Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="424" caption="U.S. National Museum, May 3, 1917, seen from the National Mall, by Unknown photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 45, Box 79, Folder: 10, Neg. SIA2009-2203."][/caption] As part of my work as the historian for the history of the Smithsonian, I’ve been working for the past year on
Description: In honor of Women’s History Month and the 50th anniversary of Smithsonian Libraries, let’s learn about Leila Gay Forbes Clark (1887-1964), the second woman to direct the Smithsonian’s library. She was beloved by the researchers she worked with (really loved in one case….) and began the restructuring of the many small libraries across the Smithsonian.
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: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_12022,size=250,left]Volunteers have been an integral part of the Smithsonian since its earliest years. The Institution has always been “dependent on the kindness of strangers.” Volunteers make tremendous contributions to Smithsonian operations every day in virtually every corner of the globe. The Smithsonian's paid staff of some 6,000 employees is
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9988,size=500,center]While many people view the Smithsonian as a complex of museums in Washington, DC, it began as and still is an international organization devoted to research and education. A look at the Smithsonian Global website reveals where Smithsonian staff can be found today.Since the Smithsonian’s founding in 1846, the Institution has