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people shucking oysters
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Dispatches from the Gulf: Mardi Gras, Jazz & Oysters

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Sea lions generate thrust, or forward propulsion, by bringing their fore-flippers together in big sweeping motions called “claps.”  When a sea lion “claps,” it stretches its flippers out to the sides and sweeps them down. Then it tucks its flippe
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How Do Sea Lions Swim?

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It is estimated that the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan was 1,000 times more powerful than the quake that struck Haiti in 2010. Watch as Smithsonian geologist Dr. Liz Cottrell explains this and more about the major earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
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Understanding the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

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Screenshots of 'Amazing Ocean' Mobile App
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Amazing Ocean Mobile App

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The Greenland glacier Jakobshavn Isbrae is massive, at around 40 miles long and more than a mile thick.
Article

Up Close and Personal With the Fastest Glacier in the World

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A yello rip current warning flag.
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Rip Current Science

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A zoomed in photograph of dyed animal cells.
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Microsporidia Infecting Animal Cells

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This 1936 blue whale specimen from the Gulf of Alaska (above: preserved in alcohol, below: CT scan) is part of a rare Smithsonian collection of whale fetuses that were collected in association with commercial whaling operations in the early to mid-20th cen
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Blue Whale Specimen

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“On an afternoon dive, I spotted a small group of sweetlips in the current among a shoal of juvenile convict blennies. It took me some time to get close to the fish without spooking them. I took several frames but this one was my favorite because of the
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Sweetlips, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

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a colored shakemap from the M5.8 Virginia Earthquake depicts the shake range and epicenter of the earthquake
Article

A Guide to Earthquake Lesson Plans

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