Description: Exactly 165 years ago today, legislation establishing the Smithsonian Institution was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President James K. Polk. From today’s perspective, it seems like a “no-brainer” to accept a generous bequest from a little-known Englishman named James Smithson and create an institution in his name. But from the perspective of that era, 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.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9273,size=500,center]Have you ever heard of Smithsonian Park? If you are visiting the Smithsonian today, probably not. But if you had visited the Smithsonian in the 1850s, it would have been one of the first things you experienced.Smithsonian Park occupied the area between the Smithsonian Institution Building, or the Castle, and Downtown Washington,
Description: Help us find a photograph of Eunice Newton Foote! Scientist Eunice Newton Foote, in 1856, was the 1st to speculate that modest increases in CO2 concentration could result in atmospheric warming, and was a contributor to the Smithsonian's weather data project.
Description: Dr. E. Carmen Ramos, Deputy Chief Curator and Curator of Latino Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, is tasked with expanding the museum’s collection of Latino art with an eye toward capturing the broad aesthetic and regional range of the field. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Mary Baker, Research Organic Chemist & Museum Conservator, Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (1987–2000), used differential scanning calorimetry to determine the extent of crystallization in order to establish proper storage and handling procedures for spacesuits. #Groundbreaker
Description: It is that scrappy time of year where we ask you to nominate your favorite Smithsonian collection, experience, or in the Archives' case, people. We typcially refer to them as groundbreakers. We have some stiff competition in the science category with the Hope Diamond and the 3D Lincoln Life Mask, however, we feel Smithsonian female scientists have made such a significant
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: In Memorium: Curator & Scholar Mary Jane Lenz, National Museum of American Indian, specialized in the Northwest Coast, Arctic, and Subarctic peoples, and the cross-cultural study of dolls. She vastly improved collections documentation about these collections. #Groundbreaker
Description: Senior scientist, Dr. Cynthia Gilmour, is the Director of the Microbial Ecology Lab at the Smithsonian's Environmental Research Center where studies microbes that produce methylmercury in order to reduce the risk of mercury pollution. #Groundbreaker