Description: When the men and women of the Smithsonian heard the call to duty in World War II, they again took up the call as they had during World War I. Secretaries Charles G. Abbot and Alexander Wetmore provided leadership that brought the Smithsonian’s resources to the aid of the nation, while safeguarding its primary mission: the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Once again,
Description: In the past week, a series of six more images from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray team were uploaded to the Flickr Commons. Incidentally, they are all images of supernovas and black holes. Visualizing black holes is a challenge (at least for me) as the term conjures up images in my own head of silent, black infinity. But luckily for us (and as you
Description: Wonder Woman 1984 features fictional Smithsonian women in science trying to change the world. Let’s examine how real-life women pushed for change at the Smithsonian in the 1970s and created new opportunities for women at work.
Description: Behind the archivists, technicians, and specialists of the museum field are an abundance of organizations that network ideas, connect professionals, and present new strategies to broaden the impact of museums (American Alliance of Museums, Society of American Archivists, etc.). Many associations focus on specific aspects of this dynamic field and help to push museum practice
Description: Eva J. PellSmithsonian Institution Archives Oral History Collection, SIA009640Eva J. Pell (1948- ), Smithsonian Undersecretary for Science from 2010 to 2014, cracked a glass ceiling by becoming the highest-ranking woman to serve as a science manager at the Smithsonian. She was born in New York City to immigrant parents who, from the start, encouraged her to pursue and value
Description: As we digitize the Archives’ collections to make them available online, I am constantly being exposed to handwriting from the past two centuries. As a result, I have a deeper appreciatiation of how many different things influence the way a person’s writing appears on the page, things beyond the quality of their penmanship. Writing on the deck of a ship, on horseback or on