Description: A look at the relationship between Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley and the Wright Brothers during the sometimes contentious race to achieve flight.
Description: In a world drowning in images, where we swipe past photos of friends, relatives, and selves in mere seconds, a set of remarkable portraits taken in the 1910s and 1920s by Julian Papin Scott (1877-1961) deserve more considered attention. Sometimes, his subjects appear immersed in work, surrounded by microscopes, beakers, or stacks of books, as if unaware of the photographer.
Description: Smithsonian Gardens was established in 1972 as the Horticultural Services Division of the Office of Plant Services to provide appropriate landscaping outside of Smithsonian museums and decorative greenery inside Smithsonian buildings. Today, Smithsonian Gardens is an accredited museum that provides living classrooms and urban sanctuaries for Smithsonian visitors.History of
Description: During debates about the Smithsonian’s founding, the idea of using James Smithson’s bequest for a botanic garden was included in several drafts of the bill considered by Congress. In 1850, President Millard Fillmore commissioned America’s preeminent landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing to design plans for the National Mall, including grounds around the Smithsonian Castle,
Description: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Smithsonian participated in numerous international world’s fairs and expositions. The Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915 held in San Francisco, California, was intended celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, as well as to illustrate the function and administrative faculty of the Government of the United States, and to