curator Nick Pyenson explains how scientists know what dinosaurs and other extinct animals ate appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Killer carnivores: Titanoboa vs. T-Rex — Premieres April 1 on Smithsonian Channel appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian anthropologist JoAllyn Archambault speaks about the outstanding research of 19th-century anthropologist James Mooney appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

William Fitzhugh - Edward Nelson's 1877-1881 Western Alaskan Expedition

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The post Meet Smithsonian archaeologist Stephen Loring and learn how he came work at the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Museum Conservation Institute research scientist Ed Vicenzi discusses his work analyzing daguerreotypes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Smithsonian planetary scientist Tom Watters explains how he knows the moon is shrinking appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Speeding Up Science from Facebook Stories on Vimeo. In January 2011, Oregon State University ichthyologist Brian Sidlauskas led a research expedition into the little-known Cuyuni […]

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Silent black & white archival film clip from "Japan: Promotional and Theatrical Footage, ca. 1927". The full film, which is 17 minutes long, includes segments from what are believed to be a theatrical film, a promotional film and, possibly, amateur film - all of unknown origin.

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The post What will invasive round goby fish do to Great Lakes streams? Join SERC post doc Matt Kornis and find out. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This scientific visualization is much more than a dizzying dance of whirling worlds. It shows 2,299 planets found by NASA’s Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft.

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The post Kepler 11: A Six-Planet Sonata by Alex Parker, postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Libraries offer a vast amount of resources to the general public. This video gives you a peek into the amazing world of discovery […]

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Smithsonian planetary geologists Sharon Purdy and Maria Banks explain how you can take your very own photo of Mars.

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Using an innovative new camera on board a sounding rocket, an international team of scientists have captured the sharpest images yet of the Sun’s outer […]

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This shell-less gastropod was found during the Marine Larvae course at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Bocas del Toro Research Station. It was so unusual […]

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The gates at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo re-opened to the public Friday, October 18! The live animal cams that were turned off during the government […]

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Click photo to take a tour of the 1903 Wright Flyer with Smithsonian X 3D Explorer. The Smithsonian X 3D Collection features objects from the […]

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What is it like to be the curator of Great Cats at the National Zoo? We interviewed Craig Saffoe to hear firsthand.

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Ted Schultz, research entomologist at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, describes how ants use their incredible sense of smell along with their ability to […]

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The post How a giant T. Rex packs for a road trip appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Yes! When an animal trips a “camera trap” as a part of a project between the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Smithsonian. […]

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A sickness called panda love: TED talk by National Zoo’s Bill McShea

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How do you train a wild animal to come back to you after you have set it free? If it is a fringe-lipped bat, Trachops […]

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Ever wonder why only male peacocks have such extravagant plumage? We ask caretaker Gwendolyn Cooper at Smithsonian’s National Zoo to explain.

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Yellowstone National Park is one of the world’s most protected ecosystems. But that’s still not enough to keep its grizzly bears completely safe. Click here […]

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Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the only museum in the U.S. devoted exclusively to design, reopens after a 3-year makeover with 60 percent more exhibition […]

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The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History released a new mobile app “Skin and Bones” Jan. 13. The free app is available for download in […]

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The Smithsonian has launched an ambitious project to scan millions of items and make them available to the world on a searchable database. CBS reporter […]

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NASA’s Kepler mission is responsible for history’s first detection of Earth-sized planets orbiting other suns in their temperate “habitable zones.” The team in charge of […]

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Vince Rossi and Jon Blundell from the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office (http://3d.si.edu) apply various 3-D capture methods on the pointed plaster model for the “Greek […]

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Arachnophobes fearful of spiders jumping, creeping or falling into their beds now have something new to worry about. Some spiders might also glide in through the window. […]

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