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: Mary Agnes Chase is known for her extensive contributions to the study of grasses, but who was Mary Agnes Chase? Why is her private life so shrouded in mystery, and how can we find out more.
Description: The Walt Disney designed--and General Electric sponsored--look at America’s figurative and literal electric future, Progressland, wowed visitors at the 1964 World’s Fair--and elements of it exist today in both Disneyland and Disney World theme parks.
Description: Just two days ago, the Smithsonian celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). It seems like just yesterday that we were all waiting for the doors to open; yet, so much has happened in the past year. Since President Barack Obama rang the bell that opened the museum, long lines and happy faces are
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9246,size=500,center]THE BIGGER PICTURE's “Wonderful Women Wednesday” series profiles the female curators, directors, and research scientists who have risen to prominence in their careers at the Smithsonian.These stories of broken glass ceilings are fascinating, but they barely scratch the surface of the Smithsonian’s female workforce through the
Description: The Freer Sackler Gallery’s efforts to make their large collection of squeezes (paper molds that capture the inscriptions of ancient monuments) into an easy-to-use Web resource received a nice write-up on The Atlantic’s Tech blog [originally posted on the Smithsonian Collections Blog]. David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, talks about “balancing access and
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="311" caption="Josef J. Fénykövi sent a series of images in February 1958 of a young (15-18 years old) bull elephant, captured in Angola a few days before the photographs were taken, to Dr. Remington Kellogg, director of the United States National Museum (USNM), to help the USNM taxidermists in their preparation of a model, on which to
Description: Birds of a feather flock together, especially if they are a pair of patriotic turkeys who took up residency at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.