Description: Digital strategist Effie Kapsalis was dedicated to building bridges between Smithsonian collections and audiences. In a Smithsonian career spanning nearly twenty years, Effie mobilized her colleagues to share more diverse stories, break down barriers to access, and fight for gender and racial equity in the cultural heritage sphere. Sadly, we lost Effie on December 11, 2022.
Description: Mary Agnes Chase is known for her extensive contributions to the study of grasses, but who was Mary Agnes Chase? Why is her private life so shrouded in mystery, and how can we find out more.
Description: As an intern with the Smithsonian Institution Archives, I developed strategies that would make our born-digital collections more accessible to the researcher and enhance discoverability.
Description: This coming weekend muggles from around the world will be participating in the International Quidditch Association’s World Cup; but did you know that this growing sport may have a Smithsonian connection?
Description: Readers of The Bigger Picture will be familiar with the Hungerford Deed, a 1787 property contract dividing a lucrative land inheritance between the mother and aunt of the Smithsonian’s founding donor, James Smithson. Over the last three years I have been able to take a deep dive into the content of the Deed and strengthen our understanding of Smithson’s choice to leave his