Description: Geologist Dr. Ursula Marvin studied Moon rocks from the Apollo missions and meteorites in Antarctica. Throughout her career with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Marvin championed women in science. She delivered lectures about her own experiences as a woman in geology and participated in programing to help advance women's careers. She was likely inspired to support
Description: There is a remarkable figure in the Smithsonian’s history that doesn’t get much of the spotlight; Thomas W. Smillie. He served as the Smithsonian’s first official photographer from 1870 until his death in 1917, and additionally became the Smithsonian’s first photography curator in 1896. Smillie amassed a collection of photographic equipment starting with the purchase of the
Description: Our National Museum of African American History & Culture is getting a forever stamp October 13th! [via WUSA 9]Save the date: the Freer Sackler reopens October 14th and the are celebrating with a festival, IlluminAsia featuring projections on the building. [via DCist] Need your baby animal fix? The National Zoo has three baby critically-endangered dama gazelles, the latest
Description: Did you know that Joseph Francis invented the first metal life-saving boat? Or that Gail Borden invented the process for creating condensed milk? Neither did I until I heard The World Is Yours episode titled “Unheraled American Inventors,” which originally aired on April 4, 1937.Where most of the episodes I’ve listened to begin with the host walking up to two people while they
Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives releases a new feature on their website which enables their finding aids to be marked up with available digitized media.
Description: For the past month, I have been immersed in the complexity that is the world of digital archiving as an intern for the Smithsonian Institution Archives. As a digital preservation intern, I have discovered aspects about archiving that I would have never considered previously, such as the processes required to document accessions, recording information for accessibility and