Description: In August 1996, the Smithsonian marked its 150th anniversary with a huge birthday celebration on the National Mall. For its sesquicentennial, a term which this author constantly forgets no matter how many times she looks it up, the Institution threw itself a two-day birthday party, sprinkled with special exhibit tents, concerts, nineteen birthday cakes, a special website, and
Description: Joseph Henry,the first Smithsonian Secretary, served from 1846 to 1878 and was a physicist who conducted pioneering research in electromagnetism.
Description: The Smithsonian’s scientists and naturalists were, and still are, constantly on the move. When they weren’t in the field, they were in the museum studying collected specimens, writing papers, and getting ready for the next series of trips. Dr. Waldo LaSalle Schmitt (1887-1977) was no exception.Logistics is a special skill, an essential one when traveling on scientific
Description: [view in Spanish]As a young artist living in Washington, William H. Holmes began sketching specimens for scientists at the U.S. National Museum. Based on that experience, he was invited to join the U.S. GeologicalSurvey of the Territories under the command of Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden in 1872.During his early years in the western territories, Holmes refined his skills as an