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.
Description: Roxie Collie Laybourne pioneered the field of forensic ornithology through her study of bird feathers, which has meant improved aviation safety.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_6861,size=300,right] Some students look forward eagerly to the new school year; others dread the end of summer and the long year ahead. How did the Smithsonian’s founding donor, James Smithson (1765-1829), feel about school? Smithson attended Oxford University in England from 1782 to 1786, receiving a Masters of Arts degree in chemistry and mineralogy.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9246,size=500,center]THE BIGGER PICTURE's “Wonderful Women Wednesday” series profiles the female curators, directors, and research scientists who have risen to prominence in their careers at the Smithsonian.These stories of broken glass ceilings are fascinating, but they barely scratch the surface of the Smithsonian’s female workforce through the
Description: In 1864, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth sparked people’s imagination, but have you heard that before the novel was published, the Smithsonian attempted a journey of its own.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="349" caption="Washington, D.C. 1975, from the series Archaeological Series, 6 Inch Contour Gauge, 1975, by Kenneth Josephson, Gelatin silver print on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.828."][/caption] In 1981, the Smithsonian American Art Museum (at the time it was named
Description: The creation and design of the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as the “Castle”, is no mystery; however, the stories of some of the early individuals involved in the formation of the Smithsonian’s collection are less commonly known. We need to ask who collected the specimens and produced research on the objects that visitors now see when they enter Smithsonian