Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_12311,size=250,right]Walking into the rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History one immediately comes face to face with the Fénykövi Elephant (also affectionately known as Henry). Taken at a glance, the African elephant is impressive and imposing, standing over guests to a tune of 13 feet and 2 inches when measured at the shoulder. The Fénykövi
Description: During debates about the Smithsonian’s founding, the idea of using James Smithson’s bequest for a botanic garden was included in several drafts of the bill considered by Congress. In 1850, President Millard Fillmore commissioned America’s preeminent landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing to design plans for the National Mall, including grounds around the Smithsonian Castle,
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_8947,size=180,right]Record Unit 60, Meteorological Project, Records, 1849–1875 Most of these records are requests for weather data, or requests from researchers interested in the correspondence of an observer who worked on Secretary Joseph Henry’s Smithsonian Meteorological Project.Record Unit 70, Exposition Records of the Smithsonian Institution and