From soil to soup (Smithsonian.com). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/passion-for-tomatoes.html

Through painstaking work, photographer Drew Gardner transformed Elizabeth Jenkins-Sahlin into her ancestor, a famous women’s rights activist. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

From This Object in History, aired on @SmithsonianChannel

High-speed video captures the unique ability of a leaping praying mantis to control its spin in mid-air and precisely land on a target.

In the remote Pacific, the Phoenix Islands provide an unspoiled center for marine science

To soar over Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire is to be transported back in time to the age of William Shakespeare, a man born in humble circumstances who would go on to become the most celebrated writer of all time.

What are freckles, and how do they form? In this one-minute video, our Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze, shines a light on the subject.

See the process involved when a massive specimen arrives at the Smithsonian

In this one-minute video, our Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze, explains what causes wind. The answer might blow you away.

Our host explains why you should never say ‘no’ to a hungry pregnant woman

In a conversation with architect David Rockwell, the philanthropic chef urges an invested effort to create technology that could collect water from the clouds

The "Manned Orbiting Laboratory," or "MOL," was built to capture high-resolution images of Soviet targets on the ground. It was so advanced, it could pick up objects on earth as small as a baseball

In about four billion years from now, the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will crash together Visualization: NASA, ESA, and F. Summers, STScI Simulation credit: NASA, ESA, G. Besla, Columbia University, and R. van der Marel, STScI

The Alvin Ailey dance troupe performs from its signature Revelations

Experts are working on a unique experiment that will use an inflatable aeroshell/heat shield to protect a spacecraft when entering a planet's atmosphere or returning to Earth

Discover evidence of natural selection and evolution at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum (Meredith Bragg)

The Liège-Guillemins railway station looks like it belongs far in the future: a vast curving monolith of glass, steel and concrete curves extending high above the train tracks. Just as astonishing as its design is the fact that it was built while the normal train schedules continued, with no disruption.

A chick in the process of hatching as the female adult looks on

Scientists have created thin polymer sheets that expand and contract when in contact with water

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time. 

The MIT professor believes many of the financial products sold today will be rightly regarded as not in the best interest of consumers

More on Kathleen Turner and her show at Arena Stage: http://j.mp/T0IkkZ Before taking the stage in "Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins," Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner discusses the woman who inspired the show.

The entertainment curator at the American History Museum shows cinematic highlights from the museum's collections, including Dorothy's red slippers and Superman's cape (Produced by: Ryan Reed). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Night-at-the-Museum.html

Credit: David Marshall, University of Bristol

"Be prepared” might not cover it when it comes to super storms.

The Black Death of 1348 was a devastating event, wiping out half the population of Britain. And in churches like this one, drawings on the wall provide a haunting visual record of the scale of the tragedy.

Aerial America: Wilderness premieres Sunday, Sept. 7 at 9PM ET/PT

Scientists are researching how the rodent can become less susceptible to its feline foe.

A remote camera captures the first-ever video of an erupting underwater volcano

When did we start getting cuddly with cats? And have those tabbies really been tamed? In this one-minute video, Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze investigates the surprising history and science behind today’s house cat.

Kenneth Morris is the great-great-great-grandson of the heralded abolitionist and helped compile an illustrated biography of his ancestor. (Credit: Drew Gardner)

Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough offers personal insights on the realities of climate change and the best ways for society to adapt

The American Ingenuity Award winner warns that no place on Earth is safe from the dangers of global warming

Marine biologist Nancy Knowlton discusses a research trip to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in Panama, where she and her collaborators collected data on coral reef populations. Reef sustainability is closely tied to coral reproduction. Then director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Knowlton, who has since been hired to lead the Smithsonian's Ocean Initiative, has reservations about the long-term future of corals

The bizarre-looking Australian native takes a swim. (Still Image: JohnCarnemolla/iStock)

For the first time ever, researchers observed a cricket as a pollinator for a flower

Host Eric Schulze digs into the science behind these depressions.

This video from the Illustris project simulates 13 billion years of the universe in just two minutes

Interpretive exhibits coordinator Steven Madewells demonstrates a few experiments at Spark!Lab, an interactive exhibit at the National Museum of American History. Read more at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/theres-nothing-like-a-sparklab-to-ignite-the-imagination-1-180949007/

Director of the African American History and Culture Museum Lonnie Bunch looks at the forces that brought about the January 1, 1863 order.

To find out, we need to get down to the basics. Eric Schulze explains

The octopus places the arm in its mouth, treating it like food.

The first plane to fly nonstop from New York to Paris will reside on the ground level of the National Air and Space Museum for the next five months as it undergoes preservation (Courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum)

It's 1933 and Mae West is just arriving at Grauman's Chinese Theater for the premiere of I'm No Angel. It draws fans from all over the country—as well as an organized protest from conservative religious groups.

The newly discovered Lllacme plenipes has up to 750 legs, more than any other known creature

The director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation explores how personality and environment help creativity flourish

The Smithsonian National Zoos Snore & Roar program gives visitors a behind the scenes look (Video and Reporting by Megan Gambino and Ryan Reese). Read more at http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2008/09/sleep-over-party-at-the-zoo/

Two of the preeminent researchers of gene therapy hope to improve their patients' sight in an experimental operation (Stephen Voss/WPN)