Description: The term “personal equation” came into use in the 19th century as scientists found that observers have inherent biases: some anticipate events, and some report events after they have occurred. Recognition of the problem led to a spate of personal equation instruments: some measured biases of this sort, and some reduced the effect of personal errors. Most of these
Description: Happy Fourth of July! On Independence Day, flags are flown across the nation. The Smithsonian has many versions of the American flag in its collections, the best known being the Star Spangled Banner. But, do you know its history, and how it came to the Smithsonian? The Star Spangled Banner is a huge 15-star, 15-stripe garrison flag, 30 feet by 42 feet, made in 1813 by Mary
Description: Happy National Trivia Day! January 4th is the perfect day to break out all those endless bits of knowledge stored in your noggin and share them with others. As for the history of National Trivia Day, it's thought that the creation of the game Trivial Pursuit in 1979 sparked the beginning of our fascination with trivia, and everythinge else is history, as they say. To feed our
Description: Tracing the history of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, created in 1966 to raise funds to support the Institution, especially its educational programs.
Description: Every year at its annual conference, the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) hosts an event called Archival Screening Night (ASN). ASN is a chance for moving image archivists around the world to showcase films and videos from their collections, particularly items that have recently been preserved, restored, or remastered.This film depicts the Onward Brass Band
Description: 100 years ago in August of 1914, the Panama Canal opened to commercial shipping. Smithsonian scientists knew the canal would create major environmental changes and have spent the last 100 years documenting them.
Description: As you may know, the Smithsonian is celebrating Archives Month this October. This year, the Society of American Archivists is observing the month with the theme "I Found It in the Archives," which is meant to promote the treasures and gems that researchers find in archival collections, such as genealogical information about their families or materials related to their special