Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives will be celebrating African American History Month throughout February with a series of related posts on THE BIGGER PICTURE. “I have engaged in almost Every Branch of work that is usual and unusual about S.I.”[edan-image:id=siris_sic_5597,size=150,left] These words, written by Solomon G. Brown to Secretary Spencer F. Baird on August 12,
Description: 100 years ago in August of 1914, the Panama Canal opened to commercial shipping. Smithsonian scientists knew the canal would create major environmental changes and have spent the last 100 years documenting them.
Description: As editor E. E. Slosson began setting up the Science Service news office, his mail was flooded with inquiries from potential contributors. Writers and photographers described their accomplishments and submitted samples of their work. One such letter, from Albert Harlingue on April 13, 1921, must have piqued Slosson’s interest, for it coincided with the Washington visit of “a
Description: When tragedy struck during the space shuttle era, mourners found a place to honor the fallen astronauts of the tragic Challenger and Columbia flights at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Description: This summer Visiting Professional Laura Wahl had the chance to learn more about how to respond to the problem of mold residues found on archival materials. The Smithsonian Affiliations’ Visiting Professionals Program allowed her to spend time at the Smithsonian Institution Archives’ conservation lab researching this topic.
Description: A 1936 exchange of letters about the prickly porcupine preserves both a contemporary scientific debate and the wit and wisdom of a young Utah girl with a beloved pet.