Description: On this day, 72 years ago, ornithologist Alexander Wetmore became Smithsonian Secretary--continuing his life-long dedication to field research! Help transcribe Wetmore’s extensive research and make it available for a new generation of field scientists.
Description: As we digitize the Archives’ collections to make them available online, I am constantly being exposed to handwriting from the past two centuries. As a result, I have a deeper appreciatiation of how many different things influence the way a person’s writing appears on the page, things beyond the quality of their penmanship. Writing on the deck of a ship, on horseback or on
Description: We are pleased to launch a new live-play mystery based on the Megatherium Club, an actual group of young naturalists who lived in dormitories in the Smithsonian's Castle. Geared toward teen visitors (you must be 13 years or older to play), “The Mystery of the Megatherium Club: Mustaches & Mayhem” runs July 8th-Aug. 27th, with limited timeslots daily. Spend an hour with your
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.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_10193,size=175,left]Fifty years ago the Smithsonian embarked on a new venture to bring the culture on display in the museum to life with the first Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Then called the Festival of American Folklife, it set out to show that the crafts shown inside museums are also still alive and well across the country.
Description: When Dr. Ted Reed became director of the National Zoological Park in 1959, he committed himself to carrying out the zoo’s complete set of mandates that included research, education, and conservation of endangered species. All these came together in a new non-public facility, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, founded in 1975 in Front Royal, Virginia.
Description: The Archives announces the publishing of the book, Photography Changes Everything, by Marvin Heiferman, and based on the click! online photo project.