Description: [view in Spanish][edan-image:id=siris_sic_9227,size=200,left]The foremost grass specialist of her time ended her formal education after grammar school. She began collecting and illustrating plants in her twenties, and was hired by Chicago's Field Museum in 1901 and later as a botanical illustrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Scientific illustration was a way for
Description: [view in Spanish][edan-image:id=siris_sic_7144,size=200,right]During construction of the Panama Canal at the start of the century, many laborers died of malaria and yellow fever. To find ways to control the diseases, North American biologists came to the isthmus of Panama. Some of these scientists were so impressed by the diversity of the natural environment that they later
Description: Archives are often used by genealogists to create their family histories. Often it's a tedious process that can involve many repositories throughout the country or even the world, but the final product can be fascinating. Take, for instance, Melbourne ("Mel") Romaine Carriker's Vista Nieve: The Remarkable True Adventures of an Early Twentieth Century Naturalist and His Family
Description: [view in Spanish]The exhibition from which this website is derived was exhibited at the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center Gallery in 1996 to commemorate the Smithsonian Institution's 150th anniversary.This online exhibition was developed and written by a working group consisting of Dr. Jane MacLaren Walsh, Dr. Pamela M. Henson, and Dr. Margaret R. Dittemore and
Description: [view in Spanish]Born near Cadiz, Ohio, in the year the Smithsonian was founded, 1846, Holmes's life was intimately tied to the institution from the time he was twenty-five until his retirement in 1932 when he was 86.He began work as an artist drawing specimens for a number of naturalists in the employ of Spencer Fullerton Baird, then Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian