Description: We’re taking a look at the various watercolors the Smithsonian Institution has collected both past and present, highlighting the diversity in artists, technique, unique painting effect, and versatility to create anything from insects to cityscapes.
Description: The man who created the Smithsonian's contemporary visual identity system, Ivan Chermayeff, died this week. Here's more on the history of the Smithsonian's identity. [via Smithsonian Magazine]If you're a high school student interested in design, you have until February 12 to enter the Cooper Hewitt's competition for design solutions to make the everyday more accessible! Also
Description: Harvard's pigment collection. [via Collossal]Also with gorgeous colors, a 700+ page Dutch book from 1692 documenting "every color in the spectrum." [via Open Culture] A new online exhibit examining what it's like to work in the U.S. on a H-1B visa from the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center. [via Smithsonian Magazine] Later this year, scientists (including our own
Description: Need a new book to read? Look no further than these recommendations from Smithsonian Science Service staff writers during the 1920s and 1930s.
Description: Let’s learn about the history of Smithsonian Gardens’ annual orchid exhibit with a little help from former director Barbara Faust through her 2011 oral history interview.
Description: The AIDS Memorial Quilt has a long history with the National Mall and the Smithsonian Institution starting with its first appearance on the Mall in 1987.