Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley (1913-2001) riding a scooter at the 1974 Folklife Festival in the Mississippi delta section, with a cotton field behind him, by Unidentified photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 613, Box 269, Folder: SDR Photos, Negative number:
Description: Solar eclipse trips can have lasting effects on an astronomy student’s life, as NASM’s David DeVorkin tells us about the 1970 Yale Observatory expedition and beach party to view an eclipse at Nantucket.
Description: Despite another year of telework and limited physical access to our collections, the Smithsonian Institution Archives has continued to serve our researchers and share more of our collections with the public.
Description: Friday, September 15th, 2017 marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Anacostia Community Museum. Originally named the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, Secretary Ripley envisioned this as a place to reach out to black residents of Washington, DC who were not seeing themselves in the museums on the Mall. Reporting on the opening of the museum, Secretary Ripley writes that
Description: On June 16, 2006, Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum changed its name for the third time, signaling a renewed focus on local Black history and beyond.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="284" caption="Pauline Gracia Beery Mack (1891-1974), by Underwood & Underwood, Date unknown, Black and white photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, SIA Acc. 90-105 (SIA-SIA2008-5750)."][/caption] For the month of March, the Smithsonian Institution Archives will be