Tag Archive for: historic annapolis

Kudos Affiliates!!! February 2024

Kudos to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments! Do you have kudos to share? Please send potential entries to Aaron Glavas, GlavasC@si.edu.

FUNDING

Frontiers of Flight Museum (Dallas, TX) received a grant from the PPG Foundation to provide aerospace education to the North Texas area. The grant contribution from the foundation will allow over 4,000 girls from underserved Dallas County neighborhoods to participate in its Aerospace-STEM Challenge for Girls program next year. The museum’s initiative provides opportunities for girls to learn from women in senior leadership roles in the aerospace industry.

Adler Planetarium (Chicago, IL) will partner with Southern Illinois University on a $2.6M grant from NASA for the SolarSTEAM project, which uses celestial marvels as inspiration to study the sun. The grant, which runs through June 2026, will pay for a multifaceted, national heliophysics public engagement and empowerment program centered on the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. Adler Planetarium will provide heliophysics-themed videos and other visualizations tied to actual events for national distribution to museums, planetariums and amateur astronomy clubs.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Plimoth Patuxet Museums (Plymouth, MA) received two awards from the New England Museum Association (NEMA) that recognize the outstanding work of museum staff and projects. Kim VanWormer, Guest Experience Manager for the Plimoth Grist Mill, was the recipient of NEMA’s tenth annual Excellence Award and Plimoth Patuxet received second place in NEMA’s 2023 Publication Award for its keystone publication – Plimoth Patuxet Life: The Thanksgiving Edition.

George Sparks, President & CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, CO) was the winner of the Pinnacle Award in the Denver Business Journal’s 2023 Most Admired CEO awards program.

The American Alliance of Museums announced 41 reaccreditation awards featuring the following Affiliates:

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Maha Freij, president & CEO of Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), was honored with the prestigious “Let Freedom Ring” Social Service award. The award presented by Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition, recognizes individuals whose work and actions embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of social justice and humanity. ACCESS is the parent organization of the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI).

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Kudos Affiliates!! October 2022

Kudos to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments! Do you have kudos to share? Please send potential entries to Aaron Glavas, GlavasC@si.edu.

FUNDING

Historic Annapolis (Annapolis, MD) has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant by the National Park Service to support the state-of-the-art restoration of the James Brice House, a National Historic Landmark located in downtown Annapolis. The grant is part of the inaugural round of funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

LEADERSHIP

HistoryMiami Museum (Miami, FL) has selected Natalia Crujeiras as its new CEO and executive director, becoming the first woman to assume the leadership of the museum. Starting October 3, she will officially take on the role that was previously held by Jorge Zamanillo, who was tapped in February as founding director of the Smithsonian’s newly created National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, DC. Previously, Ms. Crujeiras was executive director of cultural affairs for Miami Dade College and led six Miami-Dade cultural institutions, including the Miami Book Fair, the National History Landmark Freedom Tower, Miami Dade College Special Collections Galleries and the Miami Film Festival.

Historic Annapolis announced Karen Theimer Brown assumes the position of President and CEO of Historic Annapolis, serving as the day-to-day leader of the organization. Previously Senior Vice President of Preservation, Brown’s promotion builds on six years of her demonstrated leadership at HA and a growing presence in community affairs. Brown takes over from Robert C. Clark, whose role will shift to Executive Chairman of the organization.

The Museum of Arts & Sciences (Daytona Beach, FL) has appointed Tabitha Schmidt as executive director, succeeding Interim Executive Director Maria Hane, and former Executive Director Andrew Sandall. Ms. Schmidt comes to the museum after serving as the CEO of the Powell Gardens. Kansas City’s botanical garden, for the past six years. During her tenure at Powell, she guided the gardens through a shift in strategic direction that resulted in the highest attendance and membership numbers in its history.

Coming Up in Affiliateland in June 2021

Enjoy these summer offerings!

Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo book coverWASHINGTON
Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator at the National Air and Space Museum, will give a virtual lecture on her new book Operation Moonglow for the Museum of Flight, Seattle, 6.3. They also collaborated on a podcast, here. 

CALIFORNIA
The USS Hornet- Sea, Air and Space Museum in Alameda will screen Smithsonian Channel’s Battle of Midway: The True Story virtually, 6.6.

Jon Grinspan headshot

National Museum of American History Curator Jon Grinspan

NATIONWIDE
Affiliates across the country will co-host our latest Virtual Scholar Talk, What America’s Greatest Father-Daughter Political Dynasty Teaches Us About Fixing Democracy.  National Museum of American History curator Dr. Jon Grinspan will share this story from his book, The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought To Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915, 6.17.

From Miami to Alameda, Indianapolis to San Antonio, Smithsonian Affiliates all over the country will disseminate thousands of copies of Inspiration Nation, a summer activity guide for K-8 students presented by the Smithsonian in collaboration with USA Today. Filled with stories from the Smithsonian, students can use the publication to step away from their screens and find inspiration everywhere around them.

Coming Up in Affiliateland in May 2021

Spring continues to bloom at Affiliates! 

MISSOURI

Billie Holiday on stage at Sugar Hill

Billie Holiday on stage at Sugar Hill, Newark, New Jersey, April, 1957. All photographs © 2018 Jerry Dantzic/ Jerry Dantzic Archives. All rights reserved.

The American Jazz Museum will open the SITES’ exhibition Billie Holiday at Sugar Hill, in Kansas City, 5.8.

MARYLAND
Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator at the National Air and Space Museum, will give a virtual lecture on her new book Operation Moonglow for Historic Annapolis, hosted in Annapolis, 5.4.

MICHIGAN
Dr. Muir-Harmony will also talk about Operation Moonglow for the audiences of the Yankee Air Museum, hosted from Belleville, 5.5.

NEW YORK
As part of its Environments Examined series, the Rockwell Museum will host a virtual panel with scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and National Air and Space Museum, From High Tech Science to High Tech Art: Transforming Data into Action, hosted from Corning, 5.27.

Kudos Affiliates!! March 2020

Congratulations to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments! Do you have kudos to share? Please send potential entries to Aaron Glavas, GlavasC@si.edu.

FUNDING

Springfield Museum of Art (Springfield, OH) received a $500,000 pledge from Speedway LLC to open its Art Invites capital campaign. The museum is now reaching out to the public to help bring in the final $1.2 million needed to fulfill the campaign goal. The funds raised will be used to tear down the oldest parts of the museum building, while increasing the educational space, which will double in size.

Mars Wrigley announced that the Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Research Grant is being awarded to five institutions across the U.S. and Canada in the areas of research and chocolate programming, including George Washington’s Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, VA). The grant will be used to create professional development workshops and field trips designed to reach 40 teachers and 600 students in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). A unit entitled Chocolate and Trade: The Americas will be developed in collaboration with DCPS to support and enhance the current 6th grade social studies curriculum. Students will learn about the history of chocolate.

Citizens Bank of Kansas will provide scholarships to eight students to experience hands-on STEAM learning at a camp offered by the Cosmosphere (Hutchinson, KS). Scholarship winners will attend the Cosmosphere’s Mars Academy Camp, a four-day, three-night camp where students will focus on building a habitat for another world, understand and overcome the challenges of gathering resources necessary for life, and practice skills like operating robots and drones. The camp activities culminate in a team mission to orbit Earth. In addition, The MAAM Foundation is offering scholarships to qualifying students to attend the 2020 Cosmo Camps. These multi-day resident camps are focused on STEM-based educational experiences with a focus on aviation, aerospace, and space activities.

Framingham State University (Framingham. MA) was awarded $26,667 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of the fiscal year 2020 Partnerships Matching Funds Program to improve trails in Ashland. The money will be used to replace a drainage pipe, regrade pathways and improve storm water runoff treatment.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $750,000 over two-years to the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI) for its landmark Artists + Residents program. Artists + Residents enlists national and international artists whose work centers on the complexities of Arab and Arab American representation and expression. Funds from the grant will be used to support residencies with a wide range of focuses and mediums and will include everything from artist talks and workshops to large-scale productions and exhibitions.

AWARDS & STAFF RECOGNITION

Robert C. Clark, President and CEO of Historic Annapolis, was awarded a 2020 Maryland Preservation Award in the Category of Outstanding Individual Leadership. Photo courtesy Historic Annapolis.

Historic Annapolis (Annapolis, MD) announced that Robert C. Clark, its President and CEO, was awarded a 2020 Maryland Preservation Award in the Category of Outstanding Individual Leadership. The Maryland Preservation Award Program, now in its 45th year, recognizes outstanding efforts in historic preservation, including education, restoration, and revitalization projects, as well as organizational and individual leadership. Mr. Clark was recognized for his effort in elevating the profile and visibility of historic preservation and cultural heritage programs in Annapolis.

The Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA) received two awards at the annual Public Relations Society of America Pittsburgh Renaissance Awards.  Their submission for the successful #MoonBox campaign (implemented during the final month of Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission, an exhibition by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) won the first-place Renaissance Award for Best Social Media Campaign of 2019. They also won an Award of Merit (second place) for the entire Destination Moon exhibit integrated marketing campaign that helped draw more than 100,000 visitors to the History Center during the exhibit’s four-month run.

LEADERSHIP

Marta Mabel Pérez, has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (Santurce, Puerto Rico). Marta Mabel has been part of the MAPR’s team since 2005 when she founded, and managed for 12 years, the innovative Artist Assistance Program (PROA), a project of liaison with the artistic community in Puerto Rico. She recently served as the interim Executive Director for the museum.

The trustees of the Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, ME) announced the selection of Christopher Newell as its new Executive Director and Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations. Newell is a professional museum educator and a proud citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe. He has served since 2015 as Education Supervisor for the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (also a Smithsonian Affiliate) where his team created educational experiences.

Coming up in Affiliateland in November 2019

We are thankful for our amazing Affiliates and all that you do!

WASHINGTON
The Museum of History and Industry will open SITES’ Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation exhibition in Seattle, 11.2.

Group of women in colorful saries,

The Museum of History and Industry will host ‘Sari Stories’ featuring personal stories and a draping demonstration.

OHIO
National Museum of American History curator Frank Blazich is giving two talks at the Ohio History Connection for Veteran’s Day on Navy Pontoon Technology and on the Army’s Pigeon Service, in Columbus, 11.9.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Moon Landing in Context series continues at Framingham State University with a talk by National Air and Space Museum curator Teasel Muir-Harmony on The Future of Space Exploration: The Policy Perspective, in Framingham, 11.14.

MARYLAND
National Air and Space curator emerita Valerie Neal will moderate a discussion of three former and current astronauts in a program commemorating the Apollo program with Historic Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, 11.17.