Description: In July 1925, two photographers were among the crowds of people (including, of course, many other photographers) who descended upon Dayton, Tennessee, to witness the "Trial of the Century." Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes was a test trial to overturn the newly-passed state law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in schools.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_arc_383399,size=180,right]Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.The reference team fields around 6,000 queries per year. Ask us what people have been
Description: One of the challenges of being a reference archivist is focusing on the inquiries received, while suppressing the bits of information you come across that may be of personal interest (the corner of my desk is occupied by an ever increasing list of topics I aspire to research further on my own time). Recently, however, a colleague who is familiar with my interest in rare and
Description: When I first applied for an internship at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, I admittedly did not know much about it. For my internship, I was asked to make a video that would explain to the general public what the Archives was, as well as what resources it could offer them. On my first day here I was told that the Archives held the records and history of the Smithsonian
Description: A couple of months ago, a few members of the Archives staff went out to the Smithsonian Conversation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia, to collect some records that are being accessioned into our collections. One of the items we were given on this trip was a book detailing the facilities located on the property in Front Royal prior to it being used by the
Description: It's interesting to look back and see what resonated with you, our readers, this past year. Clearly, we along with many of you were fascinated by the solar eclipse of 2017 that was viewable from many parts of the U.S. Three of the top 10 were about solar eclipses. You also were captivated by our efforts to bring more attention to women in science. Three of the posts have to do
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_arc_306419,size=200,left]During World War II, Science Service correspondent Emma Reh (1896-1982) spent several years living and working in Paraguay. Her letters home, like the ones written when she worked in Mexico and the American West, typically combined personal and professional news with her colorful descriptions of the countryside and people.Emma had
Description: In 1925, seven George Washington University students volunteered to stay awake for sixty hours, and drove, danced, sang, and swam in an effort to remain alert.
Description: …in which a member of the Archives staff turns her passion for sloths into a mission to research their history at the Smithsonian Institution.