Science & Mathematics - Overview
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.
"Science & Mathematics - Overview" showing 1385 items.
Page 121 of 139
Engraved woodblock of an "Eskimo child's clothing"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of “Eskimo child’s clothing” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 512 (p.557) in an article by Franz Boas (1858-1942) entitled “The Central Eskimo” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Boas, Franz
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0477
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0477
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of an American Indian board and wrapping for a baby
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of an American Indian board and wrapping for a baby was printed and published by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. for the Bureau of American Ethnology about 1880.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1880
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0481
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0481
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Basket with pendants"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of “Basket with pendants” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C; the print was published as Figure 313 (p.213) in an article by William H. Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “A Study of the Textile Art in its Relation to the Development of Form and Ornament” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0504
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0504
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of an American Indian woman
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a portrait of an American Indian woman was prepared by Henry Hobart Nichols (1838-1887) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. for the Bureau of American Ethnology in about 1880.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1880
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- graphic artist
- Nichols, H. H.
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0528
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0528
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Bottle with geometric devices"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Bottle with geometric devices” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 165 (p.116) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Ancient Art of the Province of Chiriqui, Colombia” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0814
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0814
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Basket with pendant buckskin"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Basket with pendant buckskin” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 312 (p.213) in an article by William H. Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “A Study of the Textile Art in its Relation to the Development of Form and Ornament” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0850
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0850
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Tobacco Pipe"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Tobacco Pipe” was engraved, printed, and published in 1877 by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. as part of Figure 43 (p.426) in “Tribes of California” by Stephen Powers (1840-1904), an article in the Contributions to North American Ethnology v.3. Contributions was published by the U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey, a precursor to the Bureau of American Ethnology under the direction of John Wesley Powell (1834-1902).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1877
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- maker
- Chase, A. W.
- author
- Powers, Stephen
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0876
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0876
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Vase with animal heads"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Vase with animal heads” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 137 (p.96) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Ancient Art of the Province of Chiriqui, Colombia” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0896
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0896
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Zuni Paint Cup"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Zuni Paint Cup” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 457 (p.364) in an article by James Stevenson (1840-1888) entitled “Illustrated Catalogue of the Collections Obtained from the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona in 1879” in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1880-81. BAE photographer John K. Hillers (1843-1925) accompanied Stevenson on this expedition.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- printer
- Government Printing Office
- photographer
- Hillers, John K.
- author
- Stevenson, James
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.0986
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.0986
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Engraved woodblock of a "Bottle with geometric figures"
- Description
- This engraved woodblock of a “Bottle with geometric figures” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 166 (p.116) in an article by William Henry Holmes (1846-1933) entitled “Ancient Art of the Province of Chiriqui, Colombia” in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,1884-85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- publisher
- Bureau of American Ethnology
- graphic artist
- Government Printing Office
- author
- Holmes, William Henry
- ID Number
- 1980.0219.1061
- catalog number
- 1980.0219.1061
- accession number
- 1980.0219
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center