Description: [edan-image:id=siris_arc_287602,size=250,left]As a child in England in the 1930s, Oliver Sacks enjoyed playing with his Uncle Abe’s spinthariscope. It was, he would later recall, “a beautifully simple instrument, consisting of a fluorescent screen and a magnifying eyepiece, and inside, an infinitesimal speck of radium.We take a look at the spinthariscope at the Smithsonian.
Description: In 1864, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth sparked people’s imagination, but have you heard that before the novel was published, the Smithsonian attempted a journey of its own.
Description: During planning of the future National Museum of American History, Webb and Knapp attempted to move it off the Mall into Southwest Washington.
Description: For forty years, Miss Helena Weiss kept the Smithsonian running smoothly as a clerk, stenographer, director of the Office of Correspondence and Documents, and Registrar. When she retired, her position was divided into seven separate jobs.
Description: The term “personal equation” came into use in the 19th century as scientists found that observers have inherent biases: some anticipate events, and some report events after they have occurred. Recognition of the problem led to a spate of personal equation instruments: some measured biases of this sort, and some reduced the effect of personal errors. Most of these
Description: On the evening of October 1, 1847, while using a small telescope on the roof of the family home, Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) spotted a comet where one had not been before. Word of this achievement spread quickly through the scientific community. The American Journal of Science declared her “the first American entitled to the honor of the original discovery of a comet.” Some
Description: Visitors: Share photos of your trip to the Smithsonian museums in this new Flickr set! Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes posts an interview with Secretary Clough that includes a mention of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative and Institution’s overall prioritization of digitizing and archiving photographs. Time sink! The BBC launched a World Music Archive this morning! There
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927) family at "Olmsted," Provo, Utah, c. 1907, by Unidentified photographer, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Science Service Records, 1902-1965 (Record Unit 7091), Image ID: SIA2009-0983."][/caption] Alright, I admit it. I often write about the Walcott family and why not?
Showing results 337 - 348 of 1754 for Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Science