Description: 100 years ago in August of 1914, the Panama Canal opened to commercial shipping. Smithsonian scientists knew the canal would create major environmental changes and have spent the last 100 years documenting them.
Description: This summer Visiting Professional Laura Wahl had the chance to learn more about how to respond to the problem of mold residues found on archival materials. The Smithsonian Affiliations’ Visiting Professionals Program allowed her to spend time at the Smithsonian Institution Archives’ conservation lab researching this topic.
Description: We’ve all got storage issues to confront. And when we do, some people take great pleasure in getting things organized and others get headaches. A small percentage descend into madness, while an equally small group see and then seize the business opportunities that are generated by the need to keep life, things, and information under control. Over the past few weeks, the
Description: I’ve been inspired by the snowflakes Wilson A. Bentley photographed through a microscope in the late 1800's ever since I first saw them in the Archives. Bentley donated 500 of his photographs to the Smithsonian in 1903 (you can read more about them in a post by Archives colleague, Courtney Esposito). The images capture nature at its most creative, mathematical, and elegant.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_13754,size=400,center]When people think of a Smithsonian exhibit, they probably don’t think of one filled with documents from an archives! A piece of paper doesn’t grab your attention from across the room, as the Fénykövi elephant or Chuck Berry’s car do. But on closer inspection, handwritten scraps have fascinating stories to tell. They can be
Description: While Lucile Mann’s contributions to zoological history have often been reduced to her work raising infant animals, her work with the National Zoo and resulting publications demonstrate that her legacy should be reexamined.
Description: Reminiscences of Frank A. Taylor, founding director of the National Museum of American History which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.