Description: Sure, you’ve heard of famed composer John Philip Sousa. But did you know that Sousa composed a march just for the Smithsonian?On November 6, 1854, the “March King” John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. With roots in Southeast Washington near the Marine Barracks, where his father played trombone in the United States Marine Band, it should have been of no surprise to
Description: A look at taxidermist turned conservationist William Temple Hornaday's "Extermination Series" highlighting the environmental impact of man on North American mammals.
Description: After successfully completing his 1925 European business trip, 29-year-old Watson Davis headed home on the S.S. Republic, boarding at Cherbourg, France, on October 2. The science journalist had covered the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and discussed with Sir Richard Gregory (Editor of the journal Nature) the plausibility of
Description: A year ago on September 24, 2016, the Smithsonian gained a new museum — the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Since then, 2.5 million people have visited the museum. In honor of their historic opening, we look back at photographer Michael Barnes' favorite images from the year.[view:sia_slideshow==77271]Related ResourcesHistory of the National Museum of
Description: Nearly two years ago, I first heard of a course on the conservation of Japanese paper co-organized by ICCROM, the cultural heritage arm of UNESCO, and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (also known in Japanese as “Tobunken”). Over three weeks, the course offered a first-hand look at the traditional Japanese conservation techniques, materials, and
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Bus Seats, by Adam Gerard, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License"][/caption] I took a stroll at lunch today since it’s that time of year again when the magnolia trees bloom in the Smithsonian Castle’s Enid Haupt Garden. It’s important to catch it before a rain or a big breeze snatches