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. Digital strategist Effie Kapsalis was dedicated to building bridges between Smithsonian collections and audiences. In a Smithsonian career spanning nearly twenty years, Effie mobilized her colleagues to share more diverse stories, break down barriers to access, and fight for gender and racial equity in the cultural heritage sphere. Sadly, we lost Effie on December 11, 2022. She was our friend and inspired all of us. Effie’s Smithsonian car ..read more

Deborah Shapiro We're highlighting a few topics explored by Smithsonian Institution Archives researchers this fall. Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics. The reference team fields thousands of questions per year. Ask us what people have been researching recently, and you’ll get into some of the enlightening, weird, and fascinating details of our collections. Here are some of the subject ..read more

Maia Johnston, Institutional History Division Intern A collection of interviews from 2013 records the history of the Smithsonian Associates. One of the recordings featured Brigitte Blachere, a program manager of the organization. She detailed the youth and family programs she has developed for 23 years. Nothing about the Smithsonian Institution can be described as small, especially the impact of its staff. As an intern with the Libraries and Archives Summer Scholars’ Program, I had the opportunity to learn more about staff at the Smithsonian Associates. Over the course o ..read more

Frederica Adelman, Director, Smithsonian Associates During her long career with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Service (SITES) between 1987 and 2013, the author worked closely with the museums that hosted Field to Factory. She connected the more than fifty museums with the Smithsonian, with local organizations, and with one another. Current headlines about war and the impact of forced migration on women are stark reminders of historic migrations and how women adapted and took on new roles. In 1987, Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration 1915-1940 premiered at the National Museum o ..read more

For National Coffee Day, we share the eye-opening conservation of a damaged field book authored by the champion of the Smithsonian Bird Friendly Coffee program.  We’re lucky that our interns love coffee, because for this summer’s final project, I selected Russell Greenberg’s Field notes, Xalapa and Chiapas, Mexico, 2001 for a full conservation treatment. If you’ve not had your morning cup yet, you may be wondering why we celebrate his work on National Coffee Day. Dr. Greenberg was an ornithologist, founder and director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, where he is credited with ..read more

As a laborer at the Smithsonian from 1882 until his death in 1918, Harrison Lomax served the Institution’s top leaders. A letter in our collections that he wrote to Secretary Samuel P. Langley is an example of the ways in which African American employees advocated for themselves in order to earn promotions and raises. Harrison Lomax had already worked for the Smithsonian for 21 years when he wrote to Secretary Samuel P. Langley in 1903 to request a pay raise. Lomax, like most African American employees at the Institution, was hired as a “laborer.” In 1882, he earned $40 per month, and by th ..read more

Mariah Wahl, Data Specialist, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives We’re exploring the storied history of Friday Harbor Labs, a MarineGEO site, in Washington State. Friday Harbor Labs, formerly known as the Puget Sound Biological Station, has been a professional home to many Smithsonian scientists, including groundbreaking women such as Mary Rice and Mildred Stratton Wilson. Located on San Juan Island, between Seattle and Vancouver, the labs present a unique location for the study of ocean flora and fauna in the Pacific Northwest.   Previous Pause Next 1 of 2 Puget Sound Biol ..read more

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. Lillian Kozloski was a specialist with the National Air and Space Museum’s department of science and technology from 1977 to 1995. She was an expert in the history and development of space suits and of women in aerospace. In 1994, she published U.S. Space Gear: Outfitting the Astronaut. Throughout her career, Kozloski was an advocate for women in the workplace. She was a member of the Smithsonian Institution Women’s Council and helped organ ..read more

Kira Sobers We’ve shared a lot about The World Is Yours, the Smithsonian’s first educational radio show, but this National Radio Day, we are highlighting some of the other radio programs in our collections. Over the last two years, we have shared a lot about The World Is Yours, the Smithsonian’s first educational radio program, but that is certainly not the only radio show in our collections. This National Radio Day, we’re taking a moment to highlight some of the other amazing programs that we are sure you will enjoy. Adventures in Science was a weekly radio show created by Science Service ..read more

A ..read more