Description: It can be so frustrating to put great effort into something, and then to have your work and achievements called into question. I can't begin to imagine how frustrated Samuel Pierpont Langley was in 1903. By that time, he had spent over forty years studying astrophysics and aerodynamics. His work on astronomically-derived time measurement in the late 1860's is the heart of the
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="385" caption="Games, by Axel Tregoning, Creative Commons: Attribution 2.0."][/caption] While some people seem to enjoy fantasizing about doomsday scenarios and the end of the “real” world, a recent piece on Ars Tehchnica’s website makes it clear that virtual worlds don’t last forever, either.
Description: To kick off Women's History month, a look at some of the women in humanities represented in the Smithsonian Institution Archives collections.
Description: Paul Hamilton Allen, botanist, writes in his field book about testing different varieties of corn to determine which is the best for popcorn.
Description: In their efforts to document the history of computing at the Smithsonian, volunteers are interviewing former staff to preserve their stories and experiences. Ching-hsien Wang was a force that helped libraries and archives make their collections accessible online and here are some early excerpts from our interview with her.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="Six children play on the sculpture "Uncle Beazley," the 25 foot long replica of a triceratops, placed on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), 1976, by Unidentified photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 33, Folder: 23, Negative Number:
Description: At the 1996 Festival of American Folklife, Smithsonian staff and volunteers conducted oral history interviews with colleagues about their memories of working for the Smithsonian. To celebrate the Smithsonian’s 175th anniversary, we’re sharing clips from three of those interviews.