Science History Institute

In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Annal Doel interviews Judy Kaplan from @sciencehistory.org. Every organization that works in the history of science is set up a bit differently, focusing on different topics, different audiences, different kinds of collections. Learn more about SHI's approach.

"ROADS ARE MORE THAN MEANS TO ENDS. They are ends with far-reaching ecological and social footprints. They have “depth-of-edge influence” ranging from meters, to miles, to memories." "Not so Fast," a new essay with the @sciencehistory.org! www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

When the link is so amazing you forget to attach it to the post... www.sciencehistory.org/about/news/n...

"We often think of #alchemy as something distinct from science, but as historians of science, we’re really interested in the continuities..." Today's #histSTM (& #histsci, #histchem, etc.) lunchtime read: @whyy.org's preview of @sciencehistory.org new art & alchemy exhibit ("Fire & Gold"). 🗃️📜🎨

Paper by the Science History Institute’s Alistair Sponsel and King’s College London’s Brian Sutton uncovers the significance of Rosalind Franklin's previously captured Photo 49. Learn more about their research here: www.sciencehistory.org/about/news/n...

'She knew she had something really important on her hands': Rosalind Franklin figured out DNA's helical structure before Watson and Crick, study suggests www.livescience.com/health/she-k...

A lot of excitement on here about the article in Science summarising the discoveries of @alistairsponsel.bsky.social and Brian Sutton, just published in the Journal of the History of Biology. Some people have asked, so here is what I think they show, and what are the implications:

Fun Fact: @sciencehistory.org has the photos (cf. www.sciencehistory.org/about/press/...) and their exhibits are free and easy to get to in downtown Philly! [Their fireworks exhibit is also a delight to surely everyone and not just pyromaniacs. (…But I know my audience: definitely pyro friendly!)]

Exclusive: A new analysis refutes James Watson’s claim that he was the first to recognize the significance of the famed photograph 51. https://scim.ag/4rTKck8

118 years ago, 2 guys secretly spiked an entire city's water supply and nobody knew about it til it was already done. And... the world has never been the same. The newest episode of the @sciencehistory.org's Distillations podcast, sound designed by yours truly! www.sciencehistory.org/stories/dist...

In 1908, John L. Leal and George Warren Fuller spent 99 days secretly testing chlorine in Jersey City’s water supply—an experiment that changed public health forever. But what if it hadn’t worked? And how did people react when they found out? Hear the latest episode of Distillations podcast now ⬇️

#Aviation contributes roughly as much to #climatechange as plastics production, shipping, or the nation of Brazil. There's work ongoing to make flight greener, but your packages will probably fly carbon-free before you do -- my latest article for Distillations Magazine explains why. 🌎🧪

This has been an extraordinary week for me. Today I got a brief but private tour of the @sciencehistory.org library and museum. Including this book by #Quaker #scientist John Dalton, who came up with a modern theory of the atom in 1808. #amazing

Travel back to the time of Uranium Mania...⁠when beauty queens won piles of ore and prospectors combed the West for a Mesa miracle.⁠ Dig into latest Distillations story written by Philadelphia-based freelance journalist, Ben Seal. ⁠ ☢️ www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

The mirror changed how we see ourselves. Now it’s changing our relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom. Read the latest Distillations story by Andrea Teagle, a freelance science writer and adventure seeker based in Cape Town, South Africa.⁠ www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

ALSO, if you’re in the Philly area, be sure to register for the launch event of a new Distillations podcast season, American Vice, which @sciencehistory.org is hosting on 10/29: www.sciencehistory.org/visit/events...

Tomorrow, August 20th at 6:00 pm EDT, see Roland Betancourt, author of Disneyland and the Rise of Automation, at @sciencehistory.org! He'll be discussing the surprising origins of and secrets behind your favorite rides. Register for this free, hybrid event here: buff.ly/xXvbCNQ

The Castle Bravo nuclear test marked a new chapter in the Cold War. But for the crew of a Japanese fishing vessel, the impact proved fatal. Their story introduced the world to "fallout" and reshaped conversations about nuclear weapons and their human cost. Read the latest from Distillations ⬇️

In July 1976, as Philadelphia celebrated the U.S. bicentennial, a deadly outbreak left 34 people dead and baffled investigators. Fifty years later, with new Legionnaires' disease cases making headlines, Sarah Everts revisits the 1976 outbreak and the race to identify its cause. #DistillationsMag

Happy 100th birthday to the Ben Franklin Bridge! One of my favorite #Philly memories was walking across it w/a group of @sciencehistory.org fellows en route to a Camden Riversharks game. (1926 aerial photo HT @hagleycenter.bsky.social: digital.hagley.org/1970200_0154...) #Philadelphia #histSTM 🗃️📜

Forensic ecology—using pollen, leaves, and other plant-based evidence in criminal investigations—is a common feature of cop shows and true-crime podcasts. In reality, it's a powerful, but rarely used skill. Why is that? ⁠ Journalist Ute Eberle investigates.⁠ ⁠ www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

Registration is now open for our summer symposium, “The Global History of Modern Science, 1400-1914” Join us at @sciencehistory.org in Philadelphia on August 6 & 7 to discuss how modern science has been shaped through global cultural exchange! www.sciencehistory.org/cainconference

Looking forward to talking about soap and alchemy today at @sciencehistory.org for Alumni Day. Giving a flask talk about how the Philosopher’s Stone might be sitting by your kitchen sink. Can’t wait to meet the other Fellows (and new collections). books.rsc.org/books/monogr...

Sandalwood has been prized for millennia, but empire, industry, and scarcity turned it into an illicit commodity. In this #Distillations story, former fellow Nikhil Dharan traces how sandalwood smuggling became a crime at the intersection of resources, politics, law, and industry. Read it here ⬇️

📚️ #NationalLibraryWeek is quickly approaching! Celebrate with us on April 22, as we host our annual Othmer Library After Hours. See rare and modern treasures, support the library by adopting a collection item, enjoy our annual book-themed cake, and take home a souvenir!⁠ 🎟️ Register for FREE ⬇️

Can oats be controversial? Can porridge be political? Or dangerous? Do the choices in the grains you eat betray your character? Yes, and they have for millennia. ⁠ ⁠ Read the latest story from #Distillations magazine, Fitter for a Stable Than a Table, written by @helenaaeberli.bsky.social ⬇️

A festival in Old City on Saturday will commemorate the creation of the matchbook in 1892 by Philly attorney Joshua Pusey. “He was a big cigar smoker, and he was really frustrated with existing match technology,” said Jesse Smith, museum director @sciencehistory.org. billypenn.com/2026/03/18/m...

"We're Going to Work Miracles" Read Edward Teller's 1960 essay on Project Plowshare on @archive.org: archive.org/details/Popu... (Or read this blog post by @sciencehistory.org's Patrick Shea: www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...) #histSTM #histsci #ColdWAr

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 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

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. ⬇️

🪲 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. ⬇️

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...

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!

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, 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 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 🎆