Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="212" caption="Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man, 1840, by Hippolyte Bayard, Direct positive print, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons."][/caption] Photo Trivia I Didn’t Know: Hippolyte Bayard’s Self-portrait as a Drowned Man was protest about what he considered an unfair lack of recognition as photography's inventor [via @GettyMuseum] “Past the
Description: There's no doubt that Washington, D.C. is a great place to raise kids. And one of the primary reasons why is the wide array of Smithsonian museums that are only a subway ride away. It's no wonder that regular visits to the National Mall have been an important part of our family's culture and history since the early 1970's. And part of that history has been the story of "how
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_14715,size=250,left] By now you have probably heard of Robert Kennicott, either because of his involvement with the Megatherium Club, or because of the article and blog post on his death that was published last year. I, however, tend to associate him with the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, a collecting mission to Alaska that proved to be his last.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="371" caption="An exhibit case filled with West African wood carvings from an exhibition of the Herbert Ward African Collection in the United States National Museum (USNM), now the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), which opened March 1, 1922, Herbert Ward was an explorer, soldier, author, and artist, who collected objects of
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="248" caption="Henry B. Collins, ethnologist with the Department of Anthropology, United States National Museum, now the National Museum of Natural History, conducted field work in Florida in the winter of 1927-1928, In this photo, Collins holds up a recently caught fish, and Mrs. W. E. Colton is seated next to Collins, c. 1927-1928, by
Description: On this day, 72 years ago, ornithologist Alexander Wetmore became Smithsonian Secretary--continuing his life-long dedication to field research! Help transcribe Wetmore’s extensive research and make it available for a new generation of field scientists.
Description: A rare meeting of the scientific minds at the 92nd Annual British Association Conference in 1924, captured by Science Service journalist Watson Davis.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="324" caption="Stereo Images (Precipitating Snow) obtained using a Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscope (LT-SEM) that is located in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in the Electron Microscopy Unit, Beltsville Maryland, Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."][/caption] We have old-school photos of snow at the
Description: A look at Spencer F. Baird's tenure at the Smithsonian establishing a network of collectors to launch the Smithsonian's first official museum.