A proud mother responded to news service’s request for a photograph of her physicist-son killed during World War I.

Priscilla L. Strain has worked for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies since 1974 as a Research Assistant, 1974-79, Geologist, 1979-87, and Program Manager, 1987–present. She is currently the curator of the museum’s lunar rock collection and manages the center’s exhibits and programs. #Groundbreaker

Lonnie G. Bunch III was installed as the Fourteenth Secretary of the Smithsonian on November 1, 2019 in the historic Arts and Industries Building. To celebrate this new day in Smithsonian history, let’s take a look back at installations past!

Drawing of "Neptune Baird," dog belonging to Spencer Fullerton Baird, second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, circa 1840s.

Link Love: a weekly post with links to interesting videos and stories about archival issues, technology and culture, and Washington D.C. and American history.

In a return to the seasonal bonfire, we look at how fire and its suppression impacts boxed and unboxed optical disks.

Dorothy Rosenberg served as an administrative officer to two Smithsonian Assistant Secretaries, 1959–73, before becoming Executive Assistant to Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, 1973–80. In 1979, she earned the Secretary's Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. Following retirement, Rosenberg was a part-time consultant to Secretary Ripley and Secretary Adams and prepared an extensive history of the Board of Regents. #Groundbreaker

Although initially skeptical about the effectiveness of the hypsometer, Secretary Joseph Henry soon recognized the value of the instrument, which he discovered from his colleagues in the scientific field. 

Cyanotype, disassembled mannequins in Post Office Department exhibit at Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, 1895.