Description: The theme of this year’s International Migratory Bird Day is unity. The Smithsonian has a longstanding history of commitment to the natural world. No figure in the Institution’s history better exemplifies the theme of unity surrounding migratory species than sixth Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore. He knew the importance of the role that birds play in
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="324" caption="Stereo Images (Precipitating Snow) obtained using a Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscope (LT-SEM) that is located in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in the Electron Microscopy Unit, Beltsville Maryland, Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."][/caption] We have old-school photos of snow at the
Description: Link Love: a weekly post with links to interesting videos and stories about archival issues, technology and culture, and Washington D.C. and American history.
Description: Have a little fun with images from our collections that have been designated as open access. Anyone can now download, transform, share, and reuse millions of images as part of Smithsonian Open Access.
Description: The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has acquired the earliest known photograph of U.S. President John Quincy Adams. [via Art Fix Daily]For the last 3 decades, the Center for the Study of Political Graphics has amassed 100 years of protest art from around the world. [via AIGA]Related, how museum curators are collecting history as it happens, including those at our own
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="214" caption="Neighborhood Map (Hopkins, 1887), Hand-colored neighborhood map, Office of the Surveyor Map Collection, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs."][/caption] Looks a lot cooler than it sounds: the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs will post more than a century’s worth of beautiful maps to Flickr [via Effie
Description: There's no doubt that Washington, D.C. is a great place to raise kids. And one of the primary reasons why is the wide array of Smithsonian museums that are only a subway ride away. It's no wonder that regular visits to the National Mall have been an important part of our family's culture and history since the early 1970's. And part of that history has been the story of "how