promote your smithsonian affiliation on your website

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by
Gemini 11, which is currently on loan from the National Air and Space Museum to the California Science Center in Los Angeles

Gemini 11, which is currently on loan from the National Air and Space Museum to the California Science Center in Los Angeles

Smithsonian Affiliates are spotlighting their Affiliation on websites and visual communications.  As so many museum visitors log onto a museum’s website before they come through the doors, this is an amazing way to emphasize your ongoing partnership with the Smithsonian to your community and visitors.  We wanted to share some great examples and let you know how you can highlight your Smithsonian partnership!

The California Science Center mentions the ongoing projects with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum that even precede their Smithsonian Affiliation.  They describe the collaboration that has led to their hosting many space history objects, including Gemini 11.

Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center mentions the special tagline that Affiliates may use: In Association with the Smithsonian Institution.  After uses are approved by your National Outreach Manager, you may use the tagline on many different media including your own enewsletters, as seen here as used by The Mexican Museum.

The Mexican Museum's enewsletter with the tagline, "In Association with the Smithsonian Institution."

The Mexican Museum’s enewsletter with the tagline, “In Association with the Smithsonian Institution.”

Several Affiliates, such as The Freedom Museum and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History use the Smithsonian Affiliations logo to discuss the Affiliation.  Only Smithsonian Affiliates may use the logo in these ways so be sure to take advantage of this and shout your Affiliation partnership!  We have recently updated our logo, which can be found here on a new page with several easy-to-download files in different formats.  All logo uses must be approved by your National Outreach Manager, who can help with logo and tagline guidelines.

newsalogo

Use the logo and tagline!

Finally, we can also help with press releases for Smithsonian Affiliate collaborations by providing examples and suggestions, or boilerplate that can be included on every press release you send out.  We found Affiliates doing this wonderfully: here’s the Berkshire Museum and Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Other terrific examples of Affiliates devoting web site space to their Affiliation and how it supports their missions are: National Museum of American Jewish History, Irving Arts Center, Frost Art Museum and the Springfield Museum of Art.

Kudos to all the Affiliates who are telling their visitors about our unique partnership!

kudos Affiliates! September 2013

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

Summer 2013 is winding down but continues to be a hot one for our Affiliates!

Funding

neh_at_logo   
     

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently announced the recipients of $33 million in grants for 173 humanities projects, including the following Affiliate projects:

– Mystic Seaport Museum (Mystic, CT)-$164,280
Project: “The American Maritime People” NEH Summer Institute 2014
Project Description: Implementing a five-week summer institute for twenty college and university faculty to examine recent social, cultural, and ecological approaches to American maritime studies.

– Mystic Seaport Museum (Mystic, CT)-$450,000
Project: Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers: The 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan
Project Description: Implementing a long-term exhibition, a website, and public programs at the Mystic Seaport Museum that examine the broad economic, social, and cultural impact of whaling. 

– Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, ME)-$220,000
Project: Implementing Sustainability Strategies for the Abbe Museum’s Collections Environment
Project Description: The implementation of environmental improvements, consisting of upgrades to the climate control and lighting systems, for a museum that collects, preserves, and exhibits ethnographic and historic material relating to the four tribes of central Maine,  collectively known as the Wabanaki.

– Montana Historical Society (Helena, MT)-$300,000
Project: Montana Digital Newspaper Project
Project Description: Digitization 100,000 pages of Montana newspapers dating from 1836 to 1922, as part of the state’s continuing participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

– Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, OH)-$40,000
Project: Ohio’s Ten Tribes
Project Description: Planning for a five-thousand-square-foot permanent exhibition, a website, and educational materials examining the forced removal of ten Native American tribes from Ohio in the early 19th century and the historical and contemporary impact on these tribes.

– Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, OK)-$300,000
Project: Oklahoma Newspaper Digitization Project
Project Description: Digitization of 100,000 pages of Oklahoma newspapers issued between 1836 and 1922, as part of the state’s continuing participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

– National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)-$300,000
Project: Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Jews in America
Project Description: Implementation of an artifact-based traveling exhibition, a smaller panel version to be displayed in baseball parks, a catalogue, a website, and related public programs.

– Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (Seattle, WA)-$179,914
Project: Asian Pacific American Immigrants in the Pacific Northwest: Transforming the Nation
Project Description: Two one-week Landmarks workshops for eighty school teachers to explore the history and culture of Asian immigrant groups in the Pacific Northwest and their significance to the nation.

– Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, WY)-$200,000
Project: The Papers of William F. Cody: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and the European Frontier
Project Description: Preparation for publication of materials related to the tours by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show of Great Britain and Germany in 1887-1906.

IMLS_Logo_2c

 

 

The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently announced recipients of its grants for African American History and Culture, including the following Affiliates:

– Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, AL)-$74,277 to implement the Collection Storage Improvement Project, the goal of which is to safeguard its archival and fine arts collections to ensure that they will be available for use by current and future staff, scholars, and researchers.

– The Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH)-$150,000 for an apprentice program, recruiting recent talented graduates from colleges and universities across the country, with a focus on those from HBCUs.
 

The Montana Historical Society (Helena, MT) is going a little Hollywood with its historic collection of films and still photographs that will help tell the story of Sen. Lee Metcalf and his contributions to what he helped make “The Last Best Place.” A two-year grant from the private sector Council on Library and Information Resources will allow them to arrange, preserve and describe the Metcalf photographs and film. The grant provides the resources necessary to spend time researching, identifying and preserving all of the materials in the collections.

Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, MA) received a $200,000 grant from the Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) to support the renovation and expansion of the Museum’s Craft Center, providing essential visitor services like climate control and additional area for demonstrations and hands-on activities. The Museum also plans to construct a bakery in the Craft Center, where guests can view demonstrations of 17th-century baking techniques and learn how to make bread.

Leadership

Patricia Wilson Aden has been named the new President & CEO of the African American Museum in Philadelphia. 

The International Storytelling Center (Jonesborough, TN) has hired Kiran Singh Sirah, a prominent folklorist, as its new Executive Director.

Carrie M. Heinonen has been named President and Director of the Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix, AZ)

kudos affiliates! july-august 2013

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

2013 continues to be a successful one for our Affiliates!

Funding

Three Affiliate museums received support from Smithsonian Community Grant program sponsored by MetLife Foundation.

  • Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, ME-$4,000: To fund honoraria and travel expenses for participants in the museum’s planned public programs for their hosting of IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas. Programming includes a panel discussion examining different perspectives on the blood quantum vs. lineage debate.  Additionally, funding will support a genealogy workshop; and a lecture featuring the exhibit curator, Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway).
  • Institute of Texan Cultures, University of Texas at San Antonio in San Antonio, TX-$5,000:To fund honoraria for speakers in the Institute’s planned public program for Native Words, Native Warriors,  providing audiences with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the American Indian Code Talker story. Additionally, funding will support craft and educational materials for a family day.
  • Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, CA-$5,000:To fund eight live performances that will serve as inspiration and as a backdrop for sharing stories of Asian Pacific Americans who have shaped and been shaped by our nation’s history. Two actors will deliver monologues that will expand upon content in I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story.

South Dakota State Historical Society Press in Pierre received $2,500 from the South Dakota Humanities Council for research related to the potential creation of a contemporary profile of Yankton emphasizing the city’s relationship with the Missouri River and investigating the state of farming in the Yankton region.

The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District will receive $240,000 from ArtPlace America, and a three year grant for $712,000 from the Kresge Foundation for general operating and the completion of The Façade project. The funding will help Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District transform a historic eight-story Greek Revival façade into a 600-person outdoor venue and urban farm.

The Kansas Cosmosphere has been awarded a $15,000 grant to develop new educational curriculum to interweave arts and science. The grant money, provided by the Alcoa Foundation, will be used in program development, core curriculum material development and outreach to teachers in Kansas to encourage field trips.

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded $248,600 to the Ohio Historical Society to continue the digitization of Ohio’s microfilmed newspapers, an undertaking that will include three historic area publications.

The Montana Historical Society received a $10,000 donation from Burlington Northern Santa Fe to assist in the acquisition of nearly 32,000 postcards dating from 1898 into the 1970s and covering a wide range of topics – from railroads, mining and agriculture to commerce, Western life and Native American.

A collaborative effort, including the Milwaukee County Historical Society, to create The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, a coffee-table book and interactive website chronicling the history of the Greater Milwaukee area has received a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will support research and development of the book and website, which are intended to become a first-stop resource for K-12 teachers, students, the media, historians, scholars, and even families conducting genealogy research.

The Museum of Nature and Science in downtown Las Cruces received brand new solar experiment kits from Sunspot Solar to assist children in understanding the technology.

The Tsongas Industrial History Center, Lowell National Historical Park’s educational partnership with the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Graduate School of Education, has been selected to receive a 2013 “Ticket to Ride” grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF). The Ticket to Ride program, supported by a $500,000 grant from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, helps students explore the outdoors by providing transportation and program support to national parks around the country.

The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) approved $15,000 in funding to The Michigan State University Museum to create a multimedia program and performance tour commemorating the 75th anniversary of American folklorist Alan Lomax’s historic field collecting trip in Michigan.

The Museum of American Finance announced that Southport Lane, a New York-based private equity and asset management firm, will be sponsoring free Saturday admissions for the remainder of 2013.

The Massachusetts state Senate recently passed a $33.99 billion balanced budget for fiscal 2014, which includes $100,000 for the restoration of Mayflower II. Honored as a premier tourism attraction at the 2012 Massachusetts Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism, Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II are considered a major force in the state’s economy, attracting more than 360,000 visitors to the commonwealth each year.

Awards and Recognition

The Peoria Riverfront Museum has been awarded the LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council signifying the building is both environmentally and energy efficient.

New England Museum Association (NEMA) awarded the U.S.S. Constitution Museum its highest honors in its’ annual publication award competition:

  • First Place in the Book Category = MEN OF IRON: USS CONSTITUTION’s WAR OF 1812 CREW
  • First Place for Fundraising Materials = 2012 CHAIRMAN’s DINNER & AWARDS CEREMONY
  • Second Place for Educational Materials = OLD IRONSIDES ACTIVITY BOOK

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) announced the winners, including the following Affiliates, of the 68th annual Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history:

  • History Colorado  (for excellence in preserving and interpreting the history of Colorado; and for the publication of A Civil War Scrapbook: I Was There Too!)
  • HistoryMiami  (for the exhibit The Guayabera: A Shirt’s Story)
  • Peoria Riverfront Museum (for the exhibit Skirting Convention: Illinois Women Artists, 1840-1940)
  • Lowell National Historical Park and The University of Massachusetts, Lowell (for the exhibit Dickens and Massachusetts: A Tale of Power and Transformation)
  • U.S.S. Constitution Museum (for the project A Sailor’s Life for Me!)
  • North Carolina Museum of History (for the exhibit History in Every Direction: Tar Heel Junior Historian Association)
  • Heinz History Center (for the publication The Civil War in Pennsylvania: A Photographic History; and for the exhibit From Slavery to Freedom)
  • Museum of History and Industry (for the exhibit True Northwest: The Seattle Journey)

Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden received a 2013 Neighborhood Achievement Award from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in recognition of the organization’s successful revitalization of its Artist Residency Program and its Heritage Farm Program.

Leadership

Riverside officials selected Sarah Mundy as director of the Riverside Metropolitan Museum and head of the city’s arts and culture department, a position she has held on an interim basis since late December.

Devon Akmon has been appointed Director of the Arab American National Museum.

Ellen Noël Art Museum announced George Jacob has been named the new executive director.

The board of directors of the Milwaukee County Historical Society named longtime philanthropy leader Deborah Fugenschuh as the society’s new executive director.

Exclusive Grant Opportunity for Affiliates: Places of Invention

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

We’re looking for up to 20 Affiliates to receive $10,000 and training in Washington, D.C. to document innovation in your community.

Places of Invention (POI) is an exhibition in development, organized by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, and scheduled to open at the National Museum of American History in 2015.

poi2The Lemelson Center team is looking to Affiliates and their community partners to explore the central idea of the Places of Invention exhibition–that invention is everywhere and a product of the unique combination of people, resources, and surroundings that come together in a certain place and time.

Teams, led by Affiliates, are asked to apply these themes to their own communities and create multiple deliverables, including videos, oral histories, and public programs. One or more short videos synthesizing their findings will be featured on a dynamic, large-scale interactive map, central to the POI exhibition. Join us in this new model of co-creation of exhibition content! The deadline to apply via written proposal is September 1, 2013. 

For more details and information on how to apply, email or call Anna Karvellas at (202) 633-4722.

Places of Invention has been made possible by a generous grant from the National Science Foundation.

affiliates in the news, spring 2013 edition

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

Affiliates are making news this month!

National Atomic Testing Museum (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Las Vegas museum tells of city’s history with nuclear testing

 

North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Exhibition featuring 19th-century African American master cabinetmaker Thomas Day opens at Renwick Gallery April 12

 

Mennello Museum of American Art (Orlando, Florida)
Live Active Cultures: Orlando’s balance of old and new: 20th-century canvases and a world-premiere play just a few hundred yards apart.

 

National Civil War Museum (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (Kennesaw, Georgia)
Medal of Honor 150: The National Civil War Museum gathers 6 examples of highest honor

 

Mashantucket Pequot Museum (Mashantucket, CT)
Ramp It Up’ at museum

 
Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, ME)
Abbe will partner with Smithsonian

what’s new at SITES?

/in , , , , /by

From amazing animals to the immigration experience in America, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) exhibitions reflect the depth and breadth of the Smithsonian’s research and collections.  Host a SITES exhibition and find out how it can expand your community of visitors and supporters, lead to creative programming opportunities and generate greater press coverage.  Here are some of our newest available exhibitions:

Rothschild Giraffes, Barbara von Hoffman, Nature’s Best Photography

Rothschild Giraffes, Barbara von Hoffman, Nature’s Best Photography

Nature’s Best Photography:  Windland Smith Rice International Awards
Nature’s Best Photography features 48 award-winning, large-scale, color photographs of wildlife and wild places from around the globe.  From animals on land, in the sea and in the air to images of people in nature, Nature’s Best Photography reveals the majesty, diversity and even humor of the animal and natural world.  Nature’s Best Photography includes information about the species and its habitat, a description of how each photographer captured their shot, technical photo specifications and a video of polar bear cubs in the wild.  Don’t miss your chance to host this eye-opening exhibition of rare and wonderful images of our animal cousins. Now booking! Tour begins April 2014. Contact:  Ed Liskey, liskeye@si.edu, 202.633.3142

Asians worked the Hawai’i plantations, playing a major role in the archipelago’s agricultural industry. Photograph courtesy The Bishop Museum, Hawai’i

Asians worked the Hawai’i plantations, playing a major role in the archipelago’s agricultural industry. Photograph courtesy The Bishop Museum, Hawai’i

I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story
Asian and Pacific Americans (APAs) make up more than 5% of the U.S. population –over 17 million people–and those numbers are growing. In the first exhibition of its kind, the Smithsonian celebrates APA history across the multitude of incredibly diverse cultures, and explores how APAs have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history. Rich with compelling, often surprising stories, the exhibition takes a sweeping look at this history, from the very first Asian immigrants to the influx of highly skilled workers many decades later. Thanks to a generous grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Wide American Earth is available at a modest fee of $2,000 per 10-week booking, plus outgoing shipping. Now booking! Tour begins September 2013. Contact: Minnie Russell, russellm@si.edu, 202.633.3160

Bollywood dancers

Dancers and musicians perform a Bollywood show at a restaurant in Jackson Heights. Queens, New York. Photo by Preston Merchant

Beyond Bollywood:  Indian Americans Shape the Nation
Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation is a groundbreaking exhibition exploring the vibrant heritage, daily experience, and diverse political, professional and cultural contributions of Indian Americans in shaping the United States.  Told through captivating images, music, visual art, and first-person narratives, Beyond Bollywood documents a history of discrimination, resistance, achievements and the lasting influence Indian Americans have had on the American experience. Tour begins January 2015. Contact:  Ed Liskey, liskeye@si.edu, 202.633.3142