Description: Did you know that May is National Photography Month? Declared by Congress as a month-long event in 1987, National Photography Month celebrates all aspects of photography. We invite you to see what our photographers were up to a century before this declaration in this behind- the-scenes slideshow of the photographic laboratory spaces, set-ups, and equipment of the United States
Description: A Building Worthy of Smithson's GiftWhat was the relationship between the Act of Incorporation and the historic Smithsonian Building? The act provided for a building containing an: art gallerylecture halllibrarychemical laboratorynatural history laboratoryscience museumA building that housed the multiple functions such as Congress had assigned to the Smithsonian Institution
Description: Exactly 165 years ago today, legislation establishing the Smithsonian Institution was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President James K. Polk. From today’s perspective, it seems like a “no-brainer” to accept a generous bequest from a little-known Englishman named James Smithson and create an institution in his name. But from the perspective of that era, the