Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: Catherine “Kitty” Scott, Chief Librarian and Director, National Air and Space Museum Library, 1972–94, began organizing, planning, and maintaining the new library well before the museum had opened. For her efforts, Scott earned the Superior Service Award In 1976. #Groundbreaker
Description: Dr. Leonard Carmichael led the Smithsonian Institution through many changes during his tenure as the seventh Secretary of the Smithsonian. He presided over new museums and facility openings, special acquisitions, and exciting exhibitions. Because Carmichael was hired from outside of the Smithsonian, he brought a new perspective, his academic background, and skills to thrust
Description: If you happen to walk by a museum or a library one evening this weekend, and there's a light on inside, or perhaps a flicker in the window, don't pass it by. There's a good chance that you stumbled on The Common Ground: a community curated meetup. The Common Ground gatherings are being hosted by museums and libraries around the world to celebrate The Commons on Flickr and the
Description: Friday, September 15th, 2017 marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Anacostia Community Museum. Originally named the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, Secretary Ripley envisioned this as a place to reach out to black residents of Washington, DC who were not seeing themselves in the museums on the Mall. Reporting on the opening of the museum, Secretary Ripley writes that
Description: On this day in 1850, a young man was killed in the Castle, the first of four deaths to occur within its walls. William H. Page was working in the building, which was still under construction at the time, when he fell to his death.
Description: As National Museum of African American History and Culture opens, let’s look at the first efforts to establish a National African American Museum.