Description: As we mentioned earlier this week, today is AskArchivists Day on Twitter. Starting at 9 am EST, and until 5 pm EST today, Smithsonian expert archivists, will be answering all of your questions about archivists, archiving, and archival collections.Come on over to the Smithsonian Twitter feed, and ask a question by adding @Smithsonian and the hashtag #AskArchivists to your
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="167" caption="The Mona Lisa, between 1503 and 1505, by Leonardo da Vinci, Oil on poplar, The Louvre Museum."][/caption] Scientists have discovered the secret behind Mona Lisa’s beguiling smile by using x-ray technology [via More Intelligent Life]. And while we're at it, scientists use UV light to reveal how awesomely gaudy the colors of
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Arch Bridge, Keene NH, by Genuine Curteich, Chicago IL, Photographic postcard, Keene Public Library, Resource Identifier: hsykbrg008."][/caption] Wahoo! New folks on the Flickr Commons: The Reykjavik Museum of Photography and the Keene and Cheshire County (NH) Historical Photos. [via Effie Kapsalis, SIA] This year is the
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="232" caption="The flag pole on the top of the Flag Tower of the Smithsonian Institution Building with the American flag and the new flag of the Smithsonian Institution, 1996, by Eric Long, Color photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 97-074, Box 1, Folder, Birthday Party on the Mall Bell and Flag, Negative Number:
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="190" caption="Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., NASA flight surgeon William Douglas and equipment specialist Joseph W. Schmidt leave crew quarters prior to the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, February 1962, NASA on the Commons."][/caption] NASA has joined the Flickr Commons! Go and check out some of their historical images. Our readers and Flickr
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="324" caption="Stereo Images (Precipitating Snow) obtained using a Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscope (LT-SEM) that is located in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in the Electron Microscopy Unit, Beltsville Maryland, Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."][/caption] We have old-school photos of snow at the
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="305" caption="Cake, by Daniel Nelson, Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0."][/caption] It’s hard to believe, but it has been two years to the day that THE BIGGER PICTURE has been in existence (note: that rogue January post doesn’t count as it was backdated)! The blog was started by the Smithsonian Photography
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="214" caption="Neighborhood Map (Hopkins, 1887), Hand-colored neighborhood map, Office of the Surveyor Map Collection, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs."][/caption] Looks a lot cooler than it sounds: the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs will post more than a century’s worth of beautiful maps to Flickr [via Effie