kudos Affiliates! august 2010

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Such great news from Affiliateland.  Bravo to all!

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, North Carolina) received $1.5 million grant from the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to support health and science exhibits, educational programs and a hands-on micro-investigation laboratory in the Nature Research Center. 

The National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program announced it had awarded a $19,000 grant to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (Mashantucket, Connecticut) to research details of the battles between colonial settlers and Pequot Indians at Fort Saybrook.  Saybrook is the earliest settlement in Connecticut, and the focal point of the Pequot War. 

The Shelly & Donald Rubin Foundation announced an exciting new collaboration between Baruch College and the Rubin Museum of Art (New York, New York) with a $200,000 grant, plus a commitment to make four additional $200,000 grants over the next four years for a total of $1 million dollars. Through its diverse collection of Himalayan and cultural art, the Rubin Museum will introduce rich art teachings into Baruch College coursework meant to prepare students for careers in business, government, the non-profit sector, and the arts. 

The Center for Jewish History (New York, New York) has received a $225,000 grant from the Vivian G. Prins Foundation to support Post-Doctoral fellowships for Emigrating Scholars, who seek permanent teaching and research positions in North America.  

Two Smithsonian Affiliates were awarded funds through The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as part of the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) program:

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, Alabama) was awarded $129,830 for the project “Integration for Efficiency Technology Initiative” to improve its delivery of programs and services to its diverse audiences by enhancing staff capacity to effectively utilize technology.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, Ohio) was awarded $66,096 for the project “The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center/Coca-Cola Foundation Museum Science Apprenticeship Program” that will go to support one new participant in this intensive program that combines on-the-job training and classroom instruction over a two-year period with the goal of providing the expertise needed to sustain a career in the museum field. 

Six Smithsonian Affiliates were awarded funds through The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)  as part of Museums for America (MFA) grants:

Arkansas Museum of Science and History ( Little Rock, Arkansas) received $150,000 for the creation of two new exhibitions “Tornado Alley Object Theater” and “Extreme Weather Channel” designed together to educate visitors on the causes, potential effects, and safety measures of tornados–an event familiar to the region.

Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, California) was awarded $137,806 to fund the “Xploration Lab” project, which will feature two iterations of a prototyping gallery and interactive exhibition designed to provide JANM with the opportunity to actively engage its audiences in the development and evaluation of interactive elements and programmatic content created for the museum’s new permanent exhibitions, which are currently in development and are slated to open in 2011 and 2013.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (Mashantucket, Connecticut) received $144,051 for “Pequot Lives in the Early 20th Century: Exhibition and Multimedia Installation”, an exhibition consisting of a re-created Pequot reservation house from the early 1900s and a multimedia installation, “Almost Vanished,” that tells the story of the Pequot community between 1860 and 1940.

Frazier International History Museum (Louisville, Kentucky) will receive $150,000 to implement a traveling exhibition and programs on the Civil War, entitled “My Brother, My Enemy” looking at the divisions within Kentucky families and how the divided family became a metaphor for divisions in the state and across the nation.

American Textile History Museum (Lowell, Massachusetts) was awarded $116,343 to engage in a multiphase program, the Chace Project, to make its collections accessible to the broadest possible audience.

Ohr- O’Keefe Museum of Art (Biloxi, Mississippi)  was funded $133,143 to create “Art, Community, and Culture on the Mississippi Gulf Coast” an interpretive exhibition on the life and work of three significant figures who personify the museum’s mission to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Biloxi master potter George Edgar Ohr (1857–1918), Biloxi master craftsman Pleasant Reed (1854–1936), and the new museum’s renowned architect Frank Gehry (b. 1929).

affiliates in the news: week of July 19

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Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week!

During a previous trip to Pinilla del Valle, Spain, Dr. Robert Feranec, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the New York State Museum, picks through small animal bones from sediment recovered from fossil caves. Photo courtesy of NYS Museum.

New York State Museum(Albany, NY)
A New York State Museum paleontologist has become the only scientist in the U.S. selected to participate in an all-expense paid research program in Spain that will enable him to investigate the effects of climate change on mammals over the last 2 million years. READ MORE

The New York State Museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology has been chosen to participate in a three-month research program at the University of Madrid, Spain. He’s the only American scientist chosen this year: most participants come from the European Union. READ MORE

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC)
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences introduced Margaret D. “Meg” Lowman as director of their new wing, the Nature Research Center. READ MORE

The Center for Jewish History (New York, NY)
The Center for Jewish History, the largest repository of the modern Jewish experience outside of Israel, has received a $225,000 grant from the Vivian G. Prins Foundation to support Post-Doctoral fellowships for Emigrating Scholars, who seek permanent teaching and research positions in North America. READ MORE

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)
Last month, New York media artist Ben Rubin got the go-ahead to produce an LED light sculpture to be placed atop the new National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall, set to open in November. READ MORE

WASP (photo courtesy of Texas Woman's University)

The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future (Dallas, TX)
The Women’s Museum’s Dreams of Flight Exhibit Opening Coincides with Legendary Pilot’s Birthday, Amelia Earhart. READ MORE

affiliates in the news: week of July 12

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Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week! 

The John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion will consist of a build-out of the existing 940 Magazine St. warehouse.

National World War II Museum (New Orleans, LA)
For the past 10 years, visitors to the National World War II Museum have gazed upon such carefully restored artifacts as tanks, Jeeps and Higgins landing craft.By next spring, they should be able to watch restorers preparing those treasures for prime time…READ MORE

Frazier International History Museum (Louisville, KY)
WKU graduate student selected for prestigious Smithsonian internship…READ MORE 

MSU paleontologist Jack Horner and team arrive in August 2007 at a site on the Hell Creek Ranch to excavate a Triceratops (Photo by Lon Bolick)

Museum of the Rockies(Bozeman, MT)
MSU finds Triceratops, Torosaurus were different stages of one dinosaur… READ MORE

North Carolina Museum of Natural Science (Raleigh, NC)
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on Tuesday introduced the director of its new Nature Research Center and accepted a $1.5 million gift to support the center…READ MORE  

Conner Prairie (Fishers, IN)
Kids often hear “Look, don’t touch.” At Conner Prairie, families are encouraged to explore with all their senses…READ MORE

New York State Museum (Albany, NY)
A New York State Museum paleontologist has become the only scientist in the U.S. selected to participate in an all-expense paid research program in Spain that will enable him to investigate the effects of climate change on mammals over the last 2 million years… READ MORE 

 

Francis Koenig, founder of AnnMarie Garden, lived long enough to see the first permanent sculpture installed as he requested, a sculpture fountain dedicated to the oyster tongers. (Annmarie Garden, Baltimore Sun / July 14, 2010)

Annmarie Garden(Solomons, MD)
…Today, Annmarie Garden is a Southern Maryland gem – a woodland preserve dotted with art ranging from world-class sculptures to whimsical fairy houses created by staff…READ MORE

affiliates in the news: week of July 5

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Congratulations to these Smithsonian Affiliates making headlines this week!

Louisiana State Exhibit Museum (Shreveport, LA)
The Louisiana State Exhibit Museum could have become a dusty cultural backwater in the shade of the occasional State Fair Ferris wheel, a place toured only by the occasional class of schoolchildren. But Forrest Dunn had a grander mission in mind… Read More 

Georgia Aquarium has four whale sharks, two males and two females.

Georgia Aquarium(Atlanta, GA)
Scientists at the Georgia Aquarium and Emory University are teaming up to produce the first genome of the whale shark, bidding to catalogue the DNA of a fish that long has puzzled researchers…Read More

 

Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA)
As one of a dozen major museums across the country vying for the opportunity to house one of three space shuttles that NASA is putting out to pasture, the Museum of Flight is sprucing up the place to bolster their claim…Read More

Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, W)
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has been awarded $200,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its “Papers of William F. Cody” project…Read More

Lateral views of fragmentary specimens of Earth's oldest bryozoan. Photo courtesy of NYS Museum

New York State Museum (Albany, NY)
New York State Paleontologist Dr. Ed Landing is the lead author of an article published in the June issue of “Geology” that provides the first definitive proof that all major animal groups with internal and external skeletons appeared in the Cambrian geological period…Read More

Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, MT)
Tooth marks found on the humerus of a plant-eating dinosaur found in Mongolia shows that a large tyrannosaur deftly removed the meat from the 0.9-metre-long bone, yet the rest of the skeleton showed no sign it had been attacked by a predator…Read More

affiliates in the news!

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Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this week!

Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, WY)
As many as 38 Wyoming cultural and heritage projects and sponsoring organizations will benefit from $542,017 in grant awards from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund…MORE

Birthplace of Country Music Alliance (Bristol, TN)
… the Tennessee Arts Commission announced its grant recipients for fiscal 2010-11…MORE

Heard Museum (Phoenix, AZ)
…there are a number of locations around the country that look to preserve these for future generations. One of these is the Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art in Phoenix, Arizona…MORE

Louisiana State Exhibit Museum (Shreveport, LA)
State Rep. Wayne Waddell will take the helm as director of Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on Aug. 2… MORE
Director retires
Museum Director Retires

National Museum of Dentistry (Baltimore, MD)
…The annual celebration honors supporters and friends who help the Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, in its mission to celebrate the history the dentistry and to raise awareness of the importance of good oral health in a healthy life…MORE

 

Exterior of the new $40 million expansion of the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque.

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium(Dubuque, IA)
…”Dubuque’s already on the map,” said Jerry Enzler, executive director of the facility, “but this really puts us on the global map”…MORE
River museum gets bigger, better

American Jazz Museum (Kansas City, MO)
Greg Carroll is CEO of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City. In collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City and the Mattie Rhodes Center, the museum is holding an exhibition of large-scale photographs and artifacts that reveals cultural connections between Africa and Latin America…MORE

The Center for Jewish History (New York, NY)
The Center for Jewish History, dedicated to the preservation and presentation of Jewish history, culture and experience across countries and generations, has received an $860,092 grant from the Leon Levy Foundation…MORE

Ellen Noël Art Museum (Odessa , TX)
The Ellen Noël Art Museum has been accepted as an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution…MORE

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (Palm Springs, CA)
Since the 1970s, the Agua Caliente Band and the city have been partners in the economic development of Palm Springs…also is the site of the future Agua Caliente Cultural Museum…MORE

thanks for a wonderful conference!

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Affiliations Director, Harold Closter, greeting conference guests at the Welcome Reception at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

We were so delighted that so many of you were able to join us for this year’s Annual National Conference.  The spirit of friendship permeated our gathering as did the passion and commitment that you bring to our profession.  We were sorry that some of you were unable to attend, but know that you were with us in thought, and that we’ll see you next year, if not sooner.

Thank you for your many kind words of praise.  We try hard to build a conference that offers the right mix of intellectual challenge, workshops on cutting edge topics, new ways of engaging the Smithsonian, and enjoyable networking opportunities.  We hope our blend worked for you, but if not, let us know so we can try something different next year.

Conference attendees brainstorming with Smithsonian experts at the "Grand Challenges" roundtables.

This year we had more Affiliate presenters and more Smithsonian participants than ever before.  We are grateful to all of you for taking the time to prepare and share your experiences.  They were informative, enlightening, and ever indicative of the impact that we create together through Smithsonian Affiliations.  I am confident that everyone left with a suitcase full of new ideas; we can’t wait to begin unpacking.

Wish we all of you a wonderful summer, certainly one not as hot as in Washington, and continued success in serving your communities.  We are proud to be your partners!

Harold A. Closter

PS- Missed something at the conference?  Click on these links to review Conference Presentations, browse the Conference Guidebook, and enjoy photos from all three days of activities.

Have ideas for next year? Please email Elizabeth Bugbee with ideas for topics YOU want to learn about next year!