Description: This summer, 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: You don’t have to go to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia to learn about ice dancing. Check out the Smithsonian ice dancers who used the sport as a great way to unwind and stay warm in the winter.
Description: As a teenager, Robert Ridgway was tapped by the Smithsonian’s Assistant Secretary to be an expedition zoologist. In 1881, when the US National Museum opened its doors, he was the curator of Birds. Download and reuse some of bird illustrations today through Smithsonian Open Access.
Description: Since our move to Smithsonian Institution Support Center, in the fall of 2015, the Archives have been able to work on longer-term projects using the photographic negatives stored in our cold storage vault. One of these projects is systematically scanning the collection of glass plate negatives from the United States National Museum, Division of Graphic Arts Photograph
Description: On December 19, 1977 the Trees of Christmas exhibition opened at the National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History). This was the first exhibition of the Office of Horticulture (now Smithsonian Gardens) and featured trees with handcrafted ornaments representing a variety of countries and cultural traditions.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: A look at one of the many ways the Smithsonian’s mission to increase and diffuse knowledge brought scientific knowledge to aid the public good.
Description: A 1936 exchange of letters about the prickly porcupine preserves both a contemporary scientific debate and the wit and wisdom of a young Utah girl with a beloved pet.
Description: The life of Betty J. Meggers, an Anthropologist, who speciailized in pottery identification, conducted extensive field work in Amazon Rainforest region of South America, and was associated with the Smithsonian for more than five decades.