Posts tagged with: Hot Topics
Hot Topics: Edible Seaweed and Passenger Pigeons
When asked what the Smithsonian Institution Archives collects, we say we hold records about the history of the Smithsonian and its people, programs, research, and activities. While accurate, this doesn't really give anyone a clue about what is actually in those records.
The Archive's Reference Team handles an average of around 5,000 queries per year, and if you ask us what people have been researching at the Archives recently, you'll get some pretty interesting responses. Although not comprehensive, here's a snapshot of the diverse range of information encompassed by the history of the world's largest museum complex!
Over the past three months' long-term research projects have included:
- The American Pavilion and protests at the 1970 Venice Biennial
- Gender and science at the Smithsonian Institution
- James Smithson
- The history of research at the US National Museum
- Nineteenth century Tennessee correspondents with the Smithsonian
- The standardization of transcribing birdsong by 20th century ornithologists
- Doris Mabel Cochran, Smithsonian herpetologist
We are proud to annouce that former Smithsonian Fellow Martin Thomas is the winner of the seventh Calibre Prize for an Outstanding Essay. Dr. Martin conducted research on the Arnhem Expedition at the Archives; his essay, "Because It's Your Country: Bringing the Bones Back to West Arnhem Land" appears in the April 2013 issued of Australian Book Review.
Upcoming publications using our photos or documents include:
- Science for the Nation by Dr. Peter Morris, London Science Museum
- Reflecting the Sublime: The Rebirth of an American Icon by Douglas Coffman
- The Phenomenology of Intelligence: Focused Remote Sensing by A. Danielle Righi
- "Timelines in Exhibits" by Steven Lubar in Curator: the Museum Journal
- Falling Upwards by Richard Holmes
- Awesome Adventures at the Smithsonian: A Kid's Guide to the Smithsonian Institution by Emily Karrell
- Museums and Social Activism: Engaged Protest by Kylie Message of the Australian National University
- "Understanding Weather and Climate" a secondary school curriculum produced by the Smithsonian's National Science Resources Center
- Proceedings of the 2012 Fur Trade Symposium
Media Productions
- The Roosevelts - Television production by Ken Burns
Exhibitions
- Oxford University 100th centennial exhibit on W. H. and W. L. Bragg and the science of x-ray crystallography
And the most unusual request of the past quarter goes to the BBC's, The Hairy Bikers, who will be using an image of Dr. Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, noted for her research on edible seaweed, in an upcoming episode.
Related Resources
- The Hairy Bikers, BBC
Related Collections
- Accession 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives
Hot Topics: From Extinct Monsters to Carousels
This is the first installment of a new quarterly series that highlights the collections that people are using at the Archives and the kinds of projects, publications, productions, and exhibitions our collections are a part of. Please enjoy!
When asked what the Smithsonian Institution Archives collects, we say we hold records about the history of the Smithsonian and its people, programs, research, and activities. While accurate, this doesn't really give people a clue about what is actually in those records.
The Archives' Reference Team handles an average of around 5,000 queries per year, and if you ask us what people have been researching at the Archives recently, you'll get some pretty interesting responses. Although not comprehensive, here's a snapshot of the diverse range of information encompassed by the history of the world's largest museum complex.
Over the past three months, researchers' long-term projects have included:
- Joseph Henry’s correspondence with Japanese ambassador Arinori Mori
- The history of tropical research stations in the Caribbean in the twentieth century (including the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute).
- The Smithsonian's entry to the internet in the 1990s.
Upcoming use of our photos or documents includes:
Books
- A Christmas Flight, by Mary Lipsey
- Aboul'l Baha in America, by Mona Khademi
- Enlightened Zeal: The Hudson's Bay Co. and Scientific Networks, by Ted Binneman
- 10,000 Birds: Ornithology since Darwin, by Bob Montgomerie which will include a portrait of Alexander Wetmore, ornithologist and sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- T. Rex: Scavenger or Predator?, by Jacqueline Adams, which will include a portrait of paleontologist Barnum Brown
Media Productions
- "The Fruit Hunters," film by Yung Chang
- "War in Washington," TV production for The Smithsonian Channel by Patrick Hare
- "Dancing Salmon Home," film by Moving Image Productions
- "Girlrillaz," film by Bridget Rafferty
- Radio broadcast commemorating the 50th anniversary of Mariner, National Public Radio
- "Women of Innovation," The Canadian Science and Technology Museum website which will include a portrait of botanist Carrie M. Derick
Exhibitions
- "Extraordinary Women: Science and Medicine since 1650," The Grolier Club, Princeton University
Taking honors as our most unusual reference query of the quarter was the request for a copy of a 1932 research paper on anesthetizing oysters. Two questions sprang to mind:
- How could you tell?
- Why would you?
While it turned out that the research wasn't conducted by the Smithsonian, we were able to locate a contemporary newspaper article on the study that gave direction to the researcher -- and answered the questions:
- The muscle closing the oyster's shell relaxes.
- The oyster is easier to shuck.
Related Resources
- Reference Services at the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Related Collections
- Record Unit 95 - Photograph Collection, 1850s, Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Accession 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives
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