Science History Institute

The Maternal Imprint This Women's History Month, join us for a thought provoking presentation by leading gender and science scholar Sarah S. Richardson.

We will have copies of Richardson’s groundbreaking book, The Maternal Imprint, for sale in our gift shop prior to the event, and signed copies will be available the night of.⁠

The Maternal Imprint This Women's History Month, join us for a thought provoking presentation by leading gender and science scholar Sarah S. Richardson.

Join us on Thursday, 3/19, for a free, thought-provoking talk with Sarah S. Richardson as she explores the hidden history of beliefs about pregnancy and children’s health.

🟣 Register here: www.sciencehistory.org/maternalimprint

Photo of woman using a Beckman Microlab 252MX Computing Infrared Spectrophotometer

This #WomensHistoryMonth, explore powerful historic images and stories of women in science in our digital collections. From labs to fieldwork, women's contributions to science and history have sparked innovation, challenged assumptions, and opened doors for future generations. ⬇️
rb.gy/v7ytpj

Science History Institute’s New Exhibition Explores the Sparkling and Explosive History of Fireworks 'Flash! Bang! Boom!' opens April 10 as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.

🎆 From how fireworks are made and tested to how they’re sold and launched, Flash! Bang! Boom! explores the global history and colorful chemistry behind this sparkling spectacle. Opening as part of America’s 250th anniversary, it reveals rare designs, origin stories, and what’s inside a firework!

Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks Opening April 10, 2026, this exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

🧨 An explosive new exhibition is coming to Old City!
Opening April 10, 💥 Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks explores the chemistry, craft, and global stories behind dazzling displays. Join us for a FREE opening celebration on, April 10, 5–8pm. Visit sciencehistory.org/fireworks for more info!

Science History Institute will open "Flash! Bang! Boom!" this spring with rare books, art and the chemistry behind pyrotechnics.

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3NCwgdZ

This month I feature @roguechieftan.bsky.social, @sciencehistory.org, @thewalrus.ca, @whitehorsepress.bsky.social, @carsoncenter.bsky.social, @sarahjaquetteray.bsky.social, @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social, and more!

#envhist

Mule Power Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.

Long before railroads stitched continents together, mules and their Afro-Indigenous arrieros moved silver, sugar, cotton, and environmental knowledge across borders. In Distillations, @roguechieftan.bsky.social traces the mule as a tool of empire and a symbol of Black and Indigenous resistance. ⬇️

Red the World Over How a tiny cactus parasite called cochineal became one of the Spanish Empire’s most lucrative commodities.

🪲 Cochineal, tiny insects that live on prickly pear cacti, powered a global red dye trade and transformed European fashion. The Spanish Crown built a monopoly for control of its production, but Tlaxcalteca growers weren't giving in without a fight.

Read more in our latest Distillations story. ⬇️

First Day Cover honoring George Washington Carver Philatelic First Day Cover honoring American agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1864?-1943). The envelope features an illustrated rendering of Carver and the Tuskegee Instit...

Today, we honor George Washington Carver, whose pioneering research in crop rotation and sustainable farming transformed American agriculture and helped shape modern environmental science. 🥜 🌱

Shown here: Philatelic First Day Cover honoring Carver, issued on January 5, 1948.

En estos días en los que el juego y la infancia cobran especial protagonismo, cabe recordar esta fantástica exposición virtual del @sciencehistory.org sobre la historia de los sets de química para niños y niñas: artsandculture.google.com/story/scienc...

Science History Institute Fellowships The Institute is home to the largest private fellowship program in the historical study of science, medicine, and technology in the United States.

Applications for 2026-27 fellowships at @sciencehistory.org are still open until Jan 15, with recommendations due Jan 31! ⏰📚

Could your research benefit from time in our archives, rare books, instruments, and other collections? Find info about our fellowships and our guide for applicants here!

Good Living Does nature have rights? In 2008, Ecuador said yes. Doing so forced a reckoning with the country’s mining past.

In Ecuador’s Los Cedros cloud forest, activists used the country’s constitutional “rights of nature” law to stop mining. A landmark 2021 ruling protected the forest—but the fight isn’t over.

Read the latest #Distillations story from @scribblingsam.bsky.social here ⬇️

Henry Moseley in the Balliol-Trinity College Laboratories, soon after his graduation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moseley#/media/File:BigMoseleyCard.jpg)

Henry Moseley, the English physicist whose X-ray spectroscopy experiments led to a reorganization of the #PeriodicTable, was born #OnThisDay in 1887. He later died in the Battle of Gallipoli.

More via @sciencehistory.org: www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

#histSTM #physics #chemistry #WWI 🗃️📜

In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process. Episode below!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

A Stain Worth a Thousand Words New World ingredients in Old World dyes.

A 1700s book on color experiments reveals a vibrant magenta stain, likely from cochineal dye. Modern dyers confirm cochineal-alum makes a similar magenta. Read our latest Collections Blog post, as this stain tells the story of how New World ingredients transformed Old World dyes. ⬇️

Judith Kaplan's case study focuses on Science in American Life, an exhibit that opened in 1994 at the National Museum of American History.

As she notes, the exhibit's stakeholders (e.g., curators, donors, the public) had different goals--commemoration, historical educ., sci. literacy, etc. #HSS2025

Smith uses @sciencehistory.org's upcoming exhibit on fireworks (Flash! Bang! Boom!) to highlight many themes familiar to historians of science (e.g., links b/w military & civilian tech; advances in mat. sci & mfg., the creation of safety standards)

www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi... #HSS2025 🎆

He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

“To Be Mindful of Their Sensitivities:” The Chinese American Chemical Society and the Scientific Diaspora This paper investigates the Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) as an organisation of the scientific diaspora at the end of the Cold War. Established in 1981 by mostly first-generation immigra...

Glad to publish with @shacorg.bsky.social on the Chinese American Chemical Society and science diplomacy in the 1970s-80s

Very grateful for the generous financial & research support of @sciencehistory.org

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Politically Charged How a shady car battery additive called AD-X2 sparked a showdown between the U.S. country’s political and scientific establishments.

In the latest Distillations Magazine story, find out how a shady car battery additive called AD‑X2 sparked a showdown between the U.S. political and scientific establishments.
@samkean.bsky.social ⬇️
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

Rectangle pizza gets a bad wrap, but it did win @sciencehistory.org's School Lunch Bracket!

(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️

Taxonomy has an ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. But taxonomists have resisted most efforts to change such names, for reasons both good and bad. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

The Othmer Library is celebrating #Halloween 🎃! When our electric pencil sharpener broke, staff replaced it with a Mitsubishi KH-20 manual sharpener, which became a hit! Jahna Auerbach, our digital collections librarian, dressed up as the sharpener for Halloween, and the results are fantastic!

The eagle that made John James Audubon famous—the Bird of Washington—was a fraud. In fact, historians now know that much of Audubon’s legendary life was built on lies. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

Gems, Science, and Empire 17th century traders who traveled the sea routes between India and Southeast Asia were interested in spices, but they were also interested in gemstones, objects of desire, commercial value, and inc…

Claire Sabel discusses the gem trade in SE Asia & the way it was impacted by European traders 17-18c @uchicagopress.bsky.social
@scarcerc.bsky.social
@harunkucuk.bsky.social
@univie.ac.at
@nhmwien.bsky.social
@sciencehistory.org
@historyscience.bsky.social timetoeatthedogs.com/2025/10/27/g...

Mule Power Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.

Check out my new environmental history of diaspora and empire through mules with @sciencehistory.org
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

Applications for 2026–2027 Beckman Center Fellowships Now Open Researchers can apply by January 15 for various long- and short-term programs, including two-year curatorial fellowships.

Absolutely delighted to announce that applications are now open for our 26-27 postdoc, dissertation, distinguished, and short-term fellowships at @sciencehistory.org! 📚 🎉

Details and application info on our website; questions welcome here!

www.sciencehistory.org/about/news/a...

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor bizarre research that makes you laugh, then think—like this levitating frog. Some scientists despise them. But they benefit science in surprising ways. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

It's Nobel Prize week. Winning a Nobel is good—mostly. But laureates often go kooky and promote bizarre things like ESP, AIDS denialism, and worse. Psychologists now understand why. New podcast season starts today!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...