Description: Today was the kickoff of the International Year of Chemistry 2011, and so we wanted to take the chance to introduce you to some of the chemists from our collections featured on the Smithsonian’s Flickr Commons. Our Flickr Commons sets are filled with photos both of chemistry greats that even the non-scientifically inclined among us celebrated in grade-school textbooks, and
Description: Since The Bigger Picture began in early 2009, I’ve written a number of posts about what might be called camera traps, situations where cameras are installed to collect evidence of one kind of unusual or unwanted behavior or another. Red light cameras are a controversial example; across the country and on an almost daily basis, local municipalities and motorists argue about
Description: While only two years old, World Migratory Bird Day is just one of the latest evolutions in conservation awareness. Related celebrations go back more than twenty-six years and draw on over a century of research.
Description: Alphonso Lorenzo Jones joined the Smithsonian in 1924 as a mechanic. He retired 41 years later as the chief of the Institution’s duplicating office.
Description: Whole new world - The Audubon Mural Project is a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler &_____ Gallery to commission murals of climate-threatened birds surrounding the old neighborhood of John James Audubon. [via Colossal]Barriers to entry - The exhibition, Y.C. Link Love: a weekly blog feature with links to interesting videos and stories regarding
Description: Some years back, and for what seemed like quite a while, people were talking about scrapbooking. As more aspects of everyday life were going digital, it felt like more and more people were paying homage to the paper-based mementoes of their experiences that appeared to be heading for oblivion. Quickly, and to support all the saving, trimming, and gluing that people were
Description: [caption id="attachment_7450" align="aligncenter" width="379" caption="A broken glass plate negative, Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives."][/caption] We are in the throes of summer here in Washington DC, and that means three things: heat, more heat, and interns. Interns not only allow us to share expertise and experience with newcomers to the field, but also allow