https://www.wired.com/story/smithsonian-puts-2-8-million-images-public-domain/ > A Charlie Parker alto sax. The original patent model for the Singer sewing machine. Around 75,000 specimens of bees. All of these live in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, the sprawling cultural organization comprised of 19 museums, nine research centers, and one 163-acre zoo. As of this week, images of these artifacts, part of a trove of 2.8 million digital pictures and 3-D models, will be in the public domain for the first time under the Smithsonian's new Open Access program. > Fittingly, Smithsonian Magazine first reported on the effort; you can search through the collection yourself right here. The Smithsonian is not the first organization to take the public domain plunge. More than 500 cultural heritage institutions have already done so, including heavy hitters like the Dutch Rijksmuseum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But the Smithsonian’s contributions to the commonweal still stands out, not only for its breadth but for its permissiveness. There are no strings attached.