Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="A group of scientists leaves Barro Colorado Island in a small boat, during 1923, Smithsonian staff were in Panama with the Institute for Research in Tropical America, a group of private foundations and universities under the auspices of the National Research Council, who first established a research laboratory on Barro
Description: The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was founded in 1923 as the Barro Colorado Island Laboratory to study tropical biology. In 1946, it was placed under Smithsonian aegis as the Canal Zone Biological Area. Although still based in Panama, today its researchers study biodiversity and human culture throughout the tropics. History of the Smithsonian Tropical