Entries by Jennifer Brundage

The Encyclopedia of Life

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September 6, 2007 – The New York Times published an interesting editorial today about an ambitious new project announced earlier this year, in which the Smithsonian is taking a leading role.  The goal of the Encyclopedia of Life is nothing short of organizing all basic information on the 1.8 million known species on the planet within […]

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Check out one of the Smithsonian’s newest blogs, from the Office of Exhibits Central (OEC).  OEC is a dynamic unit that produces exhibits and exhibition services for Smithsonian museums, SITES, and others, like the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, our affiliate in Arizona.  (a well-known example of OEC’s work on the Mall) The blog is a […]

SERC

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   This week, several Affiliations staff treated ourselves to a field trip, and visited our colleagues at the Smithsonian’s Environmental Research Center.  Located on 3,000 acres on the Chesapeake Bay (SERC map), SERC is a leading research unit with 16 laboratories devoted to studying things like marine biology & ecology, among other topics.  SERC is the national center […]

Science education & the NSRC

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I find this to be an amazing statistic:  45% of all science learning takes place in informal environments.  (no wonder NSF gives so much money to informal science education.)  Yet in a recent seminar on the topic, entitled “Changing the Course of K-16 Science Education,” a DC teacher asked in a roundabout way about the […]

Museum Conservation Institute

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Such interesting research is being done at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, housed in our storage facility in Suitland, MD.  Most recently, Smithsonian staff were invited to hear about new research on the acceptable ranges of relative humidity and temperature in museums.  Dr. Marion Mecklenburg, a senior research scientist at the Institute presented surprising results (at least for […]