Promoting science in the nation’s capital, this work explains a bold plan to advance knowledge for all.
A stirring address on the purpose and value of a national institution for science and the useful arts, centered in Washington, and how it could shape learning, industry, and public life.
This edition presents the talk’s core ideas: the need for centralized access to instruments, collections, and instruction; the role of government in authentic, reliable scientific data; and the hope that lectures, museums, and observatories would broaden opportunity from coast to coast. It surveys eight branches of science, from geology and mineralogy to literature, music, and the arts, and argues how allied disciplines strengthen each other for practical progress.
- Discover why a national museum and lectures could unite scholars, engineers, farmers, and artisans.
- See how geology, mineralogy, botany, and related fields inform mining, building, agriculture, and industry.
- Understand the value of government-supported observatories, authentic navigational tables, and free public education in science.
- Learn how art, design, and music fit into a broader program of national improvement and cultural growth.
Ideal for readers interested in the history of science policy, civic ambition, and how a government-backed institution might advance knowledge, technology, and the arts.