The Smithsonian is a beautiful magazine, one we'd all love to see our byline inside its covers. If you had a strong inclination to write for this publication, consider breaking in by pitching a piece up to 650 words to "The Last Page," their humor column. Read samples via issues in their archives (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issue/archive/). Submit via their online webform and expect a wait of three wweeks. Compose the entire story and submit on spec. This is not a query process. The stories usually relate to a personal experience by the writer and contain a typical beginning, middle and end with some sort of action involved . . . much like a short story. Several can be read at te website. Examples at the submissions page (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/contact-us/humour-guidelines.html) are:

-what happened when a writer shaved off his moustache
-what it's like to be colorblind, or a hypochondriac
-how an innocent ant farm turned into an unexpected lesson.

Oh yeah - it pays $1,000.

NOTE: You'll find an example of The Last Page column in each archived edition of The Smithsonian Magazine - all available online for free. They are simple and well-written. Study them well if for no other reason than to learn how to write visual, tight and clean.