Tag Archive for: Mystic Seaport

kudos Affiliates! february 2017

/in , , , /by

Congrats to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments.

FUNDING

Union Station Kansas City (Kansas City, MO) received a $1 million gift for the creation of an outdoor concert and festival space from the Michael and Marlys Haverty Family Foundation. The landscaped festival plaza is part of the station’s nearly $8 million expansion that also includes a new traffic and pedestrian bridge. The gift will also be used to create an indoor gallery to house paintings depicting the 12 original railroads that formed a consortium to create Union Station in 1914.

Ball Brothers Foundation awarded $3.7 million in grants to nearly a dozen organizations including $25,000 to the Indiana Historical Society (Indianapolis, IN) for the Delaware County History Journeys project.

Conner Prairie Interactive History Park (Fishers, IN) received a $400,000 grant from Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation, to support a capital improvement project aimed at increasing energy efficiency at the park’s Welcome Center. The funds will be used to replace several aging HVAC air-handling units with high-efficiency units.

The founders of Ricker’s fuel and convenience stores pledged $500,000 to Conner Prairie to help restore the museum’s Chinese House, a historic venue on the property.

Wild Swan Theater announced a $29,200 grant award from the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) Charitable Foundation Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The funds will be used to develop, in collaboration with the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI), an original, main stage and touring production for elementary school audiences inspired by Arab folktales-Marketplace Stories: Folktales from the Arab World.

Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), joined by the Board of Directors for the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, announced the allocation of $125,000 for renovations to Flushing Town Hall (Queens, NY).

The Kenosha City Council approved $500,000 for a new exhibit at the Kenosha Public Museum (Kenosha, WI). The second-floor “A World of Diversity” permanent exhibit will be redesigned to interweave with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) standards.

 The Kona Historical Society (Captain Cook, HI) has received a $28,000 grant from the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) to expand its Hands On History program at Kona Coffee Living History Farm.

 

AWARDS and RECOGNITION

Kyle Wenger, Chief Financial Officer of Conner Prairie (Fishers, IN) has been name 2016 CFO of the Year by the Indianapolis Business Journal.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has given its Driehaus Preservation Award to the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship at Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT).

Independent Sector, the only national membership organization that brings together nonprofits, foundations and corporations to advance the common good, announced its 2016-17 American Express NGen Fellows, which includes Devon Akmon, director of the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI).  The 12 outstanding charitable-sector leaders aged 40 and under will engage over the next year in a range of activities that deepen individual capabilities, expand collective knowledge and grow professional networks.

President Barack Obama appointed Beth Takekawa, Executive Director of the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (Seattle, WA) to the National Museum and Library Services Board.

 

LEADERSHIP and STAFF CHANGES

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (Palm Springs, CA) has hired Julia Bussinger, former director of the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Texas, to be its new executive director.

 

 

kudos affiliates

/in , , /by

Congrats to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments.

Funding

Mystic Seaport announced today it has received a $1 million gift from the Thompson Family Foundation to support the Thompson Exhibition Building, the Museum’s first new exhibition building in more than four decades. The Thompson Building opened to visitors on September 24, 2016. The Thompson Family Foundation’s latest gift caps the $15.3 million required to fund the exhibition building and the McGraw Gallery Quadrangle project. This fundraising effort was scheduled to conclude on December 31. The first exhibit to be featured in the Thompson Building will be “Sea-Change,” a dramatic presentation of a range of beautiful and unique objects drawn from the collections of Mystic Seaport.

Massachusetts officials have announced state funding for an exhibit at a new museum highlighting the life and work of a renowned children’s book author. The two state senators representing Springfield, Eric Lesser and James Welch, said Wednesday that $200,000 has been earmarked for a bilingual literacy exhibit in the new Dr. Seuss Museum. Springfield Museums President Kay Simpson said momentum is building toward the opening of the new museum in just a few months. The museum will be the only one in the world devoted exclusively to Theodore Geisel, the Springfield native who authored the Dr. Seuss children’s books.

IMLS announced four STEMeX awards– the first of their kind for the agency – which fund research on informal educational approaches that make use of the knowledge and skills of community Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) experts. These long anticipated awards generated a tremendous response from the field, and all of us at IMLS are anxious to see the results of this important work. Researchers from the High Desert Museum, Oregon State University Cascades and the Deschutes Public Library, will answer questions including: How might the experts’ use of storytelling impact rural families’ talk during STEM activities, understanding of the nature of science, engagement, and attitudes?

Awards and Recognition

Antonio “Tony” J. Busalacchi, president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), will be inducted next week into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Election to the NAE honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education. It is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer and those working at the intersection of science and engineering. Busalacchi was elected for his contributions to “understanding of tropical oceans in coupled climate systems via remotely sensed observations and for international leadership of climate prediction/projection research.”

The Arab American National Museum’s (AANM) founding director, Dr. Anan Ameri, has been selected for induction into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. Ameri is one of nine women chosen, from among more than 110 nominees, to receive the honor  as a member of the 33rd class of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame, part of the Michigan Women’s Historical Center in Lansing.

The Greensboro Historical Museum has received a national award from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for the exhibition “Warnersville: Our Home, Our Neighborhood, Our Stories.” The Leadership in History Award is the most prestigious form of recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

 

Kudos- July/August 2016

/in , , , /by

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.

way to go Affiliates! kudos for March 2016

/in , /by

Congrats to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments.

FUNDING

Pennsylvania’s Northampton County Council awarded more than $480,000 in grants raised from hotel room taxes to a variety of organizations, including the National Canal Museum, Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, and the National Museum of Industrial History to promote tourism, historical sites and cultural events in the region.

The state of Connecticut has announced that Mystic Seaport will receive $2 million in state funding to assist with the construction of a new exhibition building. The $11.5 million Thompson Exhibition Building will house a state-of-the-art 5,000-square-foot gallery that will allow it to attract traveling exhibits and display more of its own collection.

South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), in partnership with the town of Framingham, Framingham State

Sam Black, President of the Association of African American Museums and curator at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

Sam Black, President of the Association of African American Museums and curator at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

University and several other local organizations, received $125,000 to create a microlending program and a resource center for low and moderate-income residents looking to open their own business.

The Museum of Work and Culture, part of the Rhode Island Historical Society in Woonsocket, was among recipients of State Preservation Grants announced recently, and received $20,000.

RECOGNITION

Sam Black, curator at the Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, PA) was profiled in Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the most noted contemporary scholars of African American history.
You Should Know: Samuel W. Black

STAFF CHANGES

Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, the new director of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City.

Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, the new director of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City.

The American Jazz Museum‘s (Kansas City, MO) new director, Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, is eager to collaborate.

 

 

what’s up in Affiliateland in March 2016

/in , , , , /by

CONNECTICUT
Roger Connor, Curator at the National Air and Space Museum, will present a talk on “By the Stars to Victory: Making Aerial Celestial Navigation Practical Between the World Wars” as part of the Stars of the Smithsonian lecture series at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, 3.3.

PENNSYLVANIA
The traveling exhibition Toys of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s opens at the Heinz History Center with two artifact loans from the National Museum of American History – a toy computer from 1965 and a vintage Mr. Potato Head, in Pittsburgh, 3.4.

NATIONWIDE
Over 40 Affiliates nationwide will take place in the special edition of Museum Day Live!, offering free admission and special programming on 3.12.

Carla Dove, Program Manager at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology

Carla Dove, Program Manager at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology

NORTH CAROLINA
Carla Dove, forensic ornithologist at the National Museum of Natural History, will explain to visitors her job in identifying what types of birds collide with airplanes, and how that helps to make aviation a safer industry at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, 3.12.

NEW MEXICO
Jeffrey Post, Curator at the National Museum of Natural History, will present a talk on the American gemstone jewelry collection at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, 3.15.

IDAHO
The Idaho Museum of Natural History opens SITES Titanoboa: Monster Snake exhibition in Pocatello, 3.19.

Briana Pobiner of the National Museum of Natural History holds a hominid skull.

Briana Pobiner of the National Museum of Natural History holds a hominid skull.

MASSACHUSETTS
Dr. Briana Pobiner, educator at the National Museum of Natural History, will present a talk on “Ancient Appetites: What Our Ancestors Really Ate and How We Know” at Framingham State University in Framingham, 3.21.

what’s new in Affiliateland in February 2016

/in , , /by

2016 is off to a great start with some noteworthy events at Affiliates:

NEW YORK
Undersecretary for Museums and Research Richard Kurin will give a lecture on the Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects followed by a book signing at the Museum of American Finance in New York, 2.10.

FLORIDA
National Museum of African American History and Culture curator Dr. Joanne Hyppolite will talk about their new museum at HistoryMiami in Miami, 2.11.

Curator Christine Kreamer from the National Museum of African Art

Curator Christine Kreamer from the National Museum of African Art

CONNECTICUT
National Museum of African Art curator Christine Kreamer will give a talk on African Cosmos: Stellar Arts in the Stars of the Smithsonian lecture series at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, 2.11.

NORTH CAROLINA
Undersecretary for Museums and Research Richard Kurin will give a lecture on the Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects followed by a book signing at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, 2.16.

MARYLAND
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture will host a screening of the Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary series, Major League Legends with a film on Hank Aaron in Baltimore, 2.17.

Several Affiliates will host screenings of the first installment of Major League Legends, a new documentary series, starting with a profile of Hank Aaron, produced by the Smithsonian Channel and Major League Baseball.

Several Affiliates will host screenings of the first installment of Major League Legends, a new documentary series, starting with a profile of Hank Aaron, produced by the Smithsonian Channel and Major League Baseball.

PENNSYLVANIA
The African American Museum will host a screening of the Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary on Hank Aaron in Philadelphia, 2.18.

The Heinz History Center will also screen the Hank Aaron documentary in Pittsburgh, 2.29.

TEXAS
Affiliations director Harold Closter will give remarks at the Asian Festival hosted by the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, 2.13.

WASHINGTON
The Museum of History and Industry will host a screening of the Smithsonian Channel’s new documentary on Hank Aaron in Seattle, 2.22.

COLORADO
History Colorado will host a screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary on Hank Aaron in Denver, 2.23.