Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Stackpole Geodetic Transit

This transit instrument came from Gettysburg College, and was probably purchased for the astronomical observatory opneed in 1874. The inscription reads “STACKPOLE & BROTHER / NEW YORK / 1588.”Currently not on view
Description
This transit instrument came from Gettysburg College, and was probably purchased for the astronomical observatory opneed in 1874. The inscription reads “STACKPOLE & BROTHER / NEW YORK / 1588.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870s
maker
Stackpole & Brother
ID Number
PH.318446
catalog number
318446
accession number
235480

CRA-W Computing Ressearch Association-Women

This white sticker shows the CRA logo in four shades of blue at the top, gray text that reads "CRA-W" and black text that reads "Computing Research Association" in the center, and medium blue text that reads "Women" at the bottom.Computing Research Association (CRA) was formed in
Description
This white sticker shows the CRA logo in four shades of blue at the top, gray text that reads "CRA-W" and black text that reads "Computing Research Association" in the center, and medium blue text that reads "Women" at the bottom.
Computing Research Association (CRA) was formed in 1972 to advance computing research and education in industry, academia, and government. The association has four committees, Computing Community Consortium Catalyst (CCC), Computing Research Association Women (CRA-W), Computing Research Association Education (CRA-E), and Computer Research Association Evaluation (CERP).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2017
ID Number
2018.3049.02
nonaccession number
2018.3049
catalog number
2018.3049.02

Electroelution Chamber

This electroelution chamber was used by scientists at Genentech, a biotechnology company, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Description (Brief)
This electroelution chamber was used by scientists at Genentech, a biotechnology company, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Electroelution is a technique for removing proteins and other molecules from the gel matrix of gel electrophoresis.
Sections of the gel containing the desired sample were excised and placed into a piece of dialysis tubing. The tubing was secured to the bottom of the chamber using small clips buried in a layer of modeling clay at the bottom of the chamber. Once tubing was secured, the chamber was filled with a buffer solution. An electric current was run through the chamber, causing molecules of interest to migrate across the dialysis tubing into the buffer, from which they were collected.
The modeling clay was not originally part of the chamber, but was purchased from a toy store and pressed onto the bottom of the chamber by scientists in order to provide a way to secure the clips to the bottom.
Source:
Interview with Dan Yansura, Genentech scientist, 12/20/2012
Location
Currently not on view
user
Genentech, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.15
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.15

Prism Binoculars

Most of the field glasses (aka binoculars) used by Americans in the 19th century were imported from Europe. European dominance of the field increased still further in 1893 when Zeiss introduced a prismatic binocular designed by Ernest Abbe.
Description
Most of the field glasses (aka binoculars) used by Americans in the 19th century were imported from Europe. European dominance of the field increased still further in 1893 when Zeiss introduced a prismatic binocular designed by Ernest Abbe. Worcester Reed Warner (of Warner & Swasey) spent $40 for a pair of Zeiss binoculars in 1895, recognized the many advantages of the design, and determined to manufacture similar instruments in the U.S. Warner & Swasey introduced their Universal Prism Field Glass in 1900, boasting that it was "characteristically American in its design and construction, embodying simplicity, compactness, lightness of weight, and elegance of form an finish, together with large field, clearness of definition, ease of manipulation, and freedom from strain to the eyes."
These prism binoculars were probably used during World War I. One inscription reads "Warner & Swasey." Another reads "U.S. NAVY 04350."
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Warner & Swasey Company
ID Number
2004.0257.01
catalog number
2004.0257.01
accession number
2004.0257

Wheat Sample

This sample of wheat came from the first field test designed to chart the movement of genetically modified microorganisms after their release into the environment.
Description (Brief)
This sample of wheat came from the first field test designed to chart the movement of genetically modified microorganisms after their release into the environment. In November of 1987, genetically modified soil bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas were planted along with winter wheat in a field in Blackville, S.C. The project was a joint effort of Monsanto, which had modified the organisms in the lab, and Clemson University, which carried out the field test.
The microorganisms were modified to contain harmless “marker genes” allowing scientists to distinguish them from naturally occurring Pseudomonas bacteria. After their release, scientists kept track of the movement of the modified bacteria in order to create a model for how genetically modified microbes migrate upon their release. Several months earlier, the release of genetically modified “ice-minus” bacteria (see object number 1987.0770.01) in California was the center of public concern.
Sources:
Accession File
“After Release, Altered Bacteria Stayed Close to Their Roots.” Renseberger, Boyce. The Washington Post. February 22, 1988. p. A3.
“Release of Altered Microbes Is Approved in Tracking Test.” Schneider, Keith. The New York Times. October 21, 1987. p. A19.
“Clemson Scientists Begin Field Testing of Microbe.” The Item. November 3, 1987. p.4B.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1987
ID Number
1995.0055.01
accession number
1995.0055
catalog number
1995.0055.01

CK Olympus Tokyo Inverted Microscope

This inverted microscope was used at Genentech, a biotechnology company. In a traditional light microscope (the kind most often used in high school biology classes), the light source comes from below a slide-mounted specimen and the observer views it from above.
Description (Brief)
This inverted microscope was used at Genentech, a biotechnology company. In a traditional light microscope (the kind most often used in high school biology classes), the light source comes from below a slide-mounted specimen and the observer views it from above. By contrast, an inverted microscope’s light source comes from above and the sample is viewed from the bottom.
This configuration eliminates the need for slide-mounting the specimen for observation and allows the observer to view samples in flasks or petri dishes. For this reason the inverted microscope is particularly useful in work with living cells and tissue culture, allowing both observation and manipulation of the sample.
Sources:
Goldstein, David. “Inverted Microscope.” Microscopy-UK. 1998. http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjul98/invert.html
Olympus. “Inverted biological microscope.” http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/history/story/micro/headstand/
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1995
circa 1970
user
Genentech, Inc.
maker
Olympus
ID Number
2012.0198.60
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.60

Humulin L, LENTE, human insulin (recombinant DNA origin) zinc suspension

Humulin is human insulin used for treating diabetes. Prior to its development, diabetics used insulin isolated from pig and cow pancreases.
Description (Brief)
Humulin is human insulin used for treating diabetes. Prior to its development, diabetics used insulin isolated from pig and cow pancreases. Developed by Genentech, the first American biotechnology company, Humulin was licensed to Eli Lilly and became the first marketable product created through recombinant DNA technology. Its licensing by the FDA in October 1982 also made it the first recombinant pharmaceutical approved for use in the United States.
Recombinant pharmaceuticals are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur. The genes code for a desired product, and therefore the genetically modified host organisms can be grown and used as a kind of living factory to produce the product. In this case, genes coding for human insulin are inserted into bacteria. Bacteria produce insulin, which is harvested and used as the active ingredient in Humulin.
Humulin L is an intermediate-acting insulin with a slower onset of action than regular insulin and a longer duration of activity (up to 24 hours). Due to declining use of longer-acting insulins, Humulin L was discontinued in 2005.
Object consists of a white cardboard box with black and red printing. Box contains two product inserts and a round, clear glass bottle with an orange plastic cap and white label. Bottle contains a white substance suspended in a clear solution.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1987
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1987.0790.04
accession number
1987.0790
catalog number
1987.0790.04

Geometric Model of A. Harry Wheeler, Immersion of a Moebius Band (One-Sided Polyhedron)

Taking a long, thin rectangle and attaching the short sides with a half-twist produces a surface called a Moebius band.
Description
Taking a long, thin rectangle and attaching the short sides with a half-twist produces a surface called a Moebius band. It has neither inside nor outside (that is to say, it is non-orientable), and has only one boundary component—tracing starting from one point on the edge takes one around both long edges of the rectangle. For most closed polyhedra, the Euler characteristic of the polyhedron, which equals the number of vertices, minus the number of edges, plus the number of faces the number, is 2. For a Moebius band, it is 0.
This model is an immersion of a Moebius band into three-dimensional space. That is, the surface passes through itself along certain lines. The model is dissected into three triangles and three four-sided figures (quadrilaterals). The triangles (colored black) have angles of 36, 72, and 72 degrees. The pass-through lines of the immersion meet the triangles only at their vertices. The quadrilaterals (colored yellow) are in the shape of isosceles trapezoids, and the diagonals of the trapezoids are the pass-through lines of the immersion. These diagonals divide a trapezoid into four regions. The region that abuts the longer parallel side of the trapezoid is visible from the front side of the model, and the regions that abut the non-parallel sides are hidden. One third of each of the regions abutting the shorter parallel sides of the trapezoids is visible. The boundary edge of the model is an equilateral triangle consisting of the longest sides of the three trapezoids.
Figure 1 is a rendering of the model with vertices (six), edges (twelve), and faces (six) labeled. Contrary to appearances, the edge labeled e4 separates T1 from Q3, the edge labeled e10 separates T1 from Q1, and the edge labeled e5 separates T1 from Q2, and similarly for the other two triangles. Each triangle shares one edge with each quadrilateral, and each quadrilateral has one edge along the boundary of the model and one edge in common with each triangle.
Figure 2 shows a rectangle that can be made into a Moebius band by identifying the vertical edges with a half-twist. The rectangle is dissected into three triangles and three quadrilaterals with the same pattern as this model. There is little distortion of T1 and Q1. T2 is only slightly distorted. However T2, Q2, and Q3 are required to go out one end and come back in the other.
Compare 1979.0102.416 (which has a full discussion of the surface), 1979.0102.197, 1979.0102.198, 1979.0102.199, 1979.0102.200, and MA.304723.718.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Wheeler, Albert Harry
ID Number
MA.304723.416
accession number
304723
catalog number
304723.416

Pipetman, micropipettor

This object is a micropipettor for measuring and transferring small, precise volumes of liquid. It was used by scientists at Genentech, a biotechnology company, for small reactions such as digesting DNA.The micropipettor was developed by Dr.
Description (Brief)
This object is a micropipettor for measuring and transferring small, precise volumes of liquid. It was used by scientists at Genentech, a biotechnology company, for small reactions such as digesting DNA.
The micropipettor was developed by Dr. Warren Gilson in 1972.
Sources:
Gilson, “About Us.” http://www.pipetman.com/AboutUs.aspx
Zinnen, Tom. “The Micropipette Story.” WisconIngenuity. http://www.biotech.wisc.edu/outreach/pipettestory.html
Location
Currently not on view
date made
January 1986-January 1991
user
Genentech, Inc.
maker
Gilson, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.34
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.34
serial number
D20630A

Name Tag, Kenneth Culver M.D.

Dr. Kenneth Culver wore this name tag during his time as a member of the team conducting the first NIH-approved human gene therapy treatment in September 1990. To learn more, see object 1999.0008.01, the blood cell separator.Source:Accession FileCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Dr. Kenneth Culver wore this name tag during his time as a member of the team conducting the first NIH-approved human gene therapy treatment in September 1990. To learn more, see object 1999.0008.01, the blood cell separator.
Source:
Accession File
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1993.0445.04
catalog number
1993.0445.04
accession number
1993.0445

Florence Flask

The Florence flask, with round body and long neck, was known to English chemists by the seventeenth century, if not before. The term derived from the form used to transport Italian wine and olive oil.
Description
The Florence flask, with round body and long neck, was known to English chemists by the seventeenth century, if not before. The term derived from the form used to transport Italian wine and olive oil. This glass example probably dates from the mid-nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CH.333999.025
catalog number
333999.025
accession number
304826

GeneAmp PCR for Detection of AIDS

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2013.3064.03
catalog number
2013.3064.03
nonaccession number
2013.3064

Comb, Electrophoresis

This white plastic electrophoresis comb has five wide tines, one of which has been modified into two smaller tines.Electrophoresis combs are used to create the wells in gels for electrophoresis, a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecules to separate them by their l
Description (Brief)
This white plastic electrophoresis comb has five wide tines, one of which has been modified into two smaller tines.
Electrophoresis combs are used to create the wells in gels for electrophoresis, a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecules to separate them by their length. It is often used to analyze DNA fragments. When a gel is poured, a comb is inserted. After the gel solidifies, the comb is removed, leaving wells for samples.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Genentech, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.20
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.20

Engraved woodblock of a "Bird’s-eye view of cliffs of erosion"

This engraved woodblock of the “Bird’s-eye view of cliffs of erosion” was prepared and printed by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published in 1875 as Figure 74 (p.162) in The Exploration of the Colorado River of the West by John Wesley Powell (1
Description
This engraved woodblock of the “Bird’s-eye view of cliffs of erosion” was prepared and printed by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published in 1875 as Figure 74 (p.162) in The Exploration of the Colorado River of the West by John Wesley Powell (1834-1902). Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) engraved the illustration which “depicts the Shin-ar’-ump Cliffs, Vermillion Cliffs, and Gray Cliffs, in order from right to left.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875
1875
printer
Government Printing Office
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
author
Powell, John Wesley
graphic artist
Nichols, H. H.
block maker
V. W. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.1562
accession number
1980.0219
catalog number
1980.0219.1562

Genzyme Transgenics Pin

In the early 1990s Genzyme Transgenics (later known as GTC Biotherapeutics) began efforts to genetically engineer goats to produce the human protein antithrombrin in their milk.
Description (Brief)
In the early 1990s Genzyme Transgenics (later known as GTC Biotherapeutics) began efforts to genetically engineer goats to produce the human protein antithrombrin in their milk. In 2009 antithrombrin from goat milk, sold under the name ATryn, became the first drug produced by genetically engineered farm animals to be approved by the FDA.
While manufacturing drugs through genetically engineered organisms had been in practice since the mid-1980s, those efforts relied on microorganisms or cell lines grown in large factory-sized fermenters. Some people speculated that genetically engineered goats and other so-called “pharm animals” could make a more cost-effective source of drugs because they were less expensive to raise, provided greater quantities of drug products, and could more efficiently manufacture drugs that were difficult for single-cell organisms to produce.
This pin, an advertisement for Genzyme Transgenics, features an image of a goat breaking through a brick wall. It was collected at a biotechnology trade show in 1995.
Sources:
Accession File
“The Land of Milk and Money.” Stix, Gary. Scientific American. November 2005. p. 102.
“Drug From a Goat with a Human Gene.” Pollack, Andrew. New York Times. 7 February 2009. p. B1.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
ID Number
2001.3066.03
catalog number
2001.3066.03
nonaccession number
2001.3066

DNA-polymerase

This silver metal canister once contained DNA-polymerase, an enzyme commonly used in molecular biology.
Description (Brief)
This silver metal canister once contained DNA-polymerase, an enzyme commonly used in molecular biology. In living organisms, it plays an important role in DNA replication and repair, by helping to speed along the process of linking together nucleotide bases into the chains that make up DNA.
This particular canister of DNA-polymerase was used in DNA sequencing efforts at the labs at Genentech, a biotechnology company, in the early 1980s.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1983-08-16
user
Genentech, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.23
accession number
2012.0198
catalog number
2012.0198.23

Globe-type Electrostatic Machine

People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism.
Description (Brief)
People from ancient times knew that rubbing certain materials and then touching something caused a spark. Studying what is called electrostatics laid the groundwork for understanding electricity and magnetism. Natural philosophers, scientists, and instrument makers created many ingenious devices to generate electrostatic charges starting in the 1600s. These machines varied in size and technique but all involved rotary motion to generate a charge, and a means of transferring the charge to a storage device for use.
This ½ scale-model of Benjamin Franklin’s electrostatic generator was made in 1897 in the Smithsonian’s model shop based on drawings of a machine at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Their machine “was received by the Franklin Institute from Dr. J. Redmond Coxe in 1826 who said that the machine had belonged to Franklin himself.” Smithsonian curator George C. Maynard paid $25 for drawings of the Franklin Institute’s machine and then displayed this model at the 1897 Nashville Exposition.
Early electrostatic machines generated a charge by spinning a globe against a pad. The charge could then be used directly in experiments or transferred from the globe to a Leyden jar. This model differs somewhat from the Franklin-style machine collected over a half century later (catalog # EM.325513) but shows the basic design of a rotating glass globe, leather rubbing pad and brass charge collector. The Smithsonian preserves many authentic pieces of the past but occasionally uses reproductions and models when original objects no longer exist or would be impossible to display.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897-05-25
date loaned
1897-06-04
maker
Model Shop, United States National Museum
ID Number
EM.181501
catalog number
181501
nonaccession number
1987.3093

Infusion Bag

In September 1990, four-year-old Ashanti DeSilva became the first patient to participate in the National Institutes of Health’s first human gene therapy trial. Doctors used this infusion bag in her treatment.
Description (Brief)
In September 1990, four-year-old Ashanti DeSilva became the first patient to participate in the National Institutes of Health’s first human gene therapy trial. Doctors used this infusion bag in her treatment. To learn more, see object 1999.0008.01, the blood cell separator.
Source:
Accession File
Location
Currently not on view
date used
1990-09
associated date
1990-09-14
patient
DeSilva, Ashanthi Vinod
ID Number
1993.0445.06.02
catalog number
1993.0445.06.02
accession number
1993.0445

Disk with Text for Our Stories Web Page

This zip disk contains the text used for the "Our Stories" page on the NMAH website.Web designer David McOwen, a member of the New Media Office at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, used these materials when designing sections of the NMAH website.The entire Sm
Description
This zip disk contains the text used for the "Our Stories" page on the NMAH website.
Web designer David McOwen, a member of the New Media Office at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, used these materials when designing sections of the NMAH website.
The entire Smithsonian website is preserved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2017.3148.05
nonaccession number
2017.3148
catalog number
2017.3148.05

Opera Glasses

The words “12 Verres” on the crosspiece probably indicate that this instrument was made in France.
Description
The words “12 Verres” on the crosspiece probably indicate that this instrument was made in France. They also indicate that each eye lens and each objective lens is a triple achromat, a design that was developed by Joseph Petzval, a professor of mathematics at the University of Vienna, and introduced to practice by Voightländer & Sohn in the early 1840s. Because of this design, the optics are exceedingly good. The objectives lenses are 44 mm diameter. The frame is gilt metal. The barrels and eyecups are covered with mother of pearl, as is the center wheel that adjusts the focus. The case is dark leather lined with magenta silk.
Ref: Charles Chevalier, Catalogue Explicatif et Illustré des Instruments d’Optique et de Météorologie (Paris, 1860), p. 17.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
PH.336796
catalog number
336796
accession number
1978.2216

Heroines of Microbiology / Alice Catherine Evans / Rebecca Craighill Lancefield / Margaret Pittman

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
ID Number
2000.3047.014
catalog number
2000.3047.014
nonaccession number
2000.3047

Name Tag, Dr. French Anderson

Dr. W. French Anderson wore this name tag during his time as a member of the team conducting the first NIH-approved human gene therapy treatment in September 1990. To learn more, see object 1999.0008.01, the blood cell separator.Source:Accession FileCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Dr. W. French Anderson wore this name tag during his time as a member of the team conducting the first NIH-approved human gene therapy treatment in September 1990. To learn more, see object 1999.0008.01, the blood cell separator.
Source:
Accession File
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1993.0445.02
catalog number
1993.0445.02
accession number
1993.0445

Engraved printing plate "Pleiodus strigirostris"

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image of "Pleiodus strigirostris" (now Didunculus strigirostris - Tooth-billed Pigeon or Samoan Pigeon) for the publication "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," Volume 8, Mammalo
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image of "Pleiodus strigirostris" (now Didunculus strigirostris - Tooth-billed Pigeon or Samoan Pigeon) for the publication "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," Volume 8, Mammalogy and Ornithology, plate 34, in the edition Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1858. The engraving was produced by W. H. Dougal after T. R. Peale.
Description
William H. Dougal (1822–1895) of New York and Washington, D.C., (after 1844) engraved this copper printing plate after a drawing by Expedition Naturalist Titian Ramsey Peale. The image depicts the Pleiodus strigirostris (now Didunculus strigirostris, Tooth billed pigeon or Samoan Pigeon). The engraved illustration was published as Plate 34 in Volume VIII, Mammalogy and Ornithology, by John Cassin, 1858.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1858
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Peale, Titian Ramsay
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Cassin, John
ID Number
1999.0145.414
catalog number
1999.0145.414
accession number
1999.0145

Solar Spectrum

“PHOTOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE SOLAR SPECTRUM / MADE BY PROF. H. A. ROWLAND, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.” This is from the first series, and extends from 40.8 to 45.3 units.Henry A.
Description
“PHOTOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE SOLAR SPECTRUM / MADE BY PROF. H. A. ROWLAND, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.” This is from the first series, and extends from 40.8 to 45.3 units.
Henry A. Rowland, the first professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., produced a photographic map of the solar spectrum using concave diffraction gratings made with his own ruling engine. The first edition, published in 1886, covered the region from wave-length 3100 to 5790. The scale of these maps was much greater than the maps of Angstrom or Rutherfurd, and they showed many more spectral lines.
Ref: “Photograph of the Normal Solar Spectrum. Made by Professor H. A. Rowland,” Johns Hopkins University Circular 5 (1886).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
maker
Rowland, Henry A.
ID Number
PH.322957.04
accession number
249200
catalog number
322957.04

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