National Air and Space Museum Archives

Science Service Astronomy and Astronautics Files

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.1987.0125
Creators:
Science Service
Dates:
1920-1979
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
41.04 Cubic feet
114 boxes
Repository:
Science Service was founded in 1921 by newspaper publisher Edward Willis Scripps (1854-1926) and the zoologist William Emerson Ritter (1856-1944) as a news service for the purpose of disseminating information on scientific progress to the public, and to "present facts in readable and interesting form." The Science Service Astronomy and Astronautics files in the National Air and Space Archives consists of papers, news releases, articles, newspaper and magazine clippings, and technical papers pertaining mainly to astronomy and astronautics and dating from the late 1920s through the early 1970s.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Science Service Astronomy and Astronautics files in the National Air and Space Archives consists of papers, news releases, articles, newspaper and magazine clippings, and technical papers pertaining mainly to astronomy and astronautics and dating from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. News coverage of the U.S.--oviet space race and the Cold War is particularly extensive. The collection also includes many sighting report telegrams sent by astronomers to Science Service. Small selections of other subjects were included in the collection.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The Science Service Collection is organized in the following series:
Series 1 --Clippings, Publications, Papers, and Press Releases
Collection material was housed in folders organized and titled according to the Library of Congress Classification system.
Library of Congress Classification Subjects in the Science Service Collection:
B - Philosophy. Psychology. Religion BF Psychology
Q - Science QB Astronomy QC Physics QD Chemistry QL Zoology
T - Technology TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery TL Motor vehicles, Aeronautics. Astronautics [A small group of TL files, filed under QB] [Another group of TL files]
V - Naval Science VK Navigation. Merchant marine VM Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering
Series 2 --Photographs
Subseries 1 --Photographs in Folders or with Subjects Indicated
Subseries 2 --Loose Photographs without Subject Headings
Series 3 --Miscellaneous Material

Historical Note

Historical Note
Science Service was founded in 1921 by newspaper publisher Edward Willis Scripps (1854-1926) and the zoologist William Emerson Ritter (1856-1944) as a news service for the purpose of disseminating information on scientific progress to the public, and to "present facts in readable and interesting form." The service provided news stories to subscribing newspapers and issued the Daily Science News Bulletin (later renamed the Daily Mail Report) and the Science News Letter. Science Service made major contributions to science education through its sponsorship of the Science Clubs of America, the Science Talent Search, and National Science Fairs. Its monthly Things of Science educational kits were distributed by subscription from 1940 to 1989. The Science News Letter was renamed Science News in 1966. In 1988, Science Service became the Society for Science & the Public.

Administration

Author
Allan Janus
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Science Service Astronomy and Astronautics Files, gift, 1986
Processing Information
For many years, Science Service maintained an extensive informational "morgue file" of articles, clippings, papers and photographs. Several branches of the Smithsonian Institution received sections of these files as they were deaccessioned at different times. During the 1970s, The United States Naval Observatory acquired approximately twenty-four linear feet of files from Science Service. In 1987, these files were transferred to the National Air and Space Museum's Information Management Division, now the Archives Division. Some material was filed into the Archives Division's Technical Files series; the bulk of the collection was stored at the Museum's Paul E. Garber Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland .
Additional information on the history of the Science Service may be found on the National Museum of American History's Science Service web site (scienceservice.si.edu) and the Society for Science & the Public's web site (www.societyforscience.org). A listing of other Science Service collections held by the Smithsonian may be found through the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) online finding aid search page.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Science Service Astronomy and Astronautics Files, Acc. 1987-0125, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Astronomy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rocketry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cold War Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Space race Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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