The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives' record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program ...

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

These records, primarily from the Division of Preindustrial Cultural History and, to an extent, its predecessors, as well as the Department of Cultural History and the Division of Domestic Life, include administrative files consisting of annual reports for some of the above administrative units; a fourth floor plan of NMHT; memoranda conc...

These records consist of staff correspondence and memoranda of the National Postal Museum and its predecessors; early photographs of exhibitions; planning information for the Hall of Philately; newspaper clippings, articles, and research files documenting the origin and extensive history of the National Postal Museum; proposals, preliminary ...

This accession consists of program files and docent files related to summer intern programs, docent training, and education programs and lectures sponsored throughout the year at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Materials include newspaper clippings, planning files, brochures, lectures, correspondence with participating scholars, ...

This accession consists primarily of records documenting the administrative activities of Miguel A. Bretos as Counselor to the Secretary for Latino Affairs, 1994-1995, and Counselor to the Secretary for Community Affairs and Special Projects, 1995-1998. A few records relate to American Endeavors, which was not under the Counselor's purview. M...

F.C. Brown was a physicist and inventor who created and supervised the development of education exhibits, most notably as organizing director of the New York Museum of Science and Industry (part of the Museums of the Peaceful Arts), 1926-1931. He was also curator of physics exhibits at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, 1932-1937. Much of Brown's scientific research focused on the element selenium. He invented the phonopticon, an improvement on the optophone (invented by Fournier d'Albe, 1912). Material focuses on Dr. Brown's professional life: correspondence, photographs, photo albums, scrapbooks, and ephemera from the positions he held and research he conducted. Very little personal information is included.

These records document part of the secretarial administration of Alexander Wetmore and the whole of Leonard Carmichael's tenure. During this period the Smithsonian's capacity to carry out research in its traditional scientific disciplines was substantially strengthened. At the same time the Institution was able to invest much more effort ...

This accession consists of exhibition records of the National Museum of American History (NMAH), Division of Armed Forces History, as well as material dating back to the Division of Naval History before it merged with the Division of Military History to form the Division of Armed Forces History in 1985. The records primarily include the s...