Browse Projects
100% Complete
82 Total pages
6 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Pacific Islands, 1923, Volume 3
Go on an island adventure with Alexander Wetmore's 1923 photo album documenting his travel through the central Pacific Islands! Wetmore, an ornithologist, curator, and former Secretary of the Smithsonian, took these photos while on the Tanager Expedition with the US Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Biological Survey, working in cooperation with the US Navy. Wetmore directed the expedition?s team of scientists in studying the plant and animal life on several of the Hawaiian Islands, where he took these images of birds, turtles, and seals. Join Wetmore and his Tanager Expedition crew and help transcribe captions of these striking island images.
100% Complete
65 Total pages
7 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama and Coiba Island, 1956
Did you know that the largest island in Central America, Coiba Island, is largely undeveloped? For many years it was used as a prison colony, and was left mostly untouched--making it a good place for scientists like Alexander Wetmore to study wildlife and endemic species. Ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore traveled to Coiba Island to collect bird specimens as part of a 1956 research trip to Panama. Wetmore traveled to the Canal Zone Biological Area (now the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) yearly to study birds for what would become his book, "Birds of the Republic of Panama." Explore Coiba Island with Wetmore and help transcribe the image captions from this album!
100% Complete
138 Total pages
20 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1946
Explore Panama with the Smithsonian's intrepid research team, led by ornithologist and Secretary Alexander Wetmore and National Museum of Natural History taxidermist Watson M. Perrygo. Wetmore and Perrygo traveled to Panama annually throughout the late 1940s-1950s to observe and collect birds. The pair's work eventually culminated in Wetmore's "Birds of the Republic of Panama," an important ornithology text. Take a trip with Wetmore and Perrygo through Panama--from the shores of its rivers, through villages, swamplands and forests. Help other volunteers transcribe the captions in this album!
100% Complete
96 Total pages
9 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1947
Did you know that on the Pan-American Highway (a road linking all of the mainland countries in the Americas), there is only one spot that's not connected? It's called the Darien Gap, a large region of undeveloped forests and swamps--bad for motorists, but great for scientists like ornithologist Alexander Wetmore. Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore and National Museum of Natural History taxidermist Watson M. Perrygo traveled to the Darien region of Panama to study and collect birds. The photos Wetmore took of his expedition trip document the incredible wetlands, swamps, and wildlife found in the Darien Gap. Go exploring with Wetmore and Perrygo and help other volunteers transcribe these image captions!
100% Complete
118 Total pages
10 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1948
Did you know that the Smithsonian has been conducting research in Panama as far back as 1910--four years before the Panama Canal opened? In the 1940s, Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore began taking annual trips to the region to conduct research in the Canal Zone Biological Area, now known as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. This 1948 album documents one of Wetmore's annual Panama trips, where he studied birds for what would become his master ornithology text, "The Birds of Panama." Get an up-close look at the Smithsonian's research in Panama and help transcribe the captions in this fascinating album!
100% Complete
128 Total pages
9 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1949
Head off on an adventure through Panama with the Smithsonian's 1949 research team, led by ornithologist and Secretary Alexander Wetmore and National Museum of Natural History taxidermist Watson M. Perrygo. Wetmore and Perrygo traveled to Panama annually throughout the late 1940s-1950s to observe and collect birds. Join the expedition and visit local villages, collect specimens in the forest, and take a plane ride over the Rio Bayano! Help other volunteers transcribe the image captions from this exciting trip.
100% Complete
132 Total pages
15 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1950
Did you know that there is an island in the middle of the Panama Canal that serves as a research center for the Smithsonian? Since 1943, the Barro Colorado Island nature reserve (with its rich ecosystems and little human alteration) has served as a research center for studying tropical forest ecosystems. Explore the island and other amazing sites throughout Panama with Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore's 1950 photo album! These photos document Wetmore's annual trip to Panama with National Museum of Natural History taxidermist Watson M. Perrygo to observe and collect birds. Help transcribe the captions from this album of incredible images!
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78 Total pages
12 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1951 (Volume 1)
If you were building a new scientific research facility in Panama, who would you send to survey the grounds? In 1951, the Smithsonian sent its intrepid research duo Secretary Alexander Wetmore and Natural History taxidermist Watson M. Perrygo. Watson and Perrygo traveled to Panama annually to study and collect birds. On this particular 1951 research trip, the team stopped by the "site for [the] new building" on the Barro Colorado Island Canal Zone. That area is now known as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, an area of Panama that the Smithsonian has been researching as far back as 1910. Travel to Panama with Watson and Perrygo and help transcribe the image captions from this remarkable album! (Formatting Note: No need to describe image placement on the page! Please use [[image]] on the first line to indicate a photo, followed by a second line with the caption, and a third with the date.)
100% Complete
118 Total pages
10 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1952 (Volume 2)
If you were traveling abroad as Secretary of the Smithsonian, what other influential people might you meet along the way? In 1952, Secretary Alexander Wetmore met with U.S. Ambassador John Wiley Cooper, who led America's first central intelligence agency during World War II. Wetmore's meeting with Cooper (who served as an Ambassador to Panama from 1951-1953) is one of many fascinating finds in this photo album from his 1952 research trip to Panama. Help transcribe the captions from this album and get an up-close look at Wetmore's travels and daily life in Panama! (Formatting Note: No need to describe image placement on the page! Please use [[image]] on the first line to indicate a photo, followed by a second line with the caption, and a third with the date.)
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92 Total pages
6 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1953
What would you do if you had the chance to retire from your job tomorrow? Former Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore's post-retirement pursuits allowed him to continue his scientific explorations. After stepping down as Secretary in 1952, Wetmore became a Smithsonian research associate and continued his decades-long ornithology research across the globe. This album documents Wetmore's first trip to Panama as a research associate. His field expedition was part of a longstanding study of birds in the region with colleague Watson M. Perrygo, a Natural History taxidermist. Explore Panama with Wetmore and Perrygo and help other volunteers to transcribe the image captions! (Formatting Note: No need to describe image placement on the page! Please use [[image]] on the first line to indicate a photo, followed by a second line with the caption, and a third with the date.)
100% Complete
58 Total pages
5 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1959, Vol. 1
Did you know that explorers traveled across the Las Cruces Trail as far back as the 1500s? Hundreds of years later, the trail was traveled by someone else--ornithologist Alexander Wetmore. Former Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore traveled the heavily forested Las Cruces Trail in 1959, during his annual expedition to conduct research for his book, "Birds of the Republic of Panama." Get an up close look at Wetmore's trip on the Las Cruces Trail and help transcribe the image captions in this incredible album!
100% Complete
52 Total pages
4 Contributing members
Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama, 1959, Vol. 2
Did you know that over 500 rivers span the length and width of Panama? Traveling across Panama's rivers was an important part of how researchers, like Alexander Wetmore, explored the country. Wetmore, an ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary, went on expeditions in Panama annually--and traveled along rivers to do it, as documented in this 1959 photo album. Sail across Panama with Alexander Wetmore and join other digital volunteers in transcribing this album's captions!
