Description: [caption id="attachment_7327" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="The Smithsonian Institution Building, "The Castle""][/caption] When I'm walking around the National Mall, I often hear people exclaim, "There's the Smithsonian!" as they point to the large red Smithsonian Castle near the Metro exit; something I also would have assumed before my first visit to the Mall.
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: 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: The men and women of the Smithsonian are the Institution’s most important asset, a fact which was as true in the 1910s as it is today. The staff of the Smithsonian work together to fulfill their mission: ‘the increase and diffusion of knowledge,’ working for the public good and engaging the world. During World War I, this mission expanded beyond academic knowledge to support