The Smithsonian in the Arctic: More Than a Century and a Half of Collecting, Research, and Exhibition

In 1877, Spencer Baird, the second Secretary of the Smithsonian, dispatched naturalist Edward W. Nelson to the wilds of Alaska for four years, where he became known as “the man who collects good-for-nothing things.” Those things are now among the treasures of the Smithsonian’s anthropology collection. William Fitzhugh, the director of the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center, discusses how Nelson’s research laid the foundation for 150 years of natural history and anthropological studies, as well as exhibits and public programs.