National Museum of Natural History

Steve Jabo, Jennifer Young and Pete Kroehler prepare a T. rex leg bone to be airlifted and brought back to the museum for further scientific study. The bone was discovered and excavated in Montana.

Mike Brett-Surman, National Museum of Natural History, July 2003

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Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Research Technician Jim Duls adjusts an instrument for measuring soil elevation in conjunction with the long-term CO2 study. The instrument will help determine where the excess carbon dioxide is going in the CO2 experiment.

Kimbra Cutlip, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, June 2004

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National Air and Space Museum

Andrew Johnston of the museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, performs a high-precision GPS survey of a large sand dune in Death Valley National Park. This research project, led by the Center’s James Zimbelman, is leading to a better understanding of the evolution of aeolian features on Earth and Mars.

James Zimbelman, National Air and Space Museum, January 2005

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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Plot workers use a ladder to measure the diameter of a tropical tree above the butress roots in the Smithsonian's “Tropical Forest Observatory” on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. This large area of forest has been monitored since 1985 in an effort to understand biological diversity and global change.

Marco Guerra, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, August 2005

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Museum Conservation Institute

Robert (Jeff) Speakman, Head of Technical Studies at the Museum Conservation Institute, uses the Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer to examine trace elements in Smithsonian museum objects.

Melvin Wachowiak, Museum Conservation Institute, February 2007

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National Zoological Park

Dr. Jo Gayle Howard, National Zoo reproductive scientist, together with other Zoo scientists and veterinarians, performs an artificial insemination on the Zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang. Timing of the insemination was critical—giant pandas have one breeding season per year with only a day or two of actual mating. Due to the expertise of the Zoo’s reproductive scientists and their ability to carefully track Mei Xiang’s hormone levels, the procedure was successful and resulted in the Zoo’s first surviving giant panda cub, born on July 9, 2005.

Jessie Cohen, Smithsonian’s National Zoo, March 11, 2005

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Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Astronomers begin an evening’s work calibrating the new HECTOSPEC optical spectrograph instrument that will begin large surveys of distant galaxies. This research may lead to a better understanding of how galaxies form and evolve in structure.

Dan Brocious, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, November 2003

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