Tag Archive for: affiliations

“American Sabor” at the American Jazz Museum

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Special thanks to Monica Reardon, Smithsonian Affiliations summer intern, for authoring the Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live! blog series.

Located at the crossroads of 18th & Vine, the Jazz District of Kansas City, Missouri, the American Jazz Museum showcases the sights and sounds of jazz through interactive exhibits, films, programs, and performances.  Since 1997, the museum has focused on the preservation, exhibition and advancement of the story and spirit of jazz. The museum became a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2000.

Coinciding with Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live!, the museum is displaying American Sabor:  Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.  American Sabor presents the musical contributions of U.S. Latinos from the 1940s to the present with a focus on the social history and individual creativity that produced stars like Tito Puente, Ritchie Valens, Celia Cruz, Carlos Santana and Selena.  Various programs and activities will be featured with the exhibition, such as conversations, performances, and workshops.  The exhibition will be at the Museum from August 1, 2013 to October 27, 2013. Read a special guest post on the American Sabor Blog.

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find out which other Affiliates are participating in #MuseumDayLive on September 28, 2013, here.

Recent press from American Sabor at the American Jazz Museum:
Ford Motor Company : Kansas City Council Commemorates Ford Fund for Bringing American Sabor Exhibit to American Jazz Museum

kudos affiliates! july-august 2013

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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.

Affiliates in the News! July 2013

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Congrats to these Affiliates making news! Each month we highlight Affiliate-Smithsonian and Affiliate-Affiliate collaborations making headlines.  If you have a clipping highlighting a collaboration with the Smithsonian or with a fellow Affiliate you’d like to have considered for the Affiliate blog, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee.

telluride

Telluride Historical Museum Executive Director Erica Kinias demonstrates the restored Pelton Wheel, which uses water to generate electricity. The museum was recently named a Smithsonian Affiliate. Photo by Heather Sackett.

Telluride Historical Museum (Telluride, Colorado)
Sharing History: Telluride Historical Museum named Smithsonian Affiliate
Telluride Historical Museum Chronicles Area Gold Rush to Ghost Town

South Dakota State Historical Society (Pierre, S.D.)
Museum of State Historical Society to Host Live Smithsonian Webcast on July 20
State Historical Society offers free videos

Mennello Museum of American Art (Orlando, FL)
‘Earl Cunningham’s Everglades’ at Mennello Museum

Kentucky Historical Society (Frankfort, KY)
Historical Society Joins Smithsonian Family
Kentucky Historical Society Now a Smithsonian Affiliate
KHS Set To Announce Smithsonian Partnership
Kentucky Historical Society forming affiliation with Smithsonian Institution

Elvis on the Southern Railroad between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tenn. July 4, 1956. © Alfred Wertheimer.

Elvis on the Southern Railroad between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tenn.
July 4, 1956. © Alfred Wertheimer.

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
History Center Exhibit explores Pennsylvania’s impact on the Civil War
Heinz History Center exhibition highlights Pa. role in Civil War
Center brings big guns to Pa. Civil War exhibit

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, TX)
Elvis in a history museum? Fort Worth photos are a swivel-hipping hit
Hanging Out with Elvis in Fort Worth
‘Elvis at 21’ exhibit at Fort Worth Science Museum proves interesting even for non-fans
Elvis at 21 delves into the puzzling nature of sex appeal, charisma, and intimacy

Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA)
Berkshire Museum now a Smithsonian affiliate
Berkshire Museum becomes Smithsonian Affiliate, First Museum in Western MA to earn designation
Berkshire Museum named affiliate of Smithsonian Institution

David Ward of the National Portrait Gallery discusses a painting by Roger Shimomura.

David Ward of the National Portrait Gallery discusses a painting by Roger Shimomura at the Japanese American National Museum.

Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
A Self-portrait of Asian America: Smithsonian co-presents art exhibition at JANM
Seven citizens, seven stories: the performance “fighting for democracy” heads from Philly to DC
May Issue: First Asian American Exhibit Debuts at the Smithsonian

Schiele Museum of Natural History (Gastonia, NC)
Stay at home safari exhibit takes guests on tour of wild kingdom

Idaho Museum of Natural History (Pocatello, ID)
Digital Specimens

Miami Science Museum (Miami, FL)
2013 Smithsonian Online Education Conference Series Presents Two Sessions on Astrophotography

Mashantucket Pequot Museum (Mashantucket, CT)
Ramp It Up! Skateboard Exhibit Moves to Pequot Museum

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Promote your Smithsonian Museum Day Live activities with us!

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MD_logo_smallOn September 28, 2013, many Smithsonian Affiliates will be opening their doors for FREE as part of Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live! Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket.

So far, more than 60 Smithsonian Affiliates are participating and many will even have special Smithsonian programs coinciding with Museum Day Live! We’d like to help you promote your Museum Day Live! activities by sharing them on The Affiliate blog and our social media platforms as well as share them with our colleagues at smithsonianmag.com. We’ll be featuring Affiliates on The Affiliate blog throughout August and September and highlighting Smithsonian collections, exhibits, programs and more in Affiliate neighborhoods.

Follow these guidelines and email Elizabeth Bugbee (bugbeee@si.edu) to submit blog ideas.

  • There must be a Smithsonian connection. It can be a new program or event or bringing new life to an ongoing loan or exhibit from the Smithsonian at your organization.
  • Please send a brief description of the program, exhibit, loan, etc.
  • Please send a great photo to post on our blog and social media.
  • Let us know who to contact for more information.
Septembers with the Smithsonian at The Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Septembers with the Smithsonian at The Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Here’s a small selection of what’s happening in your neighborhood on September 28. And stay tuned for blogs throughout August and September highlighting these events and more!

The Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach, Florida): It’s the 3rd Annual Septembers with the Smithsonian at the museum. Each week, MOAS will welcome a special Smithsonian speaker on topics such as archeology, biology and paleobiology. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO) will treat visitors to “Swingin’ with the Smithsonian,” on 9.28, complete with a vocalist and featuring the Ella Fitzgerald songbook. Check out the entire month’s program schedule at www.moas.org

 

Lydia Mendoza; photo courtesy Courtesy Lydia Mendoza.

Lydia Mendoza; photo courtesy Courtesy Lydia Mendoza.

 

American Jazz Museum (Kansas City, Missouri): In Spanish the word “sabor” means “flavor” and is often used to describe good music. Sample the unique ingredients of Latino Music in the U.S. and indulge in sabor musical dishes across America in the exhibition American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. On view through October 27, the exhibition focuses on five major centers of Latino popular music production in the years after World War II – New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, and San Francisco.

 

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, Wyoming): The “Mother of all Swiss Army knives” is currently on view thanks to a loan from the National Museum of American History. If you count the miniatures inside, it has 100 “blades,” and yes, even a functional .22-caliber five-shot pinfire revolver. The one modern convenience it doesn’t seem to have is a bottle opener, but the bottle cap as we know it wasn’t invented until 1892. The collection (64 objects from the National Firearms Collection) is on long-term loan to the Center.

knifegun

The “Mother of all Swiss Army knives” on view at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

To see the full list of participating Affiliate organizations, click here.

To register your museum for Museum Day Live!, click here.

Featured video: Smithsonian Firearms in Cody

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Sharing a great article from By Katharine MacKnight at KULR-8 TV in Billings, Montana.

In 1876, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History established the National Firearms Collection in Washington, DC. It’s the home to nearly 7,000 artifacts. Sixty-four of them are now on display at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Firearms Exhibit. It’s one of the largest collections of firearms to come out of the Smithsonian.

“It’s for people who love firearms and know a lot about them and also for people who don’t know a lot and would like to come in and learn why it’s important to American history,” says Ashley Lynn Hlebinsky, Firearms Curatorial Resident at the Buffalo Bills Center of the West Firearm Exhibit.

“Journeying West: Distinctive Firearms from the Smithsonian” is an exhibition at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It was a carefully researched and planned out process that took Curator Warren Newman years to bring together.

Read the entire article here- https://www.kulr8.com/story/22879382/smithsonian-firearms-in-cody
KULR-8 Television, Billings, MT

A unique experience: a peek into a two-week visiting professional residency at the smithsonian

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Special thanks for this guest post to Jessica Crossman, Experiential Learning Department Program Coordinator at the San Diego Museum of Man, a Smithsonian Affiliate in San Diego, California. Jessica spent two weeks in April 2013 at the Smithsonian.

This year I had the honor of being selected to participate in the Smithsonian Affiliations Visiting Professionals Program.  My goal while in Washington, D.C., was to learn about how best to create hands-on/interactive exhibits that effectively integrated educational material and to study the use of technology in these types of exhibits.  The museum where I work, the San Diego Museum of Man, is redoing the hands-on part of our Ancient Egypt exhibit.  Because of this, those of us working on the exhibit wanted to explore different ways we could approach the idea of interactivity in an exhibit.  I spent time at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the National Zoo, and the Smithsonian Latino Center.  At each of these places I learned how these Smithsonian institutions approached hands-on/interactive exhibits in their own unique way.

Forensic Anthropology Lab

In the Forensic Anthropology Lab at the National Museum of Natural History.

My first week in DC was hosted by NMNH.  The members of the exhibits department were kind enough to meet with me, let me attend some of their meetings, and brain storm ideas with me about our exhibit at the Museum of Man.  Coming from the Education Department at my own institution, I gained a whole new perspective on what it takes to make an exhibit while learning great logistical ideas and questions to bring back to the Museum of Man, such as how to think about being able to make our exhibit easily adaptable for future changes and how to think about our goals regarding exhibit interactivity.  Members of the education department met with me to talk about our education programs and gave me tours of their education spaces in the museum including the Discovery Room, the Q?rius Lab, and the Forensic Anthropology Lab.  It was wonderful to see the exhibits from their educational point of view and to hear what their education goals were in the creation of these spaces.  One of the most important ideas that I got out this week was the idea of putting the visitor in the role of the “scientist” both in the wording of text panels and in the execution of interactive elements, such as providing tools (microscopes, magnifying glasses, etc.) for the children to use to make scientific observations in the Discovery Room.  This approach helped the team at the Museum of Man reform how we wanted to approach our own exhibit.

My second week I spent most of time at NMAI, with some time spent at the Zoo and the Latino Center.  At NMAI both the exhibits team and the education team gave me tours of their highly hands-on exhibit for kids called imagiNATIONS, which is designed to show children the innovations and inventions that different Native American Nations have created in order to meet their own specific needs.  While learning about this space I was told that people stay and learn when they feel safe and smart.  This is something that was taken into account when the NMAI team created this space.  While this idea was a simple one it was one of the most important of my trip because once I shared it with the Museum of Man exhibits team it helped us rethink how we wanted to physically design our space so that our visitors would have more of a sense of comfort and would stay longer to learn.

ImagiNATIONS

At ImagiNATIONS education space in the National Museum of the American Indian.

My time at the Zoo was focused in learning about their exhibit development process and in getting a tour of their new elephant exhibit.  It was wonderful to see an approach to technology as a means of visitor participation in their exhibit in the form of a photo booth.  It was fun, effective, and even left visitors with a message of conservation on the photo strips that took home with them.  This low tech use of technology was in contrast with the use of technology that I saw at the Latino Center.  While at the Latino Center I was given demonstrations of immersive gaming experiences that put students at the site of an archaeology dig, of Augmented Reality at use in exhibits, and of the Latino Center’s digital collections.  It was truly amazing to see what possibilities high tech, digital interactives might hold for our visitors.

Along with all of these wonderful learning experiences I met some truly talent and kind people that I hope to keep in touch with.  And of course this trip provided the Museum of Man some new ideas for our hands-on exhibit space.  There was even talk about possible future collaborations between the education department at NMNH and the Museum of Man as well as the Latino Center and the Museum of Man.  I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to grow both professionally and personally through this wonderful opportunity.