Tag Archive for: Heinz History Center

Coming up in Affiliateland in February 2018

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Happy new year! We may still feel cold, but events are heating up at Affiliates across the country.

NATIONWIDE
Five Affiliates will host (via videoconference) the Smithsonian Secretary’s Youth Advisory Council meeting. Thank you to the Arab American National Museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Upcountry History Museum and the Rockwell Museum for sharing their students and spaces for this important dialogue happening in Washington, 2.7.

Eight Affiliates will host screenings of The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X , a new film from the Smithsonian Channel as part of their Black History Month programming. Thanks to the following Affiliates for sharing the film with your audiences!
2.1 – Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, MD
2.6 – Museum of History & Industry in Seattle, WA
2.7 – Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA
2.8 – African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA
2.12 – History Colorado in Denver, CO
2.22 – California African American Museum in Los Angeles
2.23 – Mennello Museum of American Art/Orlando Museum of Art, FL
2.26 – Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, TX

CALIFORNIA
The Riverside Metropolitan Museum presents the Uncovering Ancient Mexico: The Mystery of Tlatilco exhibition, exploring an ancient society in central Mexico that flourished 3000 years ago. The exhibition features 9 artifacts from the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian and opens in Riverside, 2.3

WASHINGTON
The Whatcom Museum opens Jeweled Objects of Desire featuring over 50 artifacts on loan from the National Museum of Natural History’s gem and mineral collection in Bellingham, 2.3.

FLORIDA
The Orange County Regional History Center opens the SITES’ exhibition Things Come Apart in Orlando, 2.10.

Take it Apart! A fun contest in Orlando for the Things Come Apart exhibition.

PENNSYLVANIA
A ‘rum runner’ ship model on loan from the National Museum of American History will be on view at the Heinz History Center as part of their American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition exhibition in Pittsburgh, 2.10.

OHIO
With a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, educators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Accessibility Program will lead three workshops for teachers in collaboration with the Springfield Museum of Art on strategies for using art to reach students with multiple disabilities, in Springfield, 2.15-16.

MARYLAND
Annmarie Garden opens Big Fun Art, an exhibition of local and national artists juried by Jennifer Brundage, Smithsonian Affiliations National Outreach Manager, that explores playfulness, dynamism and joy, in Solomons, 2.16.

ARIZONA
Dr. Richard Kurin will be speaking on and signing his book The Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, 2.20.

TEXAS
The Asian American Resource Center will host a teacher workshop in collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access entitled Teacher Creativity Studios: Asian Pacific America Cultural Presence in the Classroom in Austin, 2.21.

NEBRASKA
The Durham Museum will host a lecture by Dr. Krewasky Salter, Guest Associate Curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Double Victory: The African American Military Experience in Omaha, 2.27.

 

  

Affiliates in the news! July edition

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Congratulations to these Affiliates making headlines this month! Do you have a Smithsonian collaboration in the news? Email Elizabeth Bugbee, BugbeeE@si.edu, and submit your clipping for review. Each month we compile our newsmakers and distribute in our Affiliate eNewsletter.

Uncrating an exhibition

Rene Rodgers, curator of exhibits and publications, uncrates a Suffolk push mower that is part of the new Smithsonian exhibit called “Things Come Apart” that opens this weekend at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Photo-Earl Neikirk/BHC

Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, VA)
VIDEO- Birthplace of Country Music Museum hosting Smithsonian exhibit
“They will start looking around at some of the things that they use every day and really start to think about how they work and how theyve gotten to that point from where they started and actually just think about the way things are made,”Dr. René Rodgers, Museum Director and Head Curator for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum said.

Smithsonian exhibit opens Saturday at BCMM
“It’s one of those exhibits the Smithsonian Institution creates to travel around the country to various museums,” said René Rodgers, curator of exhibits and publications at the museum. “We are the third museum to have it. It’s just come to us from the Kansas City Public Library. The exhibit is based on the work of photographer and artist Todd McLellan. He has taken the idea of common, everyday objects to look at their functionality, their design, the change in technology, and he’s done that by taking them down to their component parts and creating artistic renditions of them.”

South Dakota State Historical Society (Pierre, SD)
Former Smithsonian director in Pierre on July 24
“As an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, we are delighted to bring Mr. Glass to South Dakota,” Jay Smith, director of the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, stated in a release. “He brings with him a message about the value of saving, preserving and visiting historic places which is an important aspect of the mission of the South Dakota State Historical Society. We will be discussing some of our future plans with him as well, so this is an exciting opportunity for our museum.”

Tellus Science Museum (Cartersville, GA)
SMITHSONIAN’S ‘ART OF THE AIRPORT TOWER’ CAPTURES THEIR UNIQUE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS
In the midst of a nationwide tour, the Tellus Science Museum near Atlanta is currently hosting the exhibit until September 17. The Smithsonian affiliate is home to many aviation and space flown hardware. “This is a fascinating exhibit – it combines photography, architecture, and aviation in unexpected ways,” Tellus Science Museum Executive Director Jose Santamaria said on Sunday. “It is very unique and the images are stunning.

Art of the Airport Tower exhibition

Carolyn Russo, National Air and Space Museum photographer, in front of her exhibit “Art of the Airport Tower.”

 

Virginia Museum of Natural History (Martinsville, VA)
Prehistoric adventure headed to Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville
There will also be a Stegosaurus display from the Smithsonian and fossils collected by scientists in the field.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, WY)
Firearms experts gather for Cody museum symposium
July 17 will feature speakers and session leaders from the following institutions: Cody Firearms Museum, National Rifle Association’s Museums Division, Autry Museum of the American West, Springfield Armory National Historic Site, United States Marshals Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution National Firearms Collection, Colonial Williamsburg , Royal Armouries Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pearl earrings from designer brenda smith

Southern Charm,” pearl earrings from designer Brenda Smith, are among the items on loan from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and included in a traveling exhibit that runs through next March at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Elmhurst.
Courtesy of Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary art

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art (Elmhurst, IL)
Smithsonian gems on display in Elmhurst
“Most of the pieces are either donated or gifted to the (Smithsonian) museum,” said Asher. “We’re a Smithsonian affiliate.” Asher said she worked with Smithsonian gem curator Russell Feather to select the pieces visitors will see in the “Smithsonian Gems” exhibit.

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville, SC) (VIDEO)
Children’s Museum of the Upstate provides perfect atmosphere for solar eclipse
They will also have pinhole projectors, a live stream from NASA in the Smithsonian and activities in Spark!Lab focusing on women in astronomy. “We are an official viewing site of NASA, which means that we are able to have some NASA scientists come,” Halverson told WYFF News 4’s Allyson Powell Thursday.

Tellus Science Museum and Booth Western Art Museum (both in Cartersville, GA)
Travel: Consider Cartersville, Georgia
Despite traveling extensively, I’m still impressed when I discover big things in small places. Cartersville, Ga., a city of 20,000 residents about 40 minutes north of Atlanta, has major draws. It’s the smallest town in the U.S. with two Smithsonian Affiliate Museums. The Booth Western Art Museum houses the largest permanent exhibition space for Western art in the entire country — and what a fabulous place it is.

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
Apollo 11 module will visit Pittsburgh next year — after a makeover
Before the Apollo 11 command module embarks on a cross-country tour of four museums — including the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District — it’s getting a makeover for the first time since it arrived in 1976 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, NPR reported Monday .

affiliates in the news- end of summer edition

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Congrats to these Affiliates making news!  If you have a clipping that highlights a collaboration with the Smithsonian or with a fellow Affiliate, or a clipping that demonstrates leadership in education, innovation, and arts/culture/history/science you’d like to have considered for the Affiliate blog, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee

Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, VA)
Eric Paslay, Tracy Lawrence Help CMA Songwriters Series Branch Out
New Orleans and Bristol, Virginia, are the latest cities added to the traveling show
On September 8th, country legend Tracy Lawrence along with hit writers Barry Dean (“Pontoon,” “God’s Will”) and Luke Laird (“Last Name,” “Hillbilly Bone”) will perform at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, in Bristol, Virginia. The Songwriters Series show is part of several days of events in Bristol leading up to a highly anticipated college football rivalry game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Tennessee Volunteers.

College Park Aviation Museum director with a guest reading a personal mail call letter at the Mail Call opening reception.

College Park Aviation Museum director with a guest reading a personal mail call letter at the Mail Call opening reception.

College Park Aviation Museum (College Park, MD)
New College Park Aviation Museum exhibit showcases history, importance of military mail
“The whole premise of the exhibit is how mail has always been so important to soldiers whether it was back in the Civil War up to present day. This exhibit in particular is loaded with fantastic images,” College Park Aviation Museum Director, Andrea Cochrane Tracey, said. “There are fantastic photographs from as early as the Civil War up to the 2000s and the Iraq War. There is also audio people can listen to, to hear people’s stories. There are flip cards that people can explore different aspects of mail and how it gets delivered. So it’s really a nice mix of great visual stimulation and the text.”

Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum (Ashland, NE)
SAC Aerospace Museum opens new Children’s Learning Center
Designed from “best practices” for STEM learning and innovation in consultation with Smithsonian Institution’s Spark Lab at the American History Museum and Omaha’s Heartland Scenic Studio, the center follows a kinesthetic approach to learning rather than lecture and demonstration.

Western Science Center (Hemet, CA)
Smithsonian exhibit comes to Western Science Center
The exhibit, entitled “H2O Today,” is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service (SITES). The Western Science Center is a Smithsonian affiliate.

Dr. Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory of Anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University, uses a 3D scanner to digitize Max the mastodon at the Western Science Center in Hemet, CA. Thursday, August 4, 2016. FRANK BELLINO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dr. Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory of Anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University, uses a 3D scanner to digitize Max the mastodon at the Western Science Center in Hemet, CA. Thursday, August 4, 2016.
FRANK BELLINO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Museum inspired by water to highlight the resource’s growing value
Indirectly borne from man’s need for safe drinking water, the Western Science Center will host a Smithsonian exhibit on the importance of water for the next three months.

Max the mastodon being digitized into 3-D at Western Science Center
“One of the goals of 3D scanning is to make objects available all over the world,” Means said. “You can go into schools and do public outreach. You can also teach with them.” . Means was at the Western Science Center through a grant from Smithsonian Affiliations.

Mennello Museum of American Art (Orlando, FL)
Things are popping at the Mennello Museum
The museum, in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park north of downtown, is bursting with pop-art pieces on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Among the 37 prints on view are works by Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and other top-tier names of the pop-art world.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, WY)
Lost worlds of Wyoming discussed
Reconstructing lost worlds in the Big Horn Basin is the focus of a new book by authors Kirk Johnson and Will Clyde. The two authors were the featured speakers for the Lunchtime Expedition Series at the Draper Natural History Museum. The lecture took place at the Coe Auditorium in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West on July 28.

The Arab American National Museum aims to share the stories of its diverse population. COURTESY OF THE ARAB AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

The Arab American National Museum aims to share the stories of its diverse population.
COURTESY OF THE ARAB AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI)
RADIO INTERVIEW Arab American museum places community’s stories into greater national narrative
Located in Dearborn, the museum opened in 2005, and although it has only been around for little more than a decade, it has been chosen as an affiliate of the Smithsonian.

POV: Defining ‘the Arab’ The intersection of black, Arab and Muslim
For more information, I encourage you to visit the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn (arabamericanmuseum.org), an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, for stories that beautifully weave together the relationships between the Dearborn and Detroit communities.

Virginia Museum of Natural History (Martinsville, VA)
A new dinosaur heading this way
The skeleton has a bit of history behind it, arriving at the Smithsonian in 1917. At that time, it was only the second full size Stegosaurus on display anywhere in the world. It was a cast mold, made from the original bones. Understandably, the original bones aren’t on display, due to their age. In 2003, it came to light that the original casting effort made a few mistakes, when it came to the creature’s structure, so it was recast.

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Champaign, IL)
La Pelota Is More Than A Ball Game
While we acknowledge achievement at the professional level, let us also continue to learn more about and celebrate baseball in our local communities–from San Juan to San Bernardino–and its role in narrating our valiant and vibrant history of cultural negotiation, struggle and achievement.

Visitors at the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Visitors at the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
Clemente autograph, Carnegie artifact among appraised items at event
Manda Kowalczyk from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum and representatives of the history center’s new Museum Conservation Center also were on hand with tips about historical preservation of antiques and collectibles.

Smithsonian Learning Labs delivers the world’s archives to local classrooms
Allegheny County was lucky enough to participate in the public beta launch of the platform for the 2015-2016 school year, when 15 local high schools gained access to an electronic database of images from everything the Smithsonian has digitized – more than 1.4 million multimedia resources and growing. With Pittsburgh’s rising fame as a center for technological innovation, and Smithsonian affiliate Heinz History Center located in the Strip District, Allegheny County is an ideal place to research the Learning Lab’s functionality, says Ashley Naranjo, Smithsonian learning initiatives specialist.

National Museum of Industrial History (Bethlehem, PA)
Paying Homage to the Building of America at the National Museum of Industrial History
The first of four galleries, Machinery Hall, is the strongest, with a panoply of machines, many on loan from the Smithsonian, representing the Centennial Exposition.

Arts Around Town: America’s industrial heritage proudly told at new museum in Bethlehem
A Smithsonian affiliate, the National Museum of Industrial History is dedicated to preserving America’s rich industrial heritage. The structure, a restored 40,000-square-foot, 100-year-old former Bethlehem Steel facility, sits on the largest private Brownfield in America.

Industrial museum opens in old Pa. steel plant
Among the benefits of the affiliation are sharing agreements with all 19 Smithsonian museums, which enables exhibition of objects from the national museum collection as well as providing outlets for the industry museum’s objects to be shown outside of Pennsylvania

National Museum of Industrial History. Photo courtesy of the museum.

National Museum of Industrial History. Photo courtesy of the museum.

Museum of Industrial History just needed a push
Much of that excitement was spurred by the museum’s association with the Smithsonian Institution, which shared large exhibits from Machinery Hall at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Even scaled back, the museum offers an impressive look back at the tools and machines – some of them huge – that helped generations of inventors, entrepreneurs and workers solve problems and create a wide variety of products. 

Long-Delayed Pa. Industrial Museum Finally Set to Open
After nearly two decades of delay that prompted a grand jury investigation, the National Museum of Industrial History in eastern Pennsylvania is slated to open its doors on August 2, reports the Allentown, Pa., Morning Call. The long-anticipated, Smithsonian-affiliated facility will tell the story of America’s industrial revolution with hundreds of exhibits in a 40,000-square-foot former steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa.

Museum of Industrial History open in August
The long-anticipated National Museum of Industrial History – a project so beset by delays that a grand jury investigated why – finally has an opening date.

Industrial museum opening to public after nearly 20 years in the making
It is the first Smithsonian Affiliate museum, and museum President and CEO Amy Hollander says in the release that it will serve as an inspiration to visitors. “We look forward to inspiring tomorrow’s inventors and achievers, educating audiences about the transformation of America from an agrarian society to an industrial giant, and working with public, private, and non-profit partners to attract visitors to explore local and national industrial roots,” she says.

Delayed for years, Bethlehem’s National Museum of Industrial History set for Aug. 2 grand opening
The Smithsonian-affiliated museum will offer hundreds of exhibits that tell the story of the industrial revolution in America. “We look forward to inspiring tomorrow’s inventors and achievers, educating audiences about the transformation of America from an agrarian society to an industrial giant, and working with public, private and nonprofit partners to attract visitors to explore local and national industrial roots,” museum President and CEO Amy Hollander said

Model train enthusiast keeps Bethlehem Steel exhibit on track
The museum, nearly 20 years in the making, will tell the story of how industrialization changed America. The exhibits will include those on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as well as artifacts – many local – dedicated to the silk, propane and steelmaking industries.

New history museum to unveil propane industry exhibit
The Smithsonian-affiliated National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pa., will debut a permanent propane exhibit when it opens in August.

UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures (Texas)
Former African-American League baseball players share stories
The sports curator of the Smithsonian African-American Cultural and History Museum, as well as the director of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research were also a part of the event.

Historic Annapolis (Maryland)
Comcast Newsmakers video
Historic Annapolis is proud to announce its new designation as a Smithsonian Affiliate. Founded in 1996, Smithsonian Affiliations creates partnerships between the Smithsonian Institution and cultural organizations and museums in order to facilitate educational collaborations, traveling exhibitions, and the loan of historical artifacts.

histannap

Museum of Design Atlanta (Georgia)
Museum Of Design Atlanta Opens ‘User-Centered Design’ Exhibits
“Designers have always been aware of their users,” said Museum of Design Atlanta’s executive director Laura Flusche. “But with the rise of design thinking and the emphasis on user interfaces, designers are more and more aware of finding out what the challenges their users are facing. And, that doesn’t ever mean one type of user or one class of users.”

Museum offers ‘out of this world’ photography camp (VIDEO)
Museum of Design Atlanta is offering several half and full-day summer camps for children ages five to fourteen, including one unique camp devoted to Astrophotography.  MODA partnered with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics program (Youth Capturing the Colorful Cosmos) to bring the camp here, and it gives campers access to Harvard’s telescopes and space images.

affiliates in the news: july/august 2016 edition

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Congrats to these Affiliates making news!  If you have a clipping that highlights a collaboration with the Smithsonian or with a fellow Affiliate, or a clipping that demonstrates leadership in education, innovation, and arts/culture/history/science you’d like to have considered for the Affiliate blog, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee

DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago, IL)
DuSable Gala honors rising stars and history-makers
Harold Closter, director of Smithsonian affiliations, presented Irmer with a certificate recognizing the DuSable’s official status as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. “Dr. Margaret Burroughs was a visionary who built this museum from scratch and recognized the need to build a museum from within the community for the community,” Closter said.

Orange County Regional History Center (Orlando, FL)
Preserving love and sorrow: The History Center collects Pulse tributes
Perkins said he conferred last week with curators at the Smithsonian in Washington about the challenge of keeping the keepsakes. But now is still “far too soon” for the history center’s executive director to envision a permanent exhibit of the June 12 tragedy that killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others inside the nightclub which served as a gathering place in Orlando for the LGBTQ community, he said.

Efforts underway to preserve memorial for Pulse shooting victims at Dr. Phillips Center
“It is our mission to make sure the  community’s response is not forgotten and is memorialized in its own way for future generations,” said Michael Perkins, manager of the Orange County Regional History Center. Employees from the history center will begin the preservation process. The plan is to save items left in honor of the victims. Teams will box everything up and document each detail.

Museum of Design Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
Art review: User-centric design focus of inspiring MODA show
Not only considering the needs of the user, “Beautiful Users,” which originated at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, also looks at how users have “hacked” existing products. It’s one of the most entertaining, and also inspiring, segments of the show because their inventions show the ingenuity of ordinary people in adapting design to fit their needs.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West (Scottsdale, AZ) (Affiliate to Affiliate loan)
Historic ‘Lone Wolf’ exhibition opens at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
“This wonderful exhibition is made possible through the support of numerous institutions and private collectors who contributed in various ways, including the Museum of the Plains Indian and Crafts Center, the Montana Historical Society, the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Adelante Foundation, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Butterfly Lodge Museum.”

Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI)
Small Arab-American Museum Attracts Diverse Visitors
The museum has garnered unusual national attention for a facility of its size winning accrediation from the American Alliance of Museums in record time and being picked as one of 210 Smithsonian Institution affiliate museums, meaning the two organizations share artifacts, exhibits, and educational programming.

Arab-American museum steps into second decade
AANM has become a key cultural player in Metro Detroit,  won coveted recognition from the Smithsonian Institution, and – perhaps most significant, given its mission – succeeded in attracting half its 2015 attendance of 52,189 from outside the Arab community.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas, TX)
Research on massive vertebrae sheds new light on Alamosaurus sanjuanensis
“The paper is just the culmination of almost two decades of hard work and incredible collaboration and partnerships between so many agencies and institutions,” said Tykoski. “From people at UT-D, Big Bend National Park, Bell Helicopter, the Smithsonian Institution, the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab at UT-Austin, the dedicated staff and volunteers at the Perot Museum, and other paleontologists who offered advice and insight about these animals, so many people contributed to getting the science done and the information out there for the world to see.”

Historic Annapolis (Annapolis, MD)
Historic Annapolis partners with Smithsonian
Smithsonian Affiliations “admires” Historic Annapolis for its work to preserve the structures and stories of Annapolis, Closter said. The city has important history, he said, and it can dissipate if people aren’t taking care of it. “We complement each other,” Closter said. “We tell a national story and they tell a local story, but there’s so many places where we intersect.”

Historic Annapolis partners with Smithsonian
The Annapolis nonprofit is now a part of the Smithsonian Affiliations program and will have the opportunity to borrow items from the Smithsonian museums, as well as organize educational collaborations and traveling exhibitions, said Carrie Kiewitt, spokeswoman for Historic Annapolis. The organization is one of six affiliates in Maryland and one of 200 in the country.

Mennello Museum of Art (Orlando, FL)
Pop Art Prints from the Smithsonian pack a serious punch at the Mennello
There will also be the Family Days the Mennello is known for, with kids’ activities involving Lichtenstein’s dots and a “Make Your Own Warhol” event. But, Fitzgerald says, “I want more things for adults to do. We need to connect what’s going on in here with the outside world.” Pop Art Prints seems like the ideal show for the Mennello to bridge the gap between kids and adults, between folk and fine art.

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA)
Shaler Area teacher helps to test Smithsonian online lab for schools
Gray was one of 33 middle school teachers in 15 Allegheny County schools to test out the new Smithsonian Learning Lab over the last school year, Naranjo said. The opportunity was made available through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and Heinz History Center thanks to a grant from the Grable Foundation.

Idaho Museum of Natural History (Pocatello, ID)
Smithsonian water exhibit traveling through Idaho
Idaho Humanities Council Director Rick Ardinger believes the latest Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit to grace the state is especially timely, given the Legislature’s recent commitments to maintaining a stable water supply. The exhibit will be displayed in six Idaho cities, moving to the Sun Valley Museum of History in Ketchum from July 16 through Aug. 28, to the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello from Sept. 3 through Oct. 16.

Denver Art Museum (Denver, CO)
Denver Art Museum to display original ‘Star Wars’ costumes
‘Star Wars’ fans are in for a treat served up by the Denver Art Museum this November, 2016. The ‘Star Wars and the Power of Costume’ exhibit begins Nov. 13, 2016. Fans will get the chance to listen to the music of John Williams while they tour through a display of over 60 original costumes from all seven of the films. Get those phones and cameras ready as attendees will get to meet and take photos with ‘Star Wars’ characters. The costumes of ‘Star Wars’ are not only pop culture, they are a part of most people’s lives. Most any person can be shown a costume and they can instantly identify the character by the brilliance in the design.

High Museum of Art (Atlanta, GA)
Walker Evans Wrote the Story of America With His Camera
Evans, who was born in 1903 in St. Louis and died 72 years later, is the subject of a long-overdue traveling exhibition of 120 pictures–a relatively small sample of his remarkable life’s work–organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (a Smithsonian Affiliate), the Josef Albers Museum Quadrat in Bottrop, Germany, and the Vancouver Art Galley. The show will be in Atlanta from June 11 until September 11.

Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle (Doylestown, PA)
Mercer Museum in Doylestown now Smithsonian affiliate
This year, as the Doylestown museum celebrates its centennial anniversary, it has another honor to fete. Last month, museum officials announced that it was named a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, along with its sister site, Fonthill Castle, Henry Mercer’s former home. The designation makes them two of 210 affiliates in the country and forges a relationship with the Smithsonian that allows the institutions to share knowledge, artifacts, and exhibitions.

2 Bucks County Museums Named Smithsonian Affiliates
Two Bucks County institutions have been named affiliates of the Smithsonian Institution, giving them a wider cache of collections and artifacts, exhibitions, research and educational collaborations.

California African American Museum (Los Angeles, CA), National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH), DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago, IL)
12 Incredible Black History Museums Everyone Should Visit

Bakken Museum (Minneapolis, MN)
Bakken Museum is first in Minnesota to be a Smithsonian Affiliate
The Bakken Museum has been named a Smithsonian Affiliate which means it will share research, collaborate on exhibitions, and borrow items from the Smithsonian’s 136 million piece collection. It’s the first Smithsonian Affiliate in Minnesota, but one of more than 200 in 45 states, Puerto Rico and Panama.

Minneapolis’ Bakken Museum is first Minnesota affiliate of Smithsonian
The affiliation means a long-term partnership between the Bakken and Smithsonian Institution with opportunities to collaborate on projects.

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor (Honolulu, HI)
Lessons Learned from History
Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii held a regional youth summit May 17 at the museum on the topic of Japanese American incarceration during World War II.  The program engaged young people in a conversation about the nation’s past and its lessons for today, and was sponsored by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in collaboration with affiliated museums.

Saint Louis Science Center (St. Louis, MO)
Science Center now a Smithsonian Affiliate
“We are very pleased to join the ranks of some very distinguished organizations and institutions across the country,” said Bert Vescolani, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center. “Having the opportunity to share Smithsonian artifacts, including space capsules, aircraft and rare minerals with our visitors will help to spark interest and excitement in science and the important role it plays in our lives.”

Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, ME)
Abbe Museum’s new exhibition tells difficult Native American stories
“It means not following the standard narrative of how the country was settled and bringing in broader perspectives and multiple points of view,” said Harold Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations, which encourages partnerships among museums and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. “It means recognizing there were people here and those people are still here and they are part of the fabric of our history and our national culture.”

Upcountry History Museum (Greenville, SC)
Museum explores political campaigns
“We always do try to link the national traveling exhibit with something local,” says Elizabeth Gunter, the museum’s director of programs and marketing. “As part of that exhibit, we are getting objects on loan from the Strom Thurmond Institute, Clemson’s special collection. . In addition to Clemson, we’re also getting objects on loan from the Smithsonian, we’re getting objects from the National Portrait Gallery.”

Kudos- July/August 2016

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Congrats to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments!

Funding

The San Diego Air & Space Museum (San Diego, CA) recently selected 13 graduating seniors from San Diego County high schools to receive a total of $51,000 in scholarships. These scholarships are awarded annually to inspire young people to tackle the challenges of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics academic disciplines, and to make a difference in tomorrow’s world through an innovative, adventurous spirit.

Framingham State University (Framingham, MA) received $7,800 from The MetroWest Health Foundation for the development of programs and resources related to sexual violence education and prevention.

Duke Energy Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant to Conner Prairie (Fishers, IN) to help establish a new maker’s program set to debut in phases starting later this year. The grant will help Conner Prairie develop and prototype programming, create temporary venues to implement and evaluate its programs and provide continued learning opportunities for teachers that focus on how the making movement supports STEM learning. The grant will also help the museum build a permanent maker space that will feature year-round programming and maker-oriented school programs that meet or exceed Indiana’s educational standards.

Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs through the Historical Resource Development Program awarded Dubuque Museum of Art (Dubuque, IA) $14,500 to help the museum conserve and exhibit a set of historic architectural drawings, created by renowned landscape architect Alfred Caldwell, of Eagle Point Park.

The Flushing Council on Culture and Arts, based in Flushing Town Hall (Flushing, NY), received nearly $600,000 in capital funding from the borough of Queens.

The Connecticut Humanities Council announced that Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT) is the recipient of a $9,979 grant that will help the maritime museum establish two training programs for the museum staff. One program will explore methods of producing interpretive techniques while the other will encourage the use of evaluation for continuous improvement.

Awards and Recognition

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) announced the winners of the 71st annual Leadership in History Awards including the following Affiliate initiatives:

California African American Museum (Los Angeles, CA), Stephanie DeLancey, and dewdropstudios: for the exhibit Coloring Independently: 1940s African American Film Stills from the Collection of the California African American Museum.

HistoryMiami (Miami, FL) for the exhibit Operation Pedro Pan: The Cuban Children’s Exodus.

Indiana Historical Society (Indianapolis, IN) for the project Indiana History for the Secondary Classroom.

Montana Historical Society (Helena, MT) for the exhibit Forgotten Pioneers: The Chinese in Montana.

North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, NC) for the exhibit Starring North Carolina!

Greensboro Historical Museum (Greensboro, NC) for the exhibit Warnersville: Our Home, Our Neighborhood, Our Stories.

Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA) for the exhibit We Can Do It! WWII.

Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, TN) for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum permanent exhibits.

Museum of History & Industry (Seattle, WA) for the exhibit The Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop.

The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (Hershey, PA) received six NAAMY Awards during the National Association of Automobile Museums (NAAM) Conference in the following categories:

Second Place – Division II Newsletters & Magazines for the Reflections Newsletter publication intended to share information about the AACA Museum exhibits and activities with our members and donors.

Second Place – Division II Events & Public Promotions for the Back to the Future 30th Anniversary Tribute Car & Future Day promotional event.

Second Place – Division II Film & Video for the Motorbikes for the Masses exhibit promotional video hosted on the AACA Museum website and social media channels.

Second Place – Division II Educational Programs for the grade specific educational materials created by Lebanon Valley College Masters students inspired by AACA Museum exhibits.

Third Place – Division II Events and Public Promotions related to the 6th Annual Wedding Showcase event held in February.

Third Place – Division II Films & Video for the Lotus: The Art of Lightness video to promote the exhibit to visitors of the AACA Museum website.

The readers of Miami New Times have named The Wolfsonian (Miami Beach, FL) as Miami’s Best Museum of 2016!

The Honorable Dennis Ross (Florida) recognized in the Congressional Record, the Polk Museum of Art (Lakeland, FL) for its’ 50 years of service to the community.

The Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs, AR) is one of 10 recipients of the 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. For 22 years, the award has celebrated institutions that respond to societal needs in innovative ways, making a difference for individuals, families, and their communities.

Leadership and Staff Changes

Best wishes to President and chief executive, Stuart Ashman of the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, CA) who announced he will be stepping down from his position in July to take a leadership position at the Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe in New Mexico.

what’s going on in Affiliateland this summer?

/in , , , /by

Short answer – A LOT!

SOUTH DAKOTA
The South Dakota State Historical Society featured Searching for Life in the Solar System, a web program from the National Air and Space Museum on 7.9.

COLORADO  
The Denver Art Museum opened the Rhythm and Roots:  Dance in American Art exhibition, featuring artworks on loan from the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Denver, 7.10.

TEXAS
Dr. Damion Thomas, sports curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, presented a talk on African American baseball leagues at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, 7.16.

CALIFORNIA
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes hosted a collecting initiative event around Latinos and Baseball: In the Barrios and the Big Leagues with curators from the National Museum of American History, 7.17.

Affiliations director Harold Closter attended and welcomed the California African American Museum into the Smithsonian family at an Affiliate announcement in Los Angeles, 7.20.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Founding director and senior scholar Loren Schoenberg from the National Jazz Museum in Harlem led a public program/performance on Duke Ellington for the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, 7.21.

Several staff from Affiliates took part in the George Washington University Museum Leadership Training Program in Washington, 7.25-26.

GEORGIA

Design curator Ellen Lupton to speak in Atlanta in August.

Design curator Ellen Lupton to speak in Atlanta in August.

Ellen Lupton, a curator at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present a talk on her recent work on design exhibitions at the Museum of Design in Atlanta, 8.2.

PENNSYLVANIA
The National Museum of Industrial History will open its doors to the public and host a dedication ceremony featuring staff from the Smithsonian, in Bethlehem, 8.2.

Manda Kowalczyk, conservator from the National Postal Museum, will participate in Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures: An Antiques Appraisal Show at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, 8.7.

MARYLAND
The College Park Aviation Museum will open Mail Call, an exhibition from the National Postal Museum and SITES in College Park, 8.6.

FLORIDA
The Orange County Regional History Center  will open SITES’ Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project in Orlando, 8.20.