Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="408" caption="The skeleton of a Hyracotherium, a tiny horse that heralded one of the major evolutionary trends of the age of mammals - the move to grazing - from the National Museum of Natural History's new exhibit "Mammals in the Limelight," opening May 30, 1985, In the background is Robert Emry, Curator of fossil mammals in the
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Three exhibit workers, Harry C. Harden kneeling, Charles R. Aschemeier standing left and Watson M. Perrygo standing on ladder, preparing the White-tailed Deer in Cypress Swamp group during the Exhibits Modernization Program in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), during the 1950s, by Unidentified photographer,
Description: [caption id="attachment_10960" align="aligncenter" width="376" caption="Peter Finkel, volunteer at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. "][/caption] Here at the Archives, we have 25 fulltime staff members, and half as many volunteers and interns at any given moment.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="419" caption="Secretary Robert McCormick Adams and distinguished guests--former Secretary of State James Baker, left, former President George Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush--enjoy a visit to the Samuel P. Langley Theater at the National Air and Space Museum in 1992, by Carolyn Russo, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution
Description: I was intrigued to receive a tweet from a digital colleague over at the NY Times pertaining to a family story that could very well be solved at the Archives. I’m continuously surprised at the variety of papers we hold here, but by now, I shouldn’t be given how far-reaching and varied the scope of the Smithsonian has been through history. Back to the story. THE elephant that
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Temperance Parade, Church of the Nazarene, Medora, Illinois, photographer unknown, real-photo postcard, 1908, Courtesy of Luc Sante, 2009."][/caption] One of the thrills of seeing—when you stop to pay attention to it—is how complex and quickly the process of looking and making sense of what we see happens. According to
Description: A look at the unique journey to discovery of father-son Nobel Laureates William Henry and William Lawrence Bragg. The Braggs won the Nobel Prize in Physics 100 years ago.
Description: As I write this crossover Preservation Week/MayDay post so close to Earth Day 2020 (the fiftieth anniversary), stunning news continues to break across the globe due to the coronavirus. Shining through the fog of worry, there have been surprising gains in a period of forced inactivity due to reduced emissions, such as record-breaking solar energy capture in Germany, and cleaner
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="305" caption="Cake, by Daniel Nelson, Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0."][/caption] It’s hard to believe, but it has been two years to the day that THE BIGGER PICTURE has been in existence (note: that rogue January post doesn’t count as it was backdated)! The blog was started by the Smithsonian Photography
Description: [caption id="attachment_10342" align="alignleft" width="228" caption="Miss Willey Glover DeNis, (1879-1929), Smithsonian Institution Archives, SIA2008-0987."][/caption] At the Archives, we often run across images that have minimal information associated with them. Sometimes it’s a number or a name (usually incomplete) or a year. It is rare to find a beautifully complete