Sounds of Iraq in Michigan

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Oud virtuoso records for Smithsonian Folkways

Oud virtuoso records for Smithsonian Folkways

If you happen to be in the Detroit area on October 1, be sure to stop in at our Affiliate, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in nearby Dearborn, to hear Smithsonian Folkways, Grammy-nominated, oud virtuoso Rahim Alhaj.  Alhaj performs in conjunction with the opening of the museum’s new Connecting Communities exhibition and as part of the ongoing Global Thursdays performing arts series.

Alhaj is considered one of the world’s masters of the oud, a pear-shaped, stringed instrument, often seen as the predecessor of the western lute.  Born in Iraq, Alhaj studied at the prestigious Baghdad Conservatory of Fine Arts, under the renowned Munir Bashir.  His opposition to the rule of Sadadam Hussein led to imprisonment and thirteen years of exile in Jordan and Syria before coming to the United States in 2000 under a UN refugee resettlement program. Now a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alhaj teaches, composes, and maintains an active performing schedule throughout North America and around the world.

The Smithsonian Folkways recording When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, featuring Alhaj and Lebanese-born percussionist Souhail Kaspar, received a 2008 Grammy nomination in “The Best Traditional World Music Album” category.  The Los Angeles Times called the album “a convincing affirmation of an embattled area of the world,” and another critic likened Alhaj’s oud playing to “god breathing life into clay.”

AANM was established to bring the voices and faces of Arab Americans to mainstream audiences, and works to dispel misconceptions about Arab Americans and other minorities. Opened in 2005, the museum has received widespread acclaim for its architecture, exhibitions, and educational programming.

We look forward to the upcoming event when the museum and the musician join forces for what guarantees to be an unforgettable evening.

Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution offers Affiliates savings on recordings at www.folkways.si.edu. Enter code SIAFFILIATE during checkout and save 10% on any purchase. From the Oud mastery of Rahim AlHaj and other international music to traditional American folk music from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, and children’s favorites by Ella Jenkins and Elizabeth Mitchell, Smithsonian Folkways presents a world of sound that is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Dive into Deep Space

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A glimpse at the Black Holes exhibition.

a glimpse into the Black Holes exhibition

Black holes are regions in space with gravity so powerful that nothing can escape, and where time and space are warped beyond our understanding. A new traveling exhibition from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will guide visitors on a journey to the edge of these strange objects to discover how the latest research is turning science fiction into fact, challenging our notions of space and time in the process.

Created by educators and scientists at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists is an exploration of the most mysterious and powerful objects in the universe. It opened at the Boston Museum of Science, and is now available to travel.

Project director Mary Dussault explains, “In this exhibition, we wanted to use the inherent fascination of black holes as a compelling vehicle to engage museum visitors in the larger story of how scientific discovery works–and how science is connected to human curiosity, imagination and culture.”

The interactive stations in the 2,500-square-foot exhibition address a number of questions:

    What is a black hole?
    Where are they?
    How do we find black holes if they are really black?
    What would happen if you were sucked into one?

One station allows visitors to experience their own black hole adventure. Using one of three “excursion pods,” visitors will embark on a fantasy “adventure vacation” to the black hole at the center of our own galaxy. As they make their way toward this “deep space dive,” travelers explore the phenomena around the black hole, including warped space, the slowing of time, and the dangerous magnetic fields and radiation that could leave them stranded on their cosmic adventure.

The exhibition is being traveled by the Association of Science – Technology Centers, and is available to Smithsonian Affiliates at the members’ price. Affiliates also receive exclusive access to CfA staff, including a special lecture from a Smithsonian scientist working with the Chandra X-ray Observatory (the world’s best black hole hunting machine); and the opportunity to collaborate with educators from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to offer a special teacher workshop to their local school-based audiences, among other programming. 

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is a joint collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory. CfA scientists, organized into six research divisions, study the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.

Share and Share Alike

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This morning I had the pleasure of talking about the Affiliations program with staff from two Affiliates, the Heinz History Center and the B & O Railroad Museum.  But we weren’t talking about the Smithsonian’s Affiliations program – we were talking about theirs.

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Both the Heinz History Center and the B & O Museum have created Affiliate programs, which were the topic of a panel discussion today entitled “Share and Share Alike” at the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Association’s annual meeting in Gettysburg.  Their programs are structured very differently, which made for an interesting compare and contrast in regard to costs, benefits and challenges.  But we discovered many commonalities too.

The Heinz Center’s Affiliate Program (HCAP) encompasses historical societies, libraries, museums, even cemeteries across Western Pennsylvania.  Nearly 100 organizations have affiliated with the History Center, seeking help and advice on issues ranging from cleaning metal objects to writing label copy.

The B & O Railroad Museum’s program is more formal and structured, a tiered approach with escalating benefits that include discounts on branded retail items and reduced admission for members.  Contrary to expectations, the B & O’s affiliates are not limited to other railroad museums; it also attracts historical societies with ties to the railroad industry in West Virginia and Maryland.

But both programs have alot in common.  It takes the entire staff of both museums to make the program work, and staff members are committed to sharing their expertise and providing a range of services to their affiliate networks.  They agree that a primary difference between their Affiliate programs and other types of associations or memberships (AASLH or AAM for example), is the opportunity to share artifacts.  Truly, nothing can replace the power of the real thing, as every museum professional knows.  hcaptree

We were fortunate to have a staff member from one of the Heinz Center’s Affiliates in the audience, who provided an insight that I’m confident B & O’s Affiliates share.  More than anything, she appreciated the access to personalized, customized, one-to-one mentoring available through the program.  Nothing can replace the power of that kind of relationship either.

The Georgia Aquarium

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Whale Sharks, manta rays and 6 million gallons of water ( I  have seen 8 million quoted – either way it is ALOT of water!)combined with a 100 year old giant squid on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History were just a few highlights from the first half hour of our tour of the Georgia Aquarium, one of our newest Affiliates and our first aqaurium partner.

To say the Georgia Aquarium is a destination is an understatement, just entering the parking lot one could tell that this was one of the most popular family spots in Atlanta.  We were greeted by Christie Cobb, Vice President of Development and Membership where we entered the world of fish and exotic sea creatures through the special event reception area – not your normal reception space to say the least but a room with a sprawling glass tank wall that allows guests to enjoy a private veiw of the Aquarium’s main exhibition, Ocean Voyager. From there our gracious hostess took us behind the scenes to the top  of the massive tank filled with more than 6 million gallons of  fresh water, more than 100,000 animals representing 500 + different species. Here, interns and students can be found observing the whale shark’s interactions with the other fish on research projects and lucky visitors who want to swim  in the tank prepare for their dive. The Aquarium  has an impressive closet full of dive gear in just about everyone’s size so even beginners can swim with the fish. 

 As we continued our tour we turned a corner in the hallway outside the dive gear area and were greeted by a team of penguins jumping around and playing! What a site too see! 

 The Georgia Aquarium has commited to be a world leader in promoting efforts to conserve aquatic wildlife. A group of researchers that includes scientists from the Aquarium are conducting worldwide studies and conservation efforts specifically on whale sharks – the world’s largest fish, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Isla Holbox, Mexico. The initiative has uncovered the largest known aggregation of whale sharks and research is ongoing in collaboration with the government of Mexico.

For more information about the Georgia Aquarium visit  https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/ or make a visit in person!

Smithsonian’s fireless locomotive moves to Baltimore

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locomotive in Smithsonian storage, waiting for its trip to Baltimore

 

 The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History recently donated a vintage 1938 fireless steam locomotive to our Affiliate in Baltimore, the B & O Railroad Museum.  On August 18, Affiliations and Museum staff were on hand to document this dramatic move.

 The move took two days to complete.  One to rig the locomotive onto a palette inside the American History Museum’s storage facility, and another day to load it onto a truck, drive it to Baltimore, and unload it in the restoration shop of the B & O Museum. 

 

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a special forklift eases the locomotive out of storage. very slowly.

The locomotive was built by the Heisler Locomotive Works in Erie, Pennsylvania for the Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) in 1938. Unlike other steam engines, this unique 35-ton locomotive did not need a fire to produce steam; instead it was filled with steam and superheated water from the power plant’s boilers under high pressure at temperatures around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The locomotive was capable of operating by itself for approximately five hours on one charge of steam and superheated water. 

 

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lifting the locomotive onto its ride, a flatbed truck

Bill Withuhn, Smithsonian Curator of Technology and Transportation, contacted the B&O Railroad Museum more than a year ago to begin negotiations for the transfer of the locomotive to Baltimore. “The fireless was a trusty workhorse locomotive; one that deserves to be on exhibition for its contributions to lighting Maryland and the nation’s capital. We are pleased to make possible this transfer to our affiliate.”

 

In the U.S., fireless locomotives ran exclusively on the networks of tracks located within the boundaries of some of the largest coal-fired power stations operated by utilities. The locomotive needed to remain close to the power plant in order to be recharged. An early example of green technology, the fireless steam locomotive emitted only steam vapor, unlike other locomotives which release smoke exhaust.


B&O Railroad Museum Executive Director, Courtney Wilson said, “This locomotive is a scarce type of railroad motive power not represented in our unparalleled collection of 19th and 20th century steam locomotives. It fills an important gap and we are extremely pleased to accept this gift from the Smithsonian.”  
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we got alot of curious looks cruising on I-95

From 1938 until 1974 the Pepco locomotive operated at the Buzzard Point Power Station in Washington, D.C. hauling coal. From 1974 to 1978 it was used at the Potomac River Power Station in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1979 Pepco restored and donated the locomotive to the National Museum of American History’s Work and Industry collection where it has been in storage.  Until now. 

On October 15, the B & O will roll the fireless locomotive into its famous roundhouse to celebrate its 10th anniversary as a Smithsonian Affiliate.  There it will join other Smithsonian artifacts on loan to the Museum, including 50 models of historic locomotives and railway cars and the boiler from the first locomotive used in the Western Hemisphere, the Stourbridge Lion. 
rounding the corner to the back door of B & O's storage facility

rounding the corner to the back door of B & O's storage facility. almost there!

 

 

2 forklifts hold the locomotive in mid-air, while the flatbed truck drives out of the way.

2 forklifts hold the locomotive in mid-air, while the flatbed truck drives out of the way

easing it off its palette, a few inches at a time

easing it off its palette, a few inches at a time

hitting the rail!

hitting the rail!

See more photos in the Smithsonian Affiliates group pool on flickr.

what can your toaster teach you?

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Design your Life

“Design Your Life is an utter pleasure, like a delicious tray of warm brownies that also happen to be nutritious.” – Kurt Andersen, author

 

Design is not my thing.  It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’d sooner jump out of a plane than wander through a shop like Target or IKEA where rows and rows of modern gadgets remind me that I’m just not chic enough.  I have a feeling I’m not the only one.  So in my search for uniqueness in an overwhelmingly mass-produced world, I found Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things by Ellen and Julia Lupton (St. Martin’s Press, May 2009). 

 

Ellen and Julia argue that design is more than the stuff we buy at these high end stores or the modern look that moves products at Target and IKEA.  It’s about critical thinking and looking at the world and wondering why things work and why they don’t.  It’s about finding the beauty in the mess of everyday life. 

 

Covering the pitfalls of the modern toaster, the challenges of a ‘smart’ kitchen, what’s wrong with rolling luggage, and why no one wants to read your blog, this thoughtful book examines the highs and lows of everyday design in a brainy and delightful way that is sure to leave you thinking differently.

 

And now Affiliates can have the opportunity to meet Ellen Lupton in person!  Ellen is curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City and director of the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.  She is interested in traveling to Affiliates to speak about design to anyone who will listen.  Contact your Smithsonian Affiliations Outreach Manager today to see about inviting Ellen to your museum.

 

Read the review in the Washington Post.  Or even better, read the blog that inspired the book.