Kudos! October 2010

In these times of economic challenges, it’s nice to see some bright spots!

Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences (Peoria, Illinois) has been awarded a $10,000 Arts Education Invitational Grants Initiative grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to digitize the Picture Person Program, an art appreciation outreach program in which parent volunteers borrow art kits from the Museum and present them in K-6 classrooms monthly throughout the school year.

The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook (Long island, New York) announced it has received accreditation from the American Association of Museums, the highest honor awarded by the national organization.

The PNC Foundation announced $3 million in grants to four of Chicago’s premier institutions including the Adler Planetarium, to enhance science education for underserved students in preschool programs operated by Chicago Public Schools and the Big Shoulders Fund.

The Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre (Davenport, Iowa) won RK Dixon’s Make My Nonprofit Run Better contest and a $20,000 grand prize of an office technology makeover. 

Blogathon for “October is American Archives Month”

Smithsonian Affiliates are invited to join Smithsonian archives staff in the 31-day blogathon in October!  Raise awareness of your archival collections by sharing stories on your blog about who you are, what you do, and how you work.  Show off the little-known gems in your collection, tell us about your research, or take us behind-the-scenes in your archives. Smithsonian archives staff will also be writing about what happens in their archives, describing projects they are working on, and telling stories about particular items in their collections.

Montana Historical Society Archives stacks. Photo courtesy Jeff Malcomson, Government Records Archivist, Montana Historical Society.

Affiliate Montana Historical Society (MHS) has already signed up to participate in the blogathon.  Their blog Montana History Revealed will look back at the MHS Archives’ own history of preserving Montana’s historic documents.  And during an evening program on Oct 7 called “Who Do We Think We Are?,” MHS Archives staff members will explore the dramatic and sometimes humorous history of the archives collection and the people who have cared for it.

We’ve already got MHS on the list…Your Archives could be next!

It’s easy! Simply write a blog on your own page and forward Elizabeth Bugbee the link. We’ll include you in a list of participating bloggers on the “Archives Month at the Smithsonian” website.  In addition, Smithsonian Affiliations will cross-promote your post on the Affiliate blog and Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood Facebook page.

Be sure to use “Archives Month” as a label or category in your blog so it’s easily tagged. And stand out even more by Tweeting about your post using #archivesmonth.

Film archived at the Center for the History of Psychology (Akron, Ohio).

Our Smithsonian Archivists are eager to learn more about Affiliate archives, and what better way than telling your story. As affiliates of the Smithsonian Institution, you’re our ambassadors in neighborhoods across the country, so let’s spread the word about how fascinating your archival collections are!

About “October is American Archives Month”
Archives throughout the Smithsonian will be celebrating 2010’s American Archives Month with the first-even Smithsonian Archives Fair and a 31-day Blogathon. More information is on the “Archives Month at the Smithsonian” web page. October is American Archives Month, has been developed to focus on the importance of the Smithsonian’s vast collections of archival and historical records and to highlight the many individual Smithsonian archival units responsible for maintaining these rich and complex documentary resources. 

About Smithsonian Institution’s archives
The Smithsonian Institution’s archives preserve memories, tell stories and solve mysteries every day. The public may visit the Archives’ websites here, search their holdings at the Smithsonian Collections Search Center and read the Smithsonian Collections Blog here.

For further questions on how your blog can participate in the 31-day blogathon, contact Elizabeth Bugbee (202) 633-5304.

si authors on the road

Just in time for the holidays, two new books featuring the Smithsonian will be available this fall, with authors ready to travel to Affiliates for programs and book signings.  For more information or to pursue a booking, please contact us at affiliates@si.edu.

NMAI's new cookbook features historical descriptions and artifact links

Mitsitam = Let’s Eat! 

The Mitsitam Café Cookbook documents America’s truly indigenous foods, as featured at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).    Anyone who has visited this groundbreaking museum resource – a destination in its own right – knows that the Native story told in the Museum’s galleries is brilliantly complemented by the culinary traditions available to savor in the museum’s café.  Written by the Mitsitam café’s executive chef Richard Hetzler, this cookbook showcases 90 home-tested recipes.  Each dish was researched and developed to highlight indigenous foods that are the staples of five Native American regions in North and South America.  The book features a historical description for each of these recipes that have been enjoyed by NMAI visitors since its opening in 2004.  In addition, images of artifacts from NMAI’s collection, as they pertain to Native foodways, appear throughout.

Richard Hetzler is available to travel to Affiliates for book signings, and can talk about a range of topics, including preparing food from Native ingredients and traditions; developing a local seasonal menu;   developing the café’s concept with Museum staff, and more.  Program ideas could range from a simple lecture and cooking demonstration, to a cooking class, or a “meet/eat with the chef” meal for your members, or a dialogue with a content specialist from your museum or region.   

NASM's Autobiography, coming out October 2010

A Soaring Museum and its Treasures 

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) welcomes eight million visitors a year and holds vast collections of aircraft, rockets, spacecraft, and related artifacts–so many, in fact, that they all add up to the world’s largest aerospace collection.  Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography is the first and only complete history and behind-the scenes tour of this great museum.

 Beautifully illustrated with over 70 photographs and artworks, and engagingly telling the history of 150 years of flight development, the Autobiography does full justice to the soaring museum and its treasures.  Written by curators and scientists who protect and work with these collections, the book reveals the stories of many of the artifacts.  It shares the untold narratives between the Smithsonian Institution and the heroes working in the fields of aeronautics and space exploration.  In addition, innovative features have been specially designed for this book, including “Superlatives”–record makers and record breakers; and “Curator’s Choice” – selected objects deemed most fascinating.

The book was edited by Michael J. Neufeld, chair of the Space History Division at NASM.  Michael Neufeld is available to visit Affiliates to discuss and sign this extraordinary book, at once a stunning keepsake of a world-class museum experience, a fitting tribute to the legends of aviation, and a colorful resource on the history of flight.

Affiliates collaborate with AAM to offer webinar

Beth Ziebarth, Director of the Smithsonian Accessibility Program, discusses Universal Design principles with museum peers.

The museum profession is well-acquainted with requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act – for ramps, accessible restrooms, and other physical infrastructure needs – but how about for exhibitions and public programs?  

This will be a topic of discussion in an upcoming webinar entitled Universal Design: Beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act on Wednesday, October 27.  In a unique onsite-online learning model, Affiliations has teamed up with the American Association of Museums(AAM) to offer opportunites for museum professionals around the country to come together to experience the webinar.  25 Affiliates(in 21 states and Puerto Rico) will serve as “host sites”for their peers to network, watch the webinar together, and engage in moderated discussions about the specific implications of universal design for their museums and communities.

“Planning a program using a universal design perspective is different from designing a program for the deaf, for example,” says Beth Ziebarth, Director of the Smithsonian’s Accessibility Program, and main webinar presenter.  Most simply, universal design is human-centered design, a user-friendly approach to the design of environments that are accessible to people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability.   Designing with such an approach is not only beneficial for people with disabilities, but for multi-generational families, pregnant women, the elderly and more.  The webinar will explore integrating universal design into exhibitions and public programs; engaging your local disability community to inform program designs; and developing resources to share across a community’s cultural organizations.

We saw the power of this shared learning approach first-hand.  In March 2009, Beth led a training seminar for cultural leaders in Pittsburgh at the Heinz History Center.  About 60 professionals from the city’s museums, historical societies, theaters, operas, art galleries and more, spent a morning discussing their particular accessibility issues.  By sharing successes and challenges, they were able to brainstorm collaborative and cost-saving possibilities for solutions – i.e., sharing the costs of an LED reader or mobile assistive-listening device, to make it more affordable for several organizations.  Since then, the participants have created an accessibility task force that meets quarterly in an effort to make Pittsburgh’s cultural attractions even more accessible to everyone.

AAM is the perfect partner to help take the Pittsburgh example to a national scale.  Their popular, high-quality professional development webinar series reaches thousands of museum professionals each year.  Together, we can deliver Smithsonian expertise to a broad audience of museum peers and disability advocates throughout the country.  We are all very grateful to the Smithsonian Women’s Committee for funding this collaboration experiment.

So head to your local Affiliate this fall and join the conversation!

Affiliate host sites:
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL
Arizona State Museum, Tuscon, AZ
San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego, CA
Riverside Metropolitan Museum, Riverside, CA
History Colorado, Denver, CO
Frost Art Museum, Miami, FL
Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, FL
Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA
Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN
Frazier International History Museum, Louisville, KY
National World War II Museum, New Orleans, LA
Lowell National Historical Park, Lowell, MA
Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Baltimore, MD
North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC
Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, NV
Yeshiva University Museum, New York, NY
Archives of the History of American Psychology, Akron, OH
Oklahoma Museum of History, Oklahoma City, OK
Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR
Culture and Heritage Museums, Rock Hill, SC
The Women’s Museum, Dallas, TX
Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, TX
Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA
Museum of History & Industry, Seattle, WA

There are two ways to register:
1) Contact affiliates@si.edu or visit the Affiliations website to get a list of contacts at each Affiliate host site.  Register directly with them to attend at their site, and receive a discounted registration fee of $15.

2) Register directly through AAM and watch the webinar online, https://www.aam-us.org/getinvolved/learn/universaldesign.cfm        

Affiliate collections on View at the Smithsonian

With more than an estimated 137 million artifacts, 19 museums, galleries and the National Zoological Park, one may think that there’s not a lot that the Smithsonian doesn’t have.  But Smithsonian curators and researchers frequently reach out to other experts, borrowing objects to complement Smithsonian exhibitions.     

Smithsonian Affiliations promotes the mutual sharing of ideas and expertise; and Smithsonian Affiliates are proud to help when called upon.  Currently, five Smithsonian Affiliates have objects and images from their collections on view in Smithsonian exhibitions.  So what’s out there?

Elvis at Three by Howard Finster on display at the National Portrait Gallery. High Museum of Art

At the National Portrait Gallery, One Life: Echoes of Elvis commemorates the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth.  The High Museum of Art (Atlanta, GA) lent two paintings by Howard Finster to tell the story of this iconic American, as popular today as he was during his lifetime.  The exhibition’s curator, Warren Perry, explains the importance of the High’s contribution: “The mission behind our Elvis show was to find works that paid tribute to Elvis since his death.  Howard Finster’s work–he began painting images of Elvis shortly after Elvis died–fit the bill exactly, if not to the extreme.  Finster believed that Elvis was an emissary of God and often he painted him as such, as we see in the High Museum’s portrait of Elvis with angel’s wings.  The composition of these pieces is wonderful; Finster’s appreciation of Elvis exudes from them both. I am really grateful to the High Museum for making these works available to us.”

Objects related to the "Spruce Goose" from the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, on view at the National Air & Space Museum

Objects from the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum (McMinnville, OR) help tell the story of another legendary American, Howard Hughes.  The Hughes H-4 Hercules aircraft (nicknamed the “Spruce Goose”) was built during World War II to transport materials.  As wartime rations limited the use of metal, the massive aircraft was mostly built of wood; its wingspan is still the largest of any aircraft in history.  While the “Spruce Goose” is on display at the Evergreen in Oregon, objects related to its groundbreaking construction are on view at the National Air and Space Museum.   Chris Moore, Museum Specialist in the Aeronautics Division at the Air and Space Museum said, “The exhibit includes objects related to the aircraft’s manufacture. We don’t have any artifacts from the aircraft in our collection, so borrowing them allowed us to tell a story we could otherwise not have told.”

The Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA) lent three artifacts to The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946, organized by author and guest curator, Delphine Hirasuna“The Japanese American National Museum was pleased to lend artifacts from its extensive permanent collection to the traveling exhibition, The Art of Gaman,” stated National Museum President & CEO Akemi Kikumura Yano. “Delphine Hirasuna’s work in exploring the cultural connections between the objects and art created in the camps by the inmates helps to illuminate the spirit of those falsely incarcerated. As an Affiliate, the Japanese American National Museum was delighted to collaborate with this show and the Renwick Gallery, since all parties seek to explore and share this important chapter of U.S. history.”

Mother in Jerome Camp, 1943 by Henry Sugimoto, who was also interned in Jerome, Arkansas, on view at the Renwick Gallery. Japanese American National Museum

At the National Zoo, the Center for the History of Psychology (Akron, OH) shared its collections — permanently — by giving a gift of early 20th century IQ tests to the Zoo.  “Think Tank interprets animal thinking and the challenges of measuring human and animal intelligence.  The gift of the artifacts from the Center for the History of Psychology helps us to interpret this topic for our visitors,” says Lisa Stevens, Curator of Primates and Giant Pandas.

Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, TX) works to document the multicultural  history of the state of Texas.  Their photo archives supplied images to the Anacostia Community Museum’s latest exhibition, Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities through Language.  The exhibition documents the historical journey made by people from Africa to the Americas.  “It’s a great pleasure and privilege to share our resources with the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum,” said Tim Gette, executive director of the Institute of Texan Cultures.  “We have nearly 3.5 million historic images of Texas and Texans, including the Black Seminole or Gullah peoples and their descendants.  This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase a unique culture whose influence can be felt throughout the Southern States.”

Each of these collaborations highlight the best part of the Affiliate relationship – museums working together to share knowledge and ideas with visitors.

Kudos! September 2010

In these times of economic challenges, it’s nice to see some bright spots!

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust announced the Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona) was awarded an Arts Restructuring and Transformation Fund (ART Fund) grant to expand current retail space for Native American artists, add a new bookstore with expanded inventory and open a coffee shop that serves traditional Native American refreshments. The grant was $150,000 over 24 months.

Michigan State University Museum (East Lansing, Michigan) received funding from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The MSU Museum will receive $98,173 from the National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grant to be used to expand technology and access for the online resource, the Quilt Index. 

The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation has awarded a two year grant in the amount of $230,000 to The Raices Latin Music Museum (New York, New York) for the implementation of the strategic planning and collection preservation initiative as well as the purchase of TMS, a museum database. 

The Senate confirmed five individuals to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board, which advises the Institute of Museum and Library Services on general policy and practices including Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr., President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, Alabama).

The Kona Historical Society (Kona, Hawaii) received $255,592 to buy two acres on the Big Island as a scenic buffer for the historic H.N. Greenwell Store and additional space for preservation of the farming and ranching heritage of Kona. The money is from the Legacy Land Conservation Program and will be matched with about $9.5 million from federal, county and private sources to acquire land or protective easements for public benefit.

Congratulations all!