Description: Masks and endless sanitizing again? What has the Smithsonian done during past pandemics? We’ll look back to the public health emergency in 1918.
Description: I was intrigued to receive a tweet from a digital colleague over at the NY Times pertaining to a family story that could very well be solved at the Archives. I’m continuously surprised at the variety of papers we hold here, but by now, I shouldn’t be given how far-reaching and varied the scope of the Smithsonian has been through history. Back to the story. THE elephant that
Description: Although initially skeptical about the effectiveness of the hypsometer, Secretary Joseph Henry soon recognized the value of the instrument, which he discovered from his colleagues in the scientific field.
Description: Twenty-nine years ago yesterday the National Museum of the American Indian Act was signed and the Museum of the American Indian became part of the Smithsonian family.
Description: Known lovingly by the public as the “Panda Lady,” Lisa Stevens cultivated a rich thirty-year career at the National Zoological Park as the senior curator of mammals.
Description: An overview of the history of Martha the passenger pigeon, the last of her species, who was donated to the National Museum of Natural History 100 years ago.
Description: In honor of the Heritage Preservation organization’s annual MayDay initiative to protect cultural heritage from disasters, the Archives will be highlighting how we deal with emergencies and how you can prepare yourself in a series of blog posts. [caption id="attachment_12763" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="This image is quite dark for a reason—in an emergency
Description: The creation and design of the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as the “Castle”, is no mystery; however, the stories of some of the early individuals involved in the formation of the Smithsonian’s collection are less commonly known. We need to ask who collected the specimens and produced research on the objects that visitors now see when they enter Smithsonian