Smithsonian Secretary speaks at Frost Art Museum

On November 19, 2010, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough participated in the The Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series at the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Miami, Florida.

“As an Affiliate, he was my first choice since he became Secretary. I thought it was important for people in Miami to know how the Smithsonian works, and how Affiliates benefit from the relationship,” said Carol Damian, Frost Art Museum Director.

He shared the past, present and future of the Smithsonian to those in the audience and focused on discussing how he was trying to implement his future vision for the Institution.

Of great importance to this plan is safe-guarding the environment and using new technologies to reach wider audiences.

Here are a few fun photos from the night’s event:

Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.

Carol Damian and fellow Affiliate Miami Science Museum Director, Gillian Thomas. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.

Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.

Secretary Clough and Virginia Clark, Director, Smithsonian Office of Advancement. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.

Secretary Clough with Carol Damian, Director of the Frost Art Museum. Photos courtesy Frost Art Museum, ©2010 Gary Mercer.

affiliates in the news

Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week!

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
The real Thanksgiving unveiled at Plimoth Plantation. READ MORE
History Channel airs show on Thanksgiving produced by local native. READ MORE  
Plimoth Plantation helps reveal “The Real Story of Thanksgiving”. READ MORE

 

The Air Zoo (Portage, Michigan)
Air Zoo expanding. READ MORE
Air Zoo expansion to consolidate exhibits. READ MORE

Arizona State Museum (Tucson, Arizona)
Southwest’s roots on exhibit at Arizona State Museum. READ MORE

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Refined Jewish Museum Shows Up Drab Philadelphia Mall: Review. READ MORE
National Museum of American Jewish History, designed by James Polshek, opens. READ MORE
National Museum of American Jewish History’s new home unveiled. READ MORE
National Museum of American Jewish History comprised of multiple interlocking volumes. READ MORE 

Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, Montana)
MSU Paleontologist Receives International Award. READ MORE

affiliates in the news

Congratulations to these Affiliate making headlines!

Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Miami, Florida)
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough to speak at FIU Nov. 19. READ MORE 

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Art Museum of Puerto Rico will host the most complete collection of works by José Campeche. ENGLISH VERSION / SPANISH VERSION 

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
Plimoth Plantation to show History Channel Thanksgiving film. READ MORE 

The Air Zoo (Portage, Michigan)
Air Zoo plans 50,000-square-foot addition for exhibits, aircraft and library. READ MORE 

Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art (Biloxi, Mississippi)
Frank Gehry-Designed Mississippi Museum Highlights Sculptor George E. Ohr. READ MORE 

Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana)
History Park Receives National Honor. READ MORE
Agency names Conner Prairie one of top U.S. museums. READ MORE 

Poverty Point SHS (Pioneer, Louisiana)
Poverty Point recognition well deserved. READ MORE
Poverty Point gains attention. READ MORE
Poverty Point now a Smithsonian affiliate. READ MORE
Poverty Point Now a Smithsonian Affiliate. READ MORE 

Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
“American Tapestry” Exhibition Tells 25 Stories through Collected Objects, Art. READ MORE
L.A.’s Japanese American National Museum wins federal medal for excellence, and $10,000. READ MORE 

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)National Museum of American Jewish History Opening. READ MORE
Jewish Museum Opens Its Doors to History: Past, Present, Future. READ MORE
Philly home to one-of-a-kind museum of Jewish history. READ MORE
National Museum of American Jewish History gala. READ MORE. WATCH VIDEO
National Museum of American Jewish History tells ‘story of America through Jewish eyes’. READ MORE
Biden attends museum opening. WATCH VIDEO
Jewish History Museum Gala. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
A look inside the new museum. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
An overview of the new museum. WATCH VIDEO
Stories of a people: Star-studded festivities herald a Phila. museum focused on the Jewish role in American culture. READ MORE
Starry night for museum’s debut. READ MORE
Chronicling lives more than religion. READ MORE
Building and message at odds: While the museum’s exhibits tell of Jews’ success in America, the architecture is decidedly downbeat. READ MORE
New museum offers 4 floors of perspectives. READ MORE
Docents train hard and proud. READ MORE
Vice President Attends Jewish Museum Opening. READ MORE
Biden Attends Museum Opening On Independence Mall. READ MORE
Biden among notables attending opening ceremony of National Museum of American Jewish History. READ MORE
Daily Grinder: National Museum of American Jewish History Opens, Biden Is There. READ MORE
Jerry Seinfeld, Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler unite to honour their Jewish heritage. READ MORE
Expansion of National Museum of American Jewish History to open. READ MORE
Philly museum opens with stars, speeches and plenty of American nostalgia. READ MORE
Stu Bykofsky: New Jewish history museum is ‘uniquely American‘. READ MORE
American Jewish History Celebrated in the City of Brotherly Love. READ MORE
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Mazel Tov! National Museum of American Jewish History Opens Its Doors. READ MORE
Discovering American Jewish history at new museum (VIDEO). READ/WATCH MORE

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affiliates in the news

Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines!

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Jewish history museum set to open near historic Philadelphia sites. READ MORE
New National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia Celebrates Jewish Life. READ MORE 
New Philadelphia museum celebrates Jewish life. READ MORE
New museum traces accomplishments of American Jews. READ MORE 
Jewish Museum Completes New Home in Philadelphia. READ MORE
American Jewish History Museum To Open. WATCH VIDEO
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Identity. READ MORE
Museum shows view of American history through Jewish lens. READ MORE
A Walking Tour Through Time. READ MORE
Jews You Can Use. READ MORE
A People’s History. READ MORE

Museum of American Finance (New York, New York)
Monopoly’s diamond year. READ MORE 

Poverty Point State Historic Site (Louisiana)
Poverty Point accepted as Smithsonian Affiliate. READ MORE 

Rubin Museum of Art (New York, New York)
Buddhism’s Influence on Contemporary Artists Explored by the Rubin Museum of Art. READ MORE
The Rich, Detailed Fullness Found in Empty
. READ MORE 

Historical cottage at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island, New York)
Staten Island gem: A guide to the new Snug Harbor Cultural Center. READ MORE

The Museum of Flight (Seattle, Washington)
Museum Of Flight Names New President And CEO. READ MORE 

Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona)
Heard Museum receives grant from local tribe. READ MORE
Grant allows more students to visit Heard Museum. READ MORE 

Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
Thanksgiving Virtual Field Trip Brings More than a Million Students Nationwide to Plimoth Plantation on November 16, 2010. READ MORE  
Debunking Thanksgiving Myths at Plimoth Plantation. READ MORE
Plimoth Plantation: A step back in time. READ MORE

Smithsonian artifacts help tell the story at new National Museum of American Jewish History

The new National Museum of American Jewish History hosts its grand opening celebration this weekend. And you’ve probably already heard the buzz that VIPs such as Bette Midler, Jerry Seinfeld and Vice President Joe Biden will be on hand for the opening.  But did you know there will be some quieter stars sticking around long after opening weekend concludes?  Thanks to loans from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and National Museum of the American Indian, 13 amazing artifacts from the Smithsonian collection that document the history and achievements of Jewish Americans will be on view for visitors long after the fanfare ends.  Here’s a few of the Smithsonian artifacts visitors will encounter:

Albert Einstein’s pipe
One of only 18 Jewish Americans to be featured in the Museum’s prestigious “Only in America” gallery, Albert Einstein, creator of the theory of relativity, Nobel Prize winner, and striver for world peace, is almost as well known for his physical appearance as for his epochal work in theoretical physics. Characteristic of that appearance was a pipe. Although in his later years he restricted his smoking on doctors’ orders, he couldn’t bear to give up the tactile experience of a pipe itself. This one, in fact, gives evidence of Einstein’s long usage in a hole he wore through its bit.   

Polio vaccine vial
Jonas Salk first tested his polio vaccine on humans in July 1952 when he inoculated thirty children at the D. T. Watson Home for Crippled Children near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This vial contains residue of polio vaccine from these first tests, which had a profound effect on American medical history.

 

 

Sandy Koufax’s Rawlings Mickey Mantle Professional Model mitt
Sandy Koufax was signed to his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 and started pitching regularly for them when they moved to Los Angeles. In 1961, with a wicked curve ball, Koufax won 18 games and triggered one of the most exciting five-season performances ever seen on a mound. This included the lowest earned-run average in baseball for five straight years, a no-hitter in each of four consecutive seasons, and three World Series championships. Koufax used this left-hander’s glove during his career with the Dodgers.

Shofar (Central Europe, 19th century)
This shofar, a Jewish ceremonial instrument made from a ram’s horn, was the first object of Judaica collected by former curator Cyrus Adler for the (Smithsonian) National Museum in 1889. Want to hear what one sounds like? Click here to listen at Smithsonian Folkways!

Irving Berlin’s Uniform Jacket from WWI
Irving Berlin’s jacket will be exhibited in a gallery devoted to telling the American Jewish experience during WWI.  While a doughboy in WWI, Berlin wrote songs and presented musicals which raised money for Camp Upton.

Did you know that the character of Superman was created by Jewish Americans?   Smithsonian artifacts such as a Superman doll, a gold rush coin, sheet music and more, add an important complement to the Museum’s exhibitions, which chronicle 350 years of American Jewish history.   The Smithsonian could not be prouder to be part of this historic opening event. 

The National Museum of American Jewish History officially opens to the public on November 26.  For more information about this museum, visit http://nmajh.org/

Interested in more headlines about the museum’s opening? See our blog post, Affiliates in the News, for more info.

All images courtesy National Museum of American History.