Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives will be celebrating African American History Month throughout February with a series of related posts on THE BIGGER PICTURE. “I have engaged in almost Every Branch of work that is usual and unusual about S.I.”[edan-image:id=siris_sic_5597,size=150,left] These words, written by Solomon G. Brown to Secretary Spencer F. Baird on August 12,
Description: You don’t have to go to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia to learn about ice dancing. Check out the Smithsonian ice dancers who used the sport as a great way to unwind and stay warm in the winter.
Description: Vernacular photography is the latest type of photography to be discovered by museums. Postcards, collected by Walker Evans (but still, postcards), have just been exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a tintype exhibition just closed at the International Center of Photography in New York, another exhibit of snapshots was seen at the National Gallery of Art.
Description: A profile of the Archives' collections related to the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899 which explored Alaska's flora, fauna, and geography.
Description: Like Lou Costello or Mo of the Three Stooges whenever I hear the name “Niagara Falls” I pause and take a turn. One turn is to, of course, remember the classic comedy routine (when I was growing up it seemed to play on TV all the time) that involves the interactions between a once prosperous and educated bum and an unsuspecting citizen who doesn’t have a clue about the
Description: This post is written in honor of Preservation Week, April 24–30, 2011. In celebration of this week, preservation specialists around the world will bring attention to the preservation work going on in their institutions, and inspire action to preserve collections in libraries, archives, museums, and communities. [caption id="attachment_12654" align="aligncenter" width="432"
Description: Dr. Paula DePriest, Deputy Director, Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, and lichenologist, travels to Mongolia each year to build GIS data of the Mongolian region as part of a larger cultural heritage effort at the Smithsonian to create GIS databases for archaeological and historical sites. #Groundbreaker