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Most of the land that now makes up the state of Louisiana formed from sediment washing down the Mississippi River--what type of plants and animals do you think would thrive in that type of environment? Discover more about the wildlife of the southern United States with naturalist Vernon Bailey's 1892 field notes. Bailey spent decades conducting research as the Chief Field Naturalist for the Bureau of Biological Survey. Explore Bailey's notes and help transcribe them for generations of future scientists!
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Texas is the second largest state in the US, making up about seven percent of the entire country's land area. In such a large, geographically diverse state, what kinds of animals would you expect to find? Learn more about Texas' native animal species with naturalist and mammologist Vernon Bailey's field notes! Bailey served as Chief Field Naturalist for the Bureau of Biological Survey for decades, and did extensive surveying in Texas. Explore Bailey's Texas field notes and join other digital volunteers in transcribing them!
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If you went to Austin, Texas 116 years ago, what would you expect to find? The landscape--and the animals that inhabit it--would be very different. Discover the wildlife of Austin in 1900 with naturalist and mammologist Vernon Bailey's field notes. Bailey spent decades surveying Texas and other regions throughout the United States--and published over 240 scientific articles in his lifetime! Explore Bailey's Texas field notes and join in on transcribing them!
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The Patuxent River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, is Maryland's largest and longest river. What types of animal life do you think live along the river's shores? Find out with naturalist Vernon Bailey's field notes from Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Though Bailey traveled the United States with the Bureau of Biological Survey, he conducted research in the D.C. region, too. Join other digital volunteers in transcribing these field notes for present day naturalists and researchers.
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By mid-May 1890, Vernon Bailey made it to the eastern edge of Wyoming in his three-month trip from Minneapolis to northeastern Utah. Chief Field Naturalist of the United States Department of Agriculture, Bailey is best known for his work in the western regions of the U.S. In this pocket-sized field book, he continues documenting his specimen collecting and observation work. Specimen numbers, their sex, cubic measurements and, occasionally, notes on bird behavior during certain times of day. Do you take time to make notes about flora or fauna as you travel? Maybe you could help us and other digital volunteers make short work of this 22 page field book.
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What birds might you have seen in Washington, D.C. a century ago? Even when he was home, Bureau of Biological Survey naturalist Vernon Bailey was ever watchful, observing the animal life and looking for patterns. He kept this small pocketbook of bird observations made in a few local neighborhoods during the springs of 1909 and 1910. It begins with the birds' scientific names, but switches to their more popular, common names just a few pages in. It is not clear if Vernon was joined on these outings by his wife and ornithologist Florence Merriam Bailey, but maybe you will join us in transcribing these notes and take a look at some historic Washington neighborhoods through his eyes.
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Do you use different notebooks to keep your ideas organized? Naturalist Vernon Bailey kept this field book of his observations of animals and specimens collected while at the same time keeping a chronological journal of his most important daily activities during his 1909 travels in the western United States as part of the United States Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Biological Survey. Please help us transcribe this Bailey field book to uncover the details of his survey work.
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These projects are completed volunteer transcriptions of Vernon Bailey's field notes from Smithsonian Institution Archives collections documenting his career as a field naturalist between 1889 and 1941. Vernon Orlando Bailey (1864-1942) was born in Manchester, Michigan. At an early age his family moved to Elk River, Minnesota, where he developed an interest in natural history. Around 1885, Bailey began sending collections of birds and mammals to Clinton Hart Merriam, Chief of the newly created Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy of the United States Department of Agriculture (in 1896 the name was changed to the Bureau of Biological Survey). In 1887, Bailey was appointed Special Field Agent for the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy. His title was changed to Chief Field Naturalist in 1890, and he remained with the Biological Survey until his retirement in 1933. Bailey's chief biological interest was the study of the life history and distribution of mammals.
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Help us transcribe postcards & holiday greeting cards as part of our #TCGreetings campaign! This collection consists of postcards gathered by Dr. Victor A. Blenkle, a twentieth century physician. The postcards primarily concern geographical locations and landmarks in the United States and Western Europe, but also include materials from six other continents.
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Please view the instructions for transcribing audio collections before beginning. Pearl Bowser (b. 1931) is a renowned African American film scholar, filmmaker, author, and film/conference programmer. She is widely recognized as an expert on the works of Oscar Micheaux, who is considered the first major African American filmmaker. Working as a researcher from the 1960s through the early 2000s, Bowser travelled the world interviewing actors, actresses, filmmakers, and scholars, including Lorenzo Tucker, Gordon Parks, Arthur Jafa, Edna Mae Harris, Toni Cade Bambara, and many others. As a programmer (1971-2012), she organized conferences and film festivals that focused on the rich, yet often obscure, history of African Americans in film. The audio in this project is from unique recordings of the interviews, conferences, and film festivals captured by Pearl Bowser. Some of the recordings may have lower quality and require close attention to understand the content, and some speakers may not be identified, or the recordings may not include the beginning of their remarks. If a speaker cannot be identified either by context in the recording or by notes from the project team, please list them as “unidentified speaker” in the transcription. Some of the recordings may contain sensitive or offensive language. For historical accuracy, our policy is to transcribe the language as it is presented in the recordings. See TC’s FAQ page for more information on transcribing sensitive language. All recordings are in the English language. The transcriptions created by TC volunteers will be used to make these unique and important recordings accessible to researchers, scholars, and the general public.
Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture
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Please view the instructions for transcribing audio collections before beginning. Pearl Bowser (b. 1931) is a renowned African American film scholar, filmmaker, author, and film/conference programmer. She is widely recognized as an expert on the works of Oscar Micheaux, who is considered the first major African American filmmaker. Working as a researcher from the 1960s through the early 2000s, Bowser travelled the world interviewing actors, actresses, filmmakers, and scholars, including Lorenzo Tucker, Gordon Parks, Arthur Jafa, Edna Mae Harris, Toni Cade Bambara, and many others. As a programmer (1971-2012), she organized conferences and film festivals that focused on the rich, yet often obscure, history of African Americans in film. The audio in this project is from unique recordings of the interviews, conferences, and film festivals captured by Pearl Bowser. Some of the recordings may have lower quality and require close attention to understand the content, and some speakers may not be identified, or the recordings may not include the beginning of their remarks. If a speaker cannot be identified either by context in the recording or by notes from the project team, please list them as “unidentified speaker” in the transcription. Some of the recordings may contain sensitive or offensive language. For historical accuracy, our policy is to transcribe the language as it is presented in the recordings. See TC’s FAQ page for more information on transcribing sensitive language. All recordings are in the English language. The transcriptions created by TC volunteers will be used to make these unique and important recordings accessible to researchers, scholars, and the general public.
Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture
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This collection consists of a Flight Crew Check List Notebook for U. S. Marine Corps Sikorsky CH-53A Sea Stallion helicopter operations used by pilot Robert S. Vieta during his tour of duty in Vietnam. The notebook, which is housed in a vinyl cover labeled "USAF FLIGHT CREW CHECK LISTS," includes information regarding operation of the CH-53A (startup checklist, basic cargo weights, warning light messages, blade fold procedures, etc.), as well as approach plates for flight operations in and around Vietnam, particularly in the vicinity of Danang. Much of the information relates to radio communications and navigation, with information on headings and distance of positions from established TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) markers, confidential call signs and frequencies, frequencies for radio and tower contacts and radio approach. The notebook is extremely worn and grimy, with dirt particles adhering to the soft vinyl sleeve pages
Browse projects by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives