Results for "Magnetic North: Arctic Studies at the Smithsonian (Blog)"
Fishing for Collections at the U.S. National Museum
- Date: December 10, 2019
- Description: Spencer F. Baird and George Brown Goode used their diverse, and sometimes quirky, contacts from the U.S. Fish Commission to fill exhibit cabinets in the U.S. National Museum.
A Quest for the First Asian Employee
- Date: May 10, 2012
- Creator: Mitch Toda
- Description: A search for the first Asian employee at the Smithsonian leads to Kuang-zung Tung.
Smithsonian Optimism for the Blue Planet
- Date: April 27, 2017
- Creator: Pamela M. Henson
- Description: An overview of the history of environmental conservation activities at the Smithsonian, since its founding in 1846.
- Blog Post
Secretary and Outdoorsman: Alexander Wetmore
- Date: June 21, 2018
- Creator: Tatiana Swann
- Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_12035,size=350,center]June is National Camping Month, and to celebrate we are recognizing one of the Smithsonian’s original outdoorsmen: Alexander Wetmore. The Smithsonian’s sixth Secretary thrived outside. Annually for 20 years Wetmore would make the trip south to Panama, to the same spot, Isla Iguana. There he would conduct his observations, record
- Blog Post
Mapping the Moon
- Date: May 19, 2009
- Description: Though photographs are accepted as subjective but ultimately faithful visual reproductions of reality, in many instances they don’t correspond to our experience. Pupils don’t regularly glint red, and people don’t transform into the streaked, evanescent smears we so often witness in photos. Yet we have no trouble accepting these inconsistencies, knowing that taking a picture of
The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Astronomers Often Go Awry: The 1901 Sumatra Eclipse Expedition
- Date: August 17, 2017
- Creator: Pamela M. Henson
- Description: Astronomers travel far and wide to see solar eclipses but sometimes their best laid plans don’t work out..
Wonderful Women Wednesday: Dr. Carol Farrington Jopling
- Date: October 28, 2020
- Creator: Emily Niekrasz
- Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
- Blog Post
Valentine’s Day at the Archives: A Blossoming Romance
- Date: February 14, 2019
- Creator: Emily Niekrasz
- Description: Nothing brings a couple together like scientific research, right? Celebrate Valentine’s Day by exploring a love so deep, new species were named about it.
Mary Farnham Miller, A Lifelong Botanist
- Date: August 17, 2021
- Description: Learn more about botanist Mary Farnham Miller who held positions in the Sullivant Moss Society and the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany in the early twentieth century.
- Blog Post
A Tale of Coffee and Collecting
- Date: November 30, 2010
- Creator: Jennifer Wright
- Description: Archives are often used by genealogists to create their family histories. Often it's a tedious process that can involve many repositories throughout the country or even the world, but the final product can be fascinating. Take, for instance, Melbourne ("Mel") Romaine Carriker's Vista Nieve: The Remarkable True Adventures of an Early Twentieth Century Naturalist and His Family
Walking in the Footsteps of Hungerfords
- Date: September 15, 2022
- Creator: William Bennett
- Description: Readers of The Bigger Picture will be familiar with the Hungerford Deed, a 1787 property contract dividing a lucrative land inheritance between the mother and aunt of the Smithsonian’s founding donor, James Smithson. Over the last three years I have been able to take a deep dive into the content of the Deed and strengthen our understanding of Smithson’s choice to leave his
Knowledge Begins in Wonder: The Design Behind the Smithsonian Children’s Room
- Date: March 1, 2016
- Creator: Hillary Brady
- Description: The history of the Smithsonian’s Children’s Room, a project led by Smithsonian Secretary Langley and famous interior designer Grace Lincoln Temple.