Description: Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.The reference team fields around 6,000 queries per year. Ask us what people have been researching recently, and you’ll get into some
Description: As one of the first women to work in scientific illustration at the Smithsonian, Violet Dandridge made her mark at the United States National Museum.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: Most archival “discovery” stories are bogus, but this one (from the Smithsonian’s Joseph Cornell Study Center) is very, very cool! [via Artnet]DCist features some of the objects from the Library of Congress's new Rosa Parks exhibit. [via DCist] [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9968,size=450,center]Medieval medical manuscripts depict unrealistically happy patients. [via Onisillos
Description: Conservation wonder puppy, Riley, was brought to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts to sniff out pests that could damage the artwork! #jealous [via NY Times]A tender adaptation of the Velveteen Rabbit with new illustrations. [via Brain Pickings]A 3-D printed puzzle that allows you to test your architectural knowledge, from architect Fumio Matsumoto. [via Hyperallergic]Game of
Description: 435 high resolution book plates of gorgeous illustrations from Audubon's The Birds of America are now available for free download! [via Hyperallergic]And after you're done with the plates, check out peacock feathers under a high magnification lens, by artist Waldo Nell. [via Wired]University students are working to save the remaining copies of a black-owned newspaper, The