Description: The Smithsonian Castle sits just over a mile away from Washington D.C.’s most notable address,1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are more than just a short walk away from the White House, however—we are directly tied to it and its occupants. Not only does the Smithsonian collect the history of United States Presidents (including, yes, Lincoln’s top hat and even the hair of a few
Description: Joan Gilder has been a volunteer with the Smithsonian Institution Archives' Preservation Team for two decades, and has worked to treat many of our collections in order to increase their lifespan and improve access. She has been an invaluable asset to the Archives since she first began, and we are thrilled to share a little more about her story.What did you do before you began
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_14623,size=300,left]Born in 1936 in Washington DC, John Robert Edward Kinard would become the first African American director of a Smithsonian museum at the age of 31. Kinard’s circuitous path into museum work took him from development work in Africa to community organizing on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to a dilapidated theater on Nichols Street in DC’s