Description: In honor of the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays, a look inside the Foucault pendulum that used to hang at the National Museum of American History.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="424" caption="U.S. National Museum, May 3, 1917, seen from the National Mall, by Unknown photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 45, Box 79, Folder: 10, Neg. SIA2009-2203."][/caption] As part of my work as the historian for the history of the Smithsonian, I’ve been working for the past year on
Description: Before you head to “Deep Time,” opening this weekend at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, learn about how Smithsonian’s fossil collection was initially formed and exhibited.
Description: Periodically—given the fleeting nature of life and the ubiquity of photographic imagery—it’s seems like someone’s always trying to hatch another ambitious image-based cultural project to prove that, despite our differences, we’re pretty all much the same.
Description: The Smithsonian’s Around the Mall blog has an interview with our Smithsonian Historian, Pam Henson, about the famous, real-life Smokey the Bear (you can also read our earlier post on the subject). Need to get a 17th century recipe for almond cakes? The Wellcome Library’s online Recipe Manuscripts is the place for you. This is a really fun collection to browse [via Marcel
Description: One of the goals of THE BIGGER PICTURE blog is to highlight stories about the ways images delivered in an online environment can describe extraordinary events or comment equally powerfully on our everyday life. Our contributors talk about collections at the Smithsonian, about images or archives that are making headlines, or about people that make, care for, and think about
Description: [caption id="attachment_3281" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Encouraging Curiosity for Man and Animal, Photograph courtesy of Zac Henderson."][/caption] About a year ago, we asked you to reflect on the ways photography has changed your life. We heard from Ellen Hyatt, an English teacher in South Carolina, who uses photographs to inspire her student’s creative writing
Description: [caption id="attachment_7288" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Baseball Photographer Trading Card: Ansel Adams, 1975, by Mike Mandel."][/caption] What happens when you mix baseball cards with famous photographers? I’m loving Mike Mandel’s 1975 Baseball Photographer Trading Cards project posted over at Fans in a Flashbulb. The Tenement Museum in downtown New York has