Description: Laying the Foundations: Early Schools of ThoughtWith few national institutions on which to model their thinking, many Americans built their plans for the Smithsonian around the notion of a national university.The debate moved quickly from, Should we create a national university? This page describes the 1838-1846 debates about what form the Smithsonian Institution should take.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_5844,size=250,left]A staff-favorite story in the Smithsonian’s history is that of the Megatherium Club — a revolving group of young naturalists who made the Castle their temporary home in between expeditions to the outer reaches of the United States. Who could not be intrigued by this photo of the Club where they look to be sharing a joke, or a plan?