The Smithsonian – It Plays in Peoria!
“But, will it play in Peoria?” This time-honored question from vaudeville days still stands as the benchmark of quality and success. Whether politics or culture, the discriminating folks of this central Illinois riverfront city continue to have great sway over things that matter. Thanks to our Smithsonian Affiliate colleagues at Peoria’s Lakeview Museum of Arts and […]
announcing the 2011 affiliations conference keynote speaker
CLAUDINE K. BROWN NAMED KEYNOTE SPEAKER OF 2011 AFFILIATIONS NATIONAL CONFERENCE We are pleased to announce that Claudine K. Brown, the Smithsonian’s Assistant Secretary for Education and Access will provide the keynote speech on June 14 at the 2011 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference, underscoring the centrality of education and the role of partnerships in advancing the […]
kudos affiliates! march 2011
As winter thaws into spring (hopefully!), it’s great to see these accomplishments in Affiliateland. The Walmart Foundation has donated $38,838 to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The funds will be used to improve its live animal and marine life departments. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has awarded the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture $30,000 […]
where will the pavilion go next?
The Smithsonian’s magnificent Ten Thousand Springs Pavilion will end its visit to Flushing Town Hall in New York City in September 2011. Would your Affiliate like to be the next stop on its tour through America? The Ten Thousand Springs Pavilion is a 1:5 scale replica of the Wan Chun Ting pavilion that stands in the […]
affiliates help smithsonian and MIT solve mysteries
Helping the Smithsonian solve a mystery about a fictitious environmental disaster – doesn’t that sound like fun? Smithsonian scientists have teamed up with MIT’s Education Arcade to engage middle-school students to do just that, in an online alternate-reality game. Vanished will kick off on April 4 at vanished.mit.edu. In the course of 8 weeks, students ages […]
Wing Luke Museum and Kona Historical Society: 10 Years in Association with the Smithsonian
2011 is a big year for organizations–20 at the latest count–celebrating their 10th anniversary as Smithsonian Affiliates. To honor these Affiliates we’ll be blogging monthly about each one as they reach this milestone. Two unique Smithsonian Affiliates celebrated 10 years of collaborating with the Smithsonian in February- Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American […]
affiliates in the news
Congratulations to these Smithsonian Affiliates making headlines this week! Dallas Museum of Nature and Science(Dallas, TX) Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas Receives $25 Million Gift from The Rees-Jones Foundation. READ MORE National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA) American Jews’ Story Told in a New Home. READ MORE Northwest Museum of Arts […]
from airmail to email
Centennial Celebration of the Wiseman Cook Flight with Smithsonian Curators Centennial celebrations don’t happen every day. When the Sonoma County Museum, an Affiliate in Santa Rosa, California, set out to host an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first airmail flight, they turned to the Smithsonian curators who care for the event’s primary artifact, […]
An Affiliate journey through Smithsonian collections storage
Special thanks for this guest post to Latasha M. Richards, collections manager at York County Culture & Heritage Museums, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The idea to visit the Smithsonian came to mind while I worked on ways to improve and better utilize the current collections storage space at the York County Culture […]
it’s not too early to plan for jazz appreciation month!
This April is the 10th Anniversary of Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM!) As always, there are many ways to commemorate this unique American art form at your museum. Joann Stevens, program director for JAM Initiatives at the National Museum of American History (NMAH), shared information about the programs and resources available to help plan your Jazz Appreciation month […]
Five Smithsonian Affiliates host live webcast for “National Youth Summit: The 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides”
From May until November 1961, more than 400 diverse and committed Americans rode south together on buses and trains, putting their bodies and freedom on the line to challenge the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial injustice and inequality in public transportation. The Freedom Rides changed the Civil Rights Movement and demonstrated the power of […]
kudos affiliates! february 2011
Affiliates start the new year off right with news of support. Nice going! Jack S. Parker, a former Vice Chairman of the General Electric Company, made a legacy gift to the Heard Museum’s (Phoenix, Arizona) endowment through the Maie Bartlett Heard Society, the Heard’s planned giving program. Parker’s gift included a $1 million cash annuity and a […]
Western Heritage Center: 10 Years in Association with the Smithsonian
2011 is a big year for organizations–20 at the latest count–celebrating their 10th anniversary as Smithsonian Affiliates. To honor these Affiliates we’ll be blogging monthly about each one as they reach this milestone. Almost 2,000 miles from the National Mall, Billings, Montana is home to the Western Heritage Center (WHC), one of three organizations in Montana […]
affiliates in the news
Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week! Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana) Top museum honor goes to Conner Prairie. READ MORE Miami Science Museum (Miami, Florida) MiaSci receives girls’ education grant. READ MORE African American Museum in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Citizens Bank Foundation donates $25,000, sponsors free Community Day at the African American Museum. READ MORE […]
food for thought
Does there seem to be a cultural zeitgeist about food these days? Food has always been a engrossing social topic of course, but between the First Lady’s vegetable garden, school lunch revolution movements, reality TV, and more, it seems that discussions of food and all its attendant concerns – health, nutrition, benefits of organic, agriculture policy, […]
Sonoma County Museum shares local bracero stories through SITES exhibition
This past November, Sonoma County Museum opened the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service’s (SITES) Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964 and they hoped that their local community would help bring the exhibition alive. The museum was not disappointed. Through a busy schedule of public events at the museum, visitors responded to the exhibition in a […]
