Description: This month students head back to school ready for another year of learning. And though the summer crowds may have gone home, staff around the Smithsonian are now preparing for the many field trips headed their way. One of my favorite things about school was the special field trips my class got to take. You would hear the year before about going on this boat or heading to this
Description: On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the national flag and on the same day one hundred years later, the first observance of the Flag was held. However, it was not celebrated again on such a scale until 1916, in the midst of World War I, when President Woodrow Wilson pronounced the day Flag Day. Though not officially adopted by Congress as
Description: On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the national flag and on the same day one hundred years later, the first observance of the Flag was held. However, it was not celebrated again on such a scale until 1916, in the midst of World War I, when President Woodrow Wilson pronounced the day Flag Day. Though not officially adopted by Congress as
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="234" caption="Mary Henry, October 20, 1882, by Unidentified photographer, Card Photograph, Smithsonian Institution Archives, RU 95, Box 12, Folder 5, Negative Number: 82-3258. "][/caption] As we enter into the holiday season, the Smithsonian Institution Archive’s blog will be exploring memories: what they mean, how to capture them, and
Description: How can you help the Smithsonian uncover new information about its collections? Try your hand transcribing documents, diaries, and field books at the new Smithsonian Transcription Center.
Description: You don’t have to go to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia to learn about ice dancing. Check out the Smithsonian ice dancers who used the sport as a great way to unwind and stay warm in the winter.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_8698,size=300,left]Today marks the forty-fourth anniversary of the opening of the Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), then called the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. The ACM opened in 1967 at the old Carver Theater in the Anacostia section of Washington, DC. The “experimental community museum” was first suggested by the Smithsonian’s eighth Secretary S.
Description: While in graduate school, I read that museum professionals wear many hats in one day. This could not be truer at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. [caption id="attachment_7424" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Climbing the Plank to the Top, May 27, 2010, by Lauren Dare, Digital photograph."][/caption] I’ve worn many hats working in the Institutional History Division
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