Description: Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.The reference team fields thousands of questions per year.
Description: The discovery of a folder titled, "Unicorn," in collection at first brings excitement then disappointment as the unicorn in question was a unicorn fish, not the mythical unicorn.
Description: Join us on Facebook Live tomorrow at 12 p.m., as we visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History's Department of Entomology to learn how archival collections are being used in modern research.
Description: The Smithsonian Institution has long been known for both its original research and its exhibitions. But, it was not until 1980 that the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) first exhibited an on-going active research project, the world's first indoor living coral reef.[edan-image:id=siris_sic_7411,size=450,center]In the late 1960s, when NMNH paleobiologist Walter H. Adey
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_6861,size=300,right] Some students look forward eagerly to the new school year; others dread the end of summer and the long year ahead. How did the Smithsonian’s founding donor, James Smithson (1765-1829), feel about school? Smithson attended Oxford University in England from 1782 to 1786, receiving a Masters of Arts degree in chemistry and mineralogy.
Description: 2017 Women's History Month edition!Explore the changing role of female artists with Europeana. [via Europeana Twitter]The Smithsonian's Latino Center is accepting applications for their 2017 Young Ambassadors Program for graduating high school seniors! [via Smithsonian's Office of Fellowships and Internships]You can help transribe Phyllis Diller's joke file from the
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.