Canoe hulls on a sandy shore are painted with traditional Alaskan figures.

History & Cultures

The Cook islands banknote

Sharks and Humans

Explore the love-hate relationship between humans and sharks.

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Featured Content

A square of interwoven sticks and cowrie shells

Navigating the Waters with Micronesian Stick Charts

two images cropped together of women at desks facing each other

An Irrepressible Wave

Divers at a shipwreck site

Wood Under Sand: The Search for A Slave Shipwreck

A walrus sits on top of ice.

The Cultural Icescapes of the Arctic

Scientists are finding ways to preserve and study sunken warships

Battle of the Atlantic

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

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History & Cultures Articles

An albatross soars over the ocean.

Is It Love? Why Some Ocean Animals (Sort Of) Mate For Life

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System consists of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, and several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons, and estuaries. The system's seven sites illustrate the evolutionary h

Charles Darwin's Ocean Upwelling

Satellite view of Earth.

Earth Day, Spawned from the Sea

The siphonophores are an order of marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria (the same phylum containing jellyfish).

Prints from Ernst Haeckel

Although in reality an ichthyosaur and plesiosaur would have likely never battled, this widely shared lithograph by artist, geologist and paleontologist Henry De la Beche even inspired author Jules Verne to pen a similar scene in his book, Journey to the C

Unearthing History: Mary Anning's Hunt for Prehistoric Ocean Giants

A Chevrolet Mako Corvette

These Sleek, Sexy Cars Were All Inspired by Fish

A narwhal breaches the surface, its tusk pointed to the sky

Why a Tusk? The real-life unicorns of the sea and the tusks that make them famous

An arrow-worm from the genus Spadella. Alvariño discovered and classified the species Spadella gaetanoi in 1978.

Ángeles Alvariño: Woman of Many Namesakes

Walter Adey and the NMNH coral reef tank

The Evolution of a Reef Aquarium

Divers at a shipwreck site

Wood Under Sand: The Search for A Slave Shipwreck

This portrait of William Dampier hangs in London’s National Gallery in recognition of his contribution to natural history.

William Dampier - The Pirate Who Collected Plants

Screenshot from video of a diver swimming with an underwater camera.

The Trouvadore: A Story of Deliverance

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Misty Smith