Description: Today on The Bigger Picture, we are highlighting the anniversary of the 1927 Conference on the Future of the Smithsonian which brought together people from across the country – scientists, academics, politicians, and private citizens – to advise on the future role of the Smithsonian. For this, we bring you a piece from Smithsonian Archives Program Assistant Lisa Fthenakis,
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_12123,size=250,left]It is a simple answer really: We counted. From 1978 to 1983, the Smithsonian undertook a comprehensive inventory of its collections. It was the first time the Smithsonian had ever tried to count each object in its collections and it was a massive task. Over five years, staff from every museum and research center spent thousands of