Description: Leila Gay Forbes Clark, director of Smithsonian’s library, 1942–1957, was the second woman to direct the library at the Smithsonian. She led early efforts to create a more centralized library system. In 1952, she coauthored The Butterflies of Virginia with her husband, zoologist Austin Hobart Clark. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, became the first woman to ever lead the museum in 2019. She oversees more than 250 employees, a budget of $40 million, and 1.8 million objects. #Groundbreaker
Description: To mark American Indian Heritage Month this year, staff members from the Photo Archive at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), filled us in on the history of the collections recently made available on the NMAI Collections Search website. As a follow-up, they are sharing their personal favorites from the archive. Today we hear from Emily Moazami,
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Construction of the Pension Building, Designed by Montgomery Meigs, c. 1883, by Unknown photographer, Albumen print, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Image ID: AFS 182."][/caption] One of the first collections that I encountered during my travels through the photography collections of the
Description: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History needs your help to preserve Dorothy's ruby red slippers. [via Washington Post]The gravedigger from Hamlet, Malvolio from Twelfth Night, and more Shakespeare-inspired Halloween costumes! [via Folger Shakespeare Library]IBM's Watson Supercomputer + Encyclopedia of Life= Biodiversity Treasure Trove Unlocked! [via Smithsonian
Description: The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of African American History and Culture acquired a portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the African American woman whose cells were unknowingly contributed to over 10,000 medical patents, aiding research and benefiting patients with polio, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions. [via Smithsonian
Description: Closed to the public since 2004, the Arts and Industries Building remains closed for the foreseeable future. Here is a look back at what used to be there.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""EXIT" sign in the Smithsonian Institution Building (i.e. "The Castle Building"), by Adam Gerard, Creative Commons: Attribution BY-NC-SA 2.0."][/caption] We agree, Adam! The Smithsonian “Castle” takes the cake for vintage details. Via @voteprime on Twitter: “I am fascinated by this EXIT sign I saw at the Smithsonian
Description: Happy Birthday to Happy Birthday! On Sometime around this date in 1893 sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill, who were both elementary school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky, first published “Happy Birthday to You”—one of the most iconic and popular songs in the English Language. Apparently, this makes June 27th “Happy Birthday Day,” so let sounds of that popular ditty roll