(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Join Tom D. Crouch, Smithsonian Curator Emeritus and author of Smithson's Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836 - 1906, for a virtual discussion on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 presented by the Ocean County Library. Follow the fascinating growth and development of the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex during its first 60 years. The event begins at 2:00pm.
Smithson’s Gamble reveals how the Smithsonian helped to shape the nation’s developing identity. The Smithsonian evolved from a small, narrowly focused organization into an institution leading the way in fields from astrophysics to zoology. Smithsonian researchers and the hundreds of citizen scientists who they recruited, created a collection that documented the natural and human history of a continent. The American conservation movement and a national weather service are rooted at the Smithsonian. Smithson’s Gamble is filled with fascinating characters, twists and turns, and moments of triumph and tragedy, complete with political machinations, a bit of backstabbing, accusations of murder, and the occasional scandal.
Tom Crouch joined the Smithsonian in 1974 and has served both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History. Dr. Crouch is the author of the award-winning books The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright and Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age.
Registration is required for this free program. To register, visit tinyurl.com/CrouchAuthorTalk, call 732-349-6200, or visit your local OCL branch.
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