affiliates in the news

Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week!

York County Culture and Heritage Museums new Children's Museum.

York County Culture and Heritage Museums (Rock Hill, SC)
Children’s museum draws national praise. READ MORE 

New York State Museum (Albany, NY)
Grant funds state museum mussel research. READ MORE 

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)
Philadelphia’s latest must-see is the new National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall. READ MORE
Philadelphia freedom. READ MORE
Jewish History Museum Opens in Philly. READ MORE 

Poverty Point State Historic Site (Baton Rouge, LA)
VIDEO-Louisiana: The State We’re In- Poverty Point. WATCH VIDEO 

The Air Zoo (Portage, MI)
Air Zoo to expand for naval exhibits, restoration center. READ MORE 

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, MA)
$1 coin recognizes Wampanoag. READ MORE
US coin to honor Wampanoag treaty. READ MORE 

Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana)
Conner Prairie Interactive History Park , Indiana’s only Smithsonian Affiliate, will open a new $4.3 million Civil War exhibit in the summer… READ MORE
VIDEO-Conner Prairie announces new multi-million Civil War exhibit. WATCH VIDEO
New Conner Prairie exhibit will take visitors along for the raid. READ MORE

Kudos for December 2010

Great job Affiliates for ending the year on a high note!  and congratulations to all Affiliates for their accomplishments this year.   Bravo!

Big congratulations to Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana) and Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, California) for being two of 10 museums and libraries to receive the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from The Institute of Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries that make extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions. In addition to the National Medal, each institution receives a $10,000 award.

 As part of the Illinois Public Museums Capital Grants Program, the Adler Planetarium(Chicago) will receive a $750,000  grant towards new and expanded facilities, exhibits and infrastructure improvements.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded a new $3 million grant to  the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art (Biloxi, Mississippi) to complete the structure for the gallery that displays the work of the celebrated Mississippi potter, George Ohr. The new addition will be named the John S. and James L. Knight Gallery.

The Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona) recently won two grants to help support free school admission for students to tour the museum during field trips. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, awarded the museum $75,000 to support school tours, while the Orange County, California, Community Foundation’s S.L. Gimbel Foundation Fund gave a $7,500 grant to support student programming.

PPL Montana Community Fund awarded the Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, Montana) a $2,500 grant to allow eligible Head Start families a free annual museum membership, part of a team effort between the museum and Head Start to provide financially disadvantaged children the opportunity to visit a museum.

The New York State Museum (Albany, New York) has received a $1 million federal grant to conduct a new research project aimed at protecting endangered species of native freshwater mussels from the lethal fouling impacts of invasive zebra mussels. The grant from the  Environmental Protection Agency, through its Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, will allow museum scientists to use their environmentally safe invention to continue their research with a new emphasis on open-water applications.

Museum of Design Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia) received a $50,000 grant from the Charles Loridans Foundation to help support its move from downtown to Midtown, where it will open across Peachtree Street from the High Museum of Art in February.

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
Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg On The New National Jewish Museum. READ MORE
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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