Description: Shirley Cherkasky, public programs coordinator, National Museum of American History, and culinary historian, had several curious tasks in coordinating public programs for the Smithsonian, from hiring an Uncle Sam reenacto for July 4th to procuring the correct tree leaves for a Swiss musician to play. #Groundbreaker
Description: Women's History Month edition, continued!The story of fossil seller and paleontologist Mary Anning (for whom the "She Sells Seashells" rhyme was possibly written), in Peeps. [via The Last Word on Nothing]A look at the WWI Women's Land Army composed of "farmettes" who went outside the home to address the national food shortage. [via LOC Blog]For 25 cents an hour, less than
Description: I was intrigued to receive a tweet from a digital colleague over at the NY Times pertaining to a family story that could very well be solved at the Archives. I’m continuously surprised at the variety of papers we hold here, but by now, I shouldn’t be given how far-reaching and varied the scope of the Smithsonian has been through history. Back to the story. THE elephant that
Description: 435 high resolution book plates of gorgeous illustrations from Audubon's The Birds of America are now available for free download! [via Hyperallergic]And after you're done with the plates, check out peacock feathers under a high magnification lens, by artist Waldo Nell. [via Wired]University students are working to save the remaining copies of a black-owned newspaper, The
Description: Starting tomorrow through next week, we will be digging into the life of entomologist Harrison Gray Dyar (1866-1929). Dyar was honorary custodian of the Smithsonian's United States National Museum's collection of Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, etc.) for more than thirty years. As a scientist, Dyar was noted for his work concerning mosquito-borne diseases. He also developed a
Description: Volunteers have been an integral part of the Smithsonian since the beginning. As our historian Pamela Henson likes to say, we have always relied on the kindness of strangers. A blog post in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month 2015. Includes a list of Smithsonian crowdsourcing projects that volunteers can participate in.
Description: In honor of Archives Month, it’s time for the Smithsonian’s annual Facebook Q&A where the public can ask questions about preserving and organizing their own collections!
Description: On Monday, October 27th, four of our finest were available on the Smithsonian's Facebook page to answer questions about preserving your own archival collections. The four archivists at the Q&A have specialties in the preservation and organization of audio/visual material, photos, and digital records (email, digital video, etc.) This is our fourth year hosting this event and