Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Honeywell, El Segundo, Calif., from the Los Angeles Documentary Project 1980 Susan Ressler, 1949, Gelatin silver print on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Photography Museum of Los Angeles, 1990.38.93."][/caption] This is just a head's up to let our
Description: Even if you have visited the Smithsonian in person, you probably don’t know that it’s comprised of 19 museums and 9 research centers. You can’t see it all by visiting the Mall in Washington D.C. since there are museums in New York and research centers in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Panama. Each museum and research center researches and collects around different topics, from
Description: A salamander, the axolotl, found in Mexico that once numbered in the 6000s/square kilometer is now down to 35. [via Scientific American]As we know, the Biodiversity Heritage Library has a lot of gorgeous images of natural specimen, in fact over 2 million of them, and it includes some from the Archives! [via Open Culture]Beatles fans, John Lennon's stolen diary was recovered by
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Thornewood Estate in Takoma, Washington, by Asahel Curtis, August 1933, Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens."][/caption] Just the other day we received a comment on one of our photos in the new Flickr Commons set of lantern slides from the Archives of American Gardens. A visitor was interested to know whether or not
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Untitled, by Thomas Smillie, c. 1890, Smithsonian Institution Archives."][/caption] One of the things people often want to know about photography at the Smithsonian is, “How many photographs do you have?” with the quick follow-up, “Have you counted all of them?” No one knows for certain, but statistical sampling suggests
Description: Solar eclipse trips can have lasting effects on an astronomy student’s life, as NASM’s David DeVorkin tells us about the 1970 Yale Observatory expedition and beach party to view an eclipse at Nantucket.
Description: The Smithsonian Castle sits just over a mile away from Washington D.C.’s most notable address,1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are more than just a short walk away from the White House, however—we are directly tied to it and its occupants. Not only does the Smithsonian collect the history of United States Presidents (including, yes, Lincoln’s top hat and even the hair of a few
Description: You have probably heard of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen. Even Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. And I know you have heard of Rudolph. But do you recall the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s most famous reindeers of all? “Operation Reindeer” was the most publicized event of 1958. Fourteen reindeer and one caribou made their way, sans the open sleigh, to Washington, D.C., for