The Smithsonian is in the process of reopening and digital volunteering opportunities are now available on Smithsonian Transcription Center. Visit https://t.co/Zcd3s6OJbU to find active projects and get started. Welcome back and happy transcribing!

Due to the government shutdown, we are temporarily closed beginning on Sunday, Oct. 12, along with Smithsonian museums, research centers, and the National Zoo. We do not plan to update social media other than to inform you of changes to our operating status.

Digital volunteering on Smithsonian Transcription Center will continue to be available during the government shutdown through Monday, October 13. Check our website ( https://t.co/Zcd3s6OJbU) for updates. Image: Smithsonian Institution letterhead from 1925, @SILibraries

Our virtual Office Hours are an informal, monthly gathering of #volunpeers, and a great opportunity to meet other transcribers. Bring all your #FreedmensBureau challenges, discoveries, and burning questions! We're looking forward to seeing you there.

Do you have questions about the #FreedmensBureau Records? Join us tomorrow afternoon for our virtual Office Hours, where we'll be joined by Doug Remley, co-lead of the Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project at @NMAAHC. https://t.co/VZjqv7QZxb

Curious about joining our #volunpeer community? Have a question about transcribing? Looking for a casual chat on a Friday afternoon? Join our Community Manager, Emily Cain, for our monthly Office Hours today at 3pm Eastern. Register:

More powerful stories await in the 1.2 million Bureau records yet to be transcribed. If you're among the 50k #volunpeers who helped us get here, thank you and congratulations on this incredible accomplishment! If not, #MLKDay is the perfect time to start. https://t.co/vtTzmE0cl1

Presiding over a meeting of Black women hucksters about unfair market fees in Portsmouth VA, Sarah Nash declared “Our old rebel masters, (that use to be) because they can't get our labor now, say our freedom shan't do us any good. Don't it seem like it?” https://t.co/cykyLbbwms

This 1865 petition by a group of Freedmen protests the Black Codes, laws passed to restrict their rights. “Mississippi has abolished slavery does she mean it[?]… We fear from the late acts of the Legislature that she will not treate us as free.” https://t.co/bWAJR4hg8J

Here, O. O. Howard declares indenture of Black children without parental consent a violation of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, encouraging a Bureau agent to take action to defend the rights of Freedmen, assuring him "You will be sustained in securing justice."

These 500k pages document Black resistance to unjust legislation and labor practices that persisted after slavery ended. As we honor the legacy of Dr. King on #MLKDay through acts of service, consider joining our digital volunteer community to help others discover these stories.

Need a Monday afternoon break? Have questions about transcription? Our monthly Office Hours session starts in 30 minutes. Register below for casual discussion and real-time support:

Happy #HispanicHeritageMonth! Stay tuned for looks back at our favorite transcription projects from Latino history, and follow our fellow Smithsonian, the @USLatinoMuseum, to learn more about how Latinas and Latinos have shaped the nation. #AmericanLatinoMuseum #SmithsonianHHM

@ProjectPHaEDRA Have questions about the new instructions? Eager to meet other astro-enthusiast transcribers? ✨ Join us for today's Office Hours session for a casual discussion of all things @ProjectPHaEDRA. Register here:

If you've long felt intimidated by the astronomy notebooks on TC, today is a great time to finally give them a shot! We've been working closely with @ProjectPHaEDRA to revise the project instructions to be clearer and more comprehensive. 🌌

🔭 Did you catch the #PerseidMeteorShower at its peak this weekend? Check out records of #Perseids in years past, transcribed by our #volunpeer community. ☄️ If you love astronomical history, stay tuned for more @ProjectPHaEDRA throughout the week.

Happy #NationalInternDay! To celebrate, we’re handing social media control over to our communications interns, who will be posting about different summer intern projects and sharing what it's like to work at Air and Space. Let's hope our account survives!🤞 #InternTakeoverDay

New feature! ✨ You can now flip images horizontally while transcribing. Use it to read reversed text or to make a cephalopod dance. 🦑

Painter Romaine Brooks and writer Natalie Barney were romantic partners for over 50 years. 🌈 To learn more about their relationship, view these correspondence among others in the papers of Romaine Brooks: https://t.co/f8Afo0gd7i #SmithsonianPride #LGBTQArtists #WomenArtists

☀️This summer, we're hosting our annual National Education Summit. This conference brings together educators from museums, schools, & libraries to explore topics in STEAM, sustainability, racial justice, and more. Registration is free: https://t.co/LyVLkRtJ8W #SmithsonianNES2023