Description: During debates about the Smithsonian’s founding, the idea of using James Smithson’s bequest for a botanic garden was included in several drafts of the bill considered by Congress. In 1850, President Millard Fillmore commissioned America’s preeminent landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing to design plans for the National Mall, including grounds around the Smithsonian Castle,
Description: Harvard's pigment collection. [via Collossal]Also with gorgeous colors, a 700+ page Dutch book from 1692 documenting "every color in the spectrum." [via Open Culture] A new online exhibit examining what it's like to work in the U.S. on a H-1B visa from the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center. [via Smithsonian Magazine] Later this year, scientists (including our own
Description: The National Zoological Park was founded in 1889 to preserve, teach, and conduct research about the animal world. The zoo opened in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC in 1891, on a site designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and has been home to giant pandas, Asian elephants, and Smokey the Bear. History of the National Zoological ParkAdditional Historic Images of
Description: Women's History Month edition, continued!The story of fossil seller and paleontologist Mary Anning (for whom the "She Sells Seashells" rhyme was possibly written), in Peeps. [via The Last Word on Nothing]A look at the WWI Women's Land Army composed of "farmettes" who went outside the home to address the national food shortage. [via LOC Blog]For 25 cents an hour, less than