Tag Archive for: smithsonian institution

Katharine Hepburn at The Durham Museum

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Special thanks for this guest post to Amy Henderson, National Portrait Gallery’s historian emerita. Amy is a cultural historian specializing in “the lively arts”–particularly media-generated celebrity culture. Her books and exhibitions run the gamut from the pioneers in early broadcasting to Elvis Presley, Katharine Hepburn and Katharine Graham.

In the late 1980s, I met writer-director Garson Kanin at a Washington dinner party, and he set the stage for one of my happiest adventures as a cultural historian at the National Portrait Gallery. When I discovered that Garson, who wrote and directed all of the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy movies, lived next door to Herself in New York, I whined until he promised to give me her address. My excuse? The Portrait Gallery needed a fine portrait of the iconic actress!

Garson’s introduction worked, and I got to know Miss Hepburn in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I would have coffee and cookies with her when I traveled to New York, and we always went on an exploration of all the portraits she kept in her townhouse; there were a lot, since she had known artists her entire life.

She mentioned “all the costumes” on the upper floor, but I never got a glimpse. Now, thanks to the Durham Museum in Omaha, the costumes are on full view. “Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen” is drawn from the Kent State Museum’s Hepburn Costume Collection, and features more than 35 costumes worn in 21 films and 6 stage productions–and some of her private life clothes.

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Mick Hale, Director of Education at the Durham, heard that I had curated a 2007 Portrait Gallery exhibition celebrating Hepburn’s centennial, and invited me to speak about her life in conjunction with the Durham’s costume show. I eagerly accepted, and spoke at this Smithsonian Affiliate in April. Talking about her life, I focused mainly on Hepburn’s remarkable ability to fashion her own image, even in the heyday of the Hollywood studio system when studios configured their stars to reflect their own particular movie “brand.”  E.g., Warner Bros. had a “Murderers’ Row” of gangsters, while MGM boasted “all the stars in the heavens.”

The Durham has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since 2002, and Mick Hale estimates that they have hosted 25 or so traveling exhibitions such as the Hepburn costumes. Other recent speakers have included Mike Neufeld from the National Air and Space Museum, who spoke about the Apollo 8 mission during the Durham’s “1968” exhibition; and Smithsonian Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture, Richard Kurin, who shared his stories about 101 Smithsonian artifacts last Fall when the Durham hosted the Franklin Institute’s traveling exhibit “Identity: An Exhibition of You.”

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My visit was enormous fun. First, the museum itself is lodged in what had been a stunning Art Deco train station that opened in 1931; lofty ceilings and a sense of bustle create an instantly uplifting “wow” museum experience. Second, for me it was great to see the costumes Hepburn wore during her long stage and screen career. Her waist was TINY–20”–and it was fascinating to see costumes from such landmark performances as the Broadway version of the Philadelphia Story. I also lingered over the section that spotlighted her impeccably tailored tan slacks, of which she had dozens.

My visit came at the end of Mick Hale’s tenure as education director at the Durham. After ten years, he is heading toward new challenges, directing a leadership initiative in Lincoln. But his dynamic partnership with the Smithsonian will remain firmly rooted at the Durham. “The museum and I are very proud of what we have done with the Smithsonian,” he told me, “and I know the quality work and collaboration will continue for a long time.”

image003All photos courtesy of the Durham Museum.

Affiliates in the news! May 2015 edition

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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.

Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals (Hillsboro, OR)
Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals announces new affiliation with Smithsonian
Harvey goes on to say that the affiliation “confirms that [the Rice Museum] meets the high standards required to assist our schools and community in earth science education. It assures that visitors and supporters of the museum can have confidence in the quality and content of the exhibits, plus enjoyment in viewing fine minerals, fossils, meteorites and lapidary specimens.”

Jessica Tenenbaum, left, a program manager for the Pinhead Institute, presented the Smithsonian Institution’s webcast “Mineral Dependence: Gemstones to Cell Phones” Thursday at the Wilkinson Public Library. [Photo by Stephen Elliott]

Jessica Tenenbaum, left, a program manager for the Pinhead Institute, presented the Smithsonian Institution’s webcast “Mineral Dependence: Gemstones to Cell Phones” Thursday at the Wilkinson Public Library. [Photo by Stephen Elliott]

The Pinhead Institute (Telluride, CO)
Rock talk
Jessica Tenenbaum, left, a program manager for the Pinhead Institute, presented the Smithsonian Institute’s webcast “Mineral Dependence: Gemstones to Cell Phones” Thursday at the Wilkinson Public Library. The webcast featured Smithsonian geologist Michael Wise explaining different types of minerals, and was geared toward students.

National Museum of American Jewish History (Philadelphia, PA)
Why Albert Einstein, the Genius Behind the Theory of Relativity, Loved His Pipe
And yet, as the 60th anniversary of Einstein’s death approaches on April 18, the pipe itself is not currently on display among the science holdings of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington. Instead, as proof of its popularity, it’s at the National Museum of American Jewish History, a Smithsonian affiliate in Philadelphia, for several years.

College Park Aviation Museum (College Park, MD)
Smithsonian curator to give presentation at College Park Aviation Museum
Dr. Andrew K. Johnston, geographer and curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, will present “Beyond GPS: Navigation on Earth and in Space” at the College Park Aviation Museum

South Carolina State Museum (Columbia, SC)
‘Happy Hubble 25’: State Museum to celebrate space telescope’s 25th anniversary
The event will feature a live-stream webcast from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, in which guests will hear from NASA subject matter experts about the shuttle missions needed for launching and servicing the Hubble Space Telescope.

This building, now the Museum of Contemporary Art, sits on one side of the Avenue of the Martyrs. It commemorates the 1964 Panamanian Flag Riots. Photo by Susana Raab, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.

This building, now the Museum of Contemporary Art, sits on one side of the Avenue of the Martyrs. It commemorates the 1964 Panamanian Flag Riots. Photo by Susana Raab, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.

Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá (Panama City, Panama)
Anacostia Community Museum examines connections between Metro DC Panamanians and Panama
“Bridging the Americas’ is a timely exhibition because it connects communities across the oceans through diverse personal stories of Washington, D.C., area residents,” said Curtis. “It expands our representation of our local community and engages our visitors in collective reflection about their notions and experiences of community as well.”

Kenosha Public Museum (Kenosha, WI)
Get Out: Here’s lookin’ at you, Earth!
The panels on display locally came from a larger-scale Smithsonian Institution show. When Andersen contacted the Smithsonian, they sent the smaller set of poster-sized prints. Andersen added information from the United States Geological Survey, which she said offers context about the history of map making.

National Inventors Hall of Fame
Three-Day Innovation Event Series To Honor The Nation’s Most Creative Minds On May 11-13
“I am so happy that the National Inventors Hall of Fame was invented. Otherwise I would not have the wonderful opportunity to host this three-day celebration of American inventiveness,” said Mo Rocca, Emmy winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and Host of CBS The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation. “My hope is that the genius of these innovators and visionaries will rub off on me so that one day I will invent something worthy of induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.”

The Apollo 8 crew in November 1968. L to R: James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, and Frank Borman. (Photo: NASA)

The Apollo 8 crew in November 1968. L to R: James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, and Frank Borman. (Photo: NASA)

History Colorado (Denver, CO)
History Colorado brings Apollo 8 to Denver in April
Dr. Michael Neufeld, Senior Curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, will be in Denver for two talks on April 21.

The People Who Weren’t Kidding (Huff Post Latino Voices blog written by Eduardo Diaz, Smithsonian Latino Center)
As for museums, there have been a precious few exhibitions on the subject, which is why I was thrilled to see History Colorado, a Smithsonian affiliate, recently open El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado at its flagship venue in Denver.

The Mexican Museum (San Francisco, CA)
Berkeley’s CLAS, Mexican Museum in new cultural partnership
The Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley has formed a partnership with the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, a Smithsonian affiliate, to bring innovative cultural programming to a wider audience in the Bay Area and throughout California.

North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, NC)
And … action! N.C. Museum of History exhibit highlights 100 years of filmmaking in the state
More than 100 artifacts are borrowed from the Cape Fear Museum and 13 are on loan from Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, MT)
What’s the Army doing with dinosaurs?
April 11, 2014, Montana State University’s, Museum of the Rockies hosted a public sendoff of the Wankel T. rex on a journey to represent Montana’s Dinosaur Trail to the nation and the world at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History becoming the “Nation’s T. rex.” As promised, exactly one year later, another T. rex specimen entrusted to the Montana museum goes on public display … and in massive form.

VIDEO (NBC Montana)

Associate curator at National Museum of the American Indian to speak at MSU March 31
Joe D. Horse Capture, an associate curator for the Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of the American Indian, will give a lecture at Museum of the Rockies on Tuesday, March 31, as part of Montana State University’s President’s Fine Art Series. Horse Capture is an MSU alumnus and a member of the A’aninin (Gros Ventre) Tribe.

Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
Cesar Chavez portrait to go on display at Smithsonian
. Chavez died in his sleep and the photo Miyatake captured became one of the icon’s last official portraits. On Friday at 9 a.m., the photograph will be donated to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., in a ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum.

Institute of Texan Cultures presents Sikh religion exhibit

Institute of Texan Cultures presents Sikh religion exhibit

UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, TX)
Exhibition – Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab
ITC welcomes exhibit on a growing Texan community. The Institute of Texan Cultures will host the traveling exhibit, “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab,” developed by the Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Sikh Heritage Foundation.

Smithsonian Sikh exhibit opens in SA (VIDEO)
Dr. G.P. Singh came to United States in the 1970s and admits he was the first to wear a turban here. It hasn’t been easy to raise a family and grow a thriving defense contracting business in the process, he said, but he has. “It is the fifth-largest (religion), but nobody knows about our faith,” he said. Singh said he was a catalyst for getting the first Sikh exhibit at the Smithsonian, entitled “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab.”

Museums of Sonoma County (Santa Rosa, CA)
Art Museum of Sonoma County set to open
Throughout its long effort to expand, the Sonoma County Museum made other improvements, becoming affiliated in 2009 with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., one of 190 affiliates in 40 states. That entitles the museum to show the Smithsonian’s traveling programs and get advice from its experts.

The Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA)
Pilots reunite on 60th anniversary of Crusader’s first flight
Adding the Crusader to the Museum of Flight’s collection “adds to the story of the transition from the propeller age to the jet age,” he said. The plane is to be displayed in the museum’s gallery at Boeing Field in Seattle. . The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum first loaned the plane to the museum in 1987, later donating it in 2004. Restoration work started in 1996.

Fully restored F-8 Crusader unveiled at Paine Field (VIDEO)
Inside the Museum of Flight’s restoration center at Paine Field, a U.S. Navy F-8 Crusader jet was unveiled. The plane had been donated by the Navy to the Smithsonian, but the Smithsonian in turn donated the jet to the Museum of Flight. The plan is to move the now restored airplane to its great gallery at the museum on the west side of Boeing Field in Seattle in mid-2016. The restoration took about 20 years with volunteer labor.

The Rollercoaster of Brand Marketing: How to Learn from (Our) Successes and Pitfalls in Launching New Brands

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Do you launch a new brand from the top down or the bottom up? Is every tactic and strategy a winner? Is your brand strategy still successful years later? Both the Ohio History Connection and the Smithsonian Institution have recently embarked on name changes or brand refreshes. At the 2015 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference, colleagues from each organization will tackle what can be learned from launching new brand strategies.

A sample ad from the Smithsonian "Seriously Amazing" campaign in 2012.

A sample ad from the Smithsonian “Seriously Amazing” campaign in 2012.

Erika Ferrin is the Brand Marketing Manager at the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian launched a new branding campaign in 2012 with the new tagline “Seriously Amazing,” a way to broaden people’s understanding of what the Smithsonian is and does. But what has happened in the past three years? Erika will give an overview of what has happened, for better or for worse, since the Smithsonian decided to update its brand.

Jamison Pack is the Chief Marketing Officer at Ohio History Connection, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Columbus, Ohio. Last spring, Ohio Historical Society changed its name to Ohio History Connection to make history more accessible. The name change came after two years of research which showed that respondents saw the organization as inaccessible and antiquated. Jamison will discuss making the case for the Ohio History Connection’s name change and the cultural shifts within an organization involved in selling the value of marketing your brand.

Ohio-HIstory-Connection

Both panelists will show some examples of their best ideas that all Affiliates can take away, some things that didn’t go according to plan, and biggest challenges at each organization. Finally, Erika will open discussion for how Affiliates can be part of the Smithsonian brand campaign in their own communities and how the Smithsonian can learn from Affiliate methods.

Join them on Wednesday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Are you registered for the 2015 Affiliations National Conference, June 15-17?!

See the full agenda.

Book your hotel room at the Residence Inn-DC/Capitol

The Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference is for current Affiliates only. If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate, or have an application in progress and would like to attend the Conference, please contact us for more information. If you have questions or comments related to the Affiliations National Conference, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee.

Affiliates in the news!

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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.

Dome at the Arab American National Museum. Courtesy of AANM.

Dome at the Arab American National Museum. Courtesy of AANM.

Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI)
Dearborn’s Arab American Museum celebrates 10 years of national significance
. the preeminent museum dedicated to documenting and preserving the Arab American story is located in Dearborn. The Arab American National Museum (AANM), the only Smithsonian Affiliate in Southeast Michigan, will celebrate its ten year anniversary this May. As part of the milestone, the museum will roll out a year-long series of events and renovations. “These are huge institutions that tell the American narrative and we’re always striving to include the Arab American story as part of this larger discussion,” says Akmon. “We’re based in Dearborn, but we’re a national institution.”

Birthplace of Country Music Museum (Bristol, TN/VA)
Smithsonian exhibit offers wide range of music styles at BCMM
Visitors to a new exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum can play albums on a record player or pick up the spoons, a washboard, strum a guitar or try their hand at the banjo or fiddle. New Harmonies, a Smithsonian exhibit that includes a wide range of American music styles, opened Wednesday and will appear there for the next six months.

Interactive Smithsonian exhibit at Country Music Museum
This should be music to your ears! Bristol’s Birthplace of Country Music Museum is showing off an exhibit that used to belong to the Smithsonian in Washington.

New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music
New Harmonies was once part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. Carol Harsh, director of Museums on Main Street, was instrumental in facilitating the transfer of the exhibit to the BCMM. “The exhibit has found a permanent home at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum,” said Harsh. “We feel it was a perfect fit.”

Photograph of newly built Biomuseo biodiversity museum in Panama City, Panama. Photo by: Fernando Aldo, September, 2014.

Photograph of newly built Biomuseo biodiversity museum in Panama City, Panama. Photo by: Fernando Aldo, September, 2014.

Biomuseo (Panama City, Panama)
Meet Biomuseo: the world’s first biodiversity museum
George Angehr, the Curator of Exhibits at Biomuseo and an ornithologist from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, played an integral role in developing the scientific content found in the eight exhibitions in the museum. He said Panama’s unique position made it the natural choice for the world’s first biodiversity museum. . In a 2015 interview with mongabay.com, Angehr talked about what visitors can expect when visiting Biomuseo and how the new museum could raise biodiversity awareness and further conservation efforts in Panama and beyond.

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC)
Before There Were Crocodiles, There Was the “Carolina Butcher”
But this newfound ancestor of the modern croc had anything but a docile temperament, according to a study by paleontologists at North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. At about 231 million years old, the newly described species offers fresh insight into crocodile evolution and behavior in the days before the reign of the dinosaurs.

Audubon program to focus on ‘E-mammal’ project
The speaker will be Megan Baker-Whatton, who is the citizen science coordinator of the eMammal project at the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Biology Institute. She will provide an overview of the e-Mammal project, which links citizen volunteers with researchers at the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to document mammals throughout the mid-Atlantic region, and soon, the entire country.

Smithsonian Science How?: Arthropod Adaptations (VIDEO)
The Smithsonian Institution selected the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as a partner for “Smithsonian Science How?” a new program to deliver real-world science directly into classrooms through free, interactive live webcasts and classroom resources. . This presentation, “Arthropod Adaptations,” featuring Bill Reynolds, Curator, Coordinator, & Containment Director of the Arthropod Zoo, originally aired March 13, 2014. It was followed by “Inside the Insect Zoo” featuring Dan Babbitt, manager of the O. Orkin Insect Zoo and Butterfly Pavilion at the National Museum of Natural History. 

Watch live streaming video from naturalsciences at livestream.com

Smithsonian Science How?: Lemurs  (VIDEO)
“How to Eat Like a Lemur” with Chris Smith, education specialist at Duke Lemur Center, is the second presentation in the series. The Smithsonian’s Briana Pobiner will follow with “Early Human Diets” at 11am.

Heritage Farm Museum and Village (Huntington, WV)
Heritage Farm linked to Smithsonian
Heritage Farm Museum and Village has achieved a new level of recognition and entered a new realm of possibilities. It’s been named West Virginia’s first Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, a distinction that will link Heritage Farm with the many resources and learning opportunities available through the Smithsonian, said Audy Perry, the new executive director of the Heritage Farm Foundation.

Heritage Farm adds Smithsonian connection
Being accepted as part of the Smithsonian network adds an impressive “seal of approval” for the museum project begun by Henriella and the late Mike Perry almost 20 years ago. As their son Audy Perry noted last week, it also marks a “new beginning” for Heritage Farm and a chance to share the Appalachian pioneer story more broadly and more richly than ever before.

A student plays at the new Spark!Lab. Feidt/APRN

A student plays at the new Spark!Lab. Feidt/APRN

Anchorage Museum (Anchorage, AK)
New Anchorage Museum “lab” sparks innovation
“This is not just banging things that’s going on here,” says Arthur Molella, the director of the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian, which created the Spark!Lab. “This is all done with a purpose. Cause some of the same energies that are happening here – essentially this curiosity, a disciplined curiosity begins here and carries on through the rest of your life.” Molella says that curiosity and creativity lead to innovation and invention. That’s why his center worked with educators to create the Spark!Lab. They’re helping museums around the United States set up their own localized versions. The Anchorage version, the sixth in the country, will soon include activities focused on the innovation required to live in the Arctic.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY FUND, SMITHSONIAN BRING SPARK!LAB TO ANCHORAGE, OPENING THE DOORS TO INNOVATION AND INVENTION
Spark!Lab, the hands-on invention experience from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, is opening its newest location at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska. With the support of Ford Motor Company Fund, Spark!Lab will engage children and families in the invention process through science experiments, games, activities and special programs, such as SparkNite, a look at the innovation and inventions of Alaska’s history and Arctic environment.

New Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Director, Melissa Chiu, at the Frost Art Museum. Photography by Rodrigo Gaya

New Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Director, Melissa Chiu, at the Frost Art Museum. Photography by Rodrigo Gaya

Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Miami, FL)
“Making A Museum in the 21st Century” with Melissa Chiu at Frost Art Museum FIU
The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series launched its 34th season at Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU with guest-lecturer Melissa Chiu’s presentation of “Making A Museum in the 21st Century.” Dr. Chiu is the new director of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C

The Mexican Museum (San Francisco, CA)
The Mexican Museum Hires Cayetana S. Gomez as President and Chief Executive Officer
“We are extremely pleased to have Cayetana join our team,” said Andrew M. Kluger, Chairman of The Mexican Museum Board of Trustees. “Along with her unparalleled communication skills and a vast network of professional relationships throughout the United States and Mexico, she has also held significant leadership positions for some of Mexico’s most important art, culture, and media institutions.”

Mexican Museum Set To House Over 18,000 Pieces Of Art In San Francisco Gets Lease Approved
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a lease in the city’s Yerba Buena neighborhood for The Mexican Museum, expected to house more than 18,000 pieces of art and artifacts from across the Americas.

Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs, AR)
Mid-America Science Museum reopens with new look, unique exhibits
It’s a brand new day at the Mid-America Science Museum. Closed since Aug. 11 for renovations, the museum opened its doors Saturday, offering more than 60 exhibits, displays and experiment stations to visitors of all ages.

The exhibition presents paintings, arms and armour and modern work of art. Lakhpreet Kaur/HT

The exhibition presents paintings, arms and armour and modern work of art. Lakhpreet Kaur/HT

UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, Texas)
Sikh artwork on display at Texas University
Developed by Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Sikh Heritage Foundation, the exhibition presents paintings; arms and armour; traditional textiles and dress; musical instruments; jewellery; sacred texts; and modern works of art, apart from a scale model of the Golden Temple. “The bulk of the exhibit originated at the Smithsonian Institution, with whom we’re an affiliate.

Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (Miami, Florida)
Miami Eyes Huge Tourist Draw With $300M Museum
“The museum has always been a community-led initiative to excite and educate greater Miami and its global visitors. It will enrich the lives of south Floridians and visitors by offering in-depth learning experiences and bring the best global resources to south Florida, creating a link between the education, tourism and business communities.”

HistoryMiami (Miami, Florida)
Keeper of the Past
HistoryMiami has a lot of history. Previously known as the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is the oldest nonreligious cultural institution in Miami-Dade County. In fact, the museum is now observing its 75th anniversary, and a big announcement is expected during the museum’s annual membership meeting on April 23.

Flushing Town Hall (Flushing, New York)
Flushing Town Hall meets $35,000 campaign challenge
Flushing Town Hall has met its campaign goal of raising $35,000 to match funding from an anonymous donor ahead of its Feb. 28 deadline. Since September, more than 300 people made contributions by mail or online or dropped off donations. By Feb. 10, the organization had raised more than $41,000.

Kenosha Public Museum (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
FREE space exhibit, Kenosha Family Fun, Wisconsin tourist attraction, Stunning Satellite Images
Earth from Space illustrates how satellite imagery is gathered and used to expand mankind’s understanding of life on Earth. It also explores the remote-sensing technology used to gather the images and describes the individual satellites whose images are on display. Brought to you courtesy of the United States Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution.

Kenosha Public Museum Hosts Smithsonian Earth from Space Exhibition
The Earth From Space exhibit is on display at the Kenosha Public Museum now through June 21, 2015. Stunning satellite images and artifacts reveal our dynamic, ever-changing planet.

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane, Washington)
[Spokane Public Radio spot] From the Studio: The art of Joe Feddersen
Cecile Ganteaume, Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Washington, DC and Multi-Media Artist and Colville Confederated Tribal Member Joe Feddersen spoke with Verne Windham on Friday morning about the Museum of Arts and Culture’s three-days of special programs focusing on American Indian Basketry.

Native Film Fest logo.

Native Film Fest logo.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (Palm Springs, California)
NativeFest coming of age with mature content
The festival’s mission, Hammond said, is to explore indigenous issues, such as the exploitation of Native land and sovereignty, and showcase indigenous filmmakers from around the world.

Native FilmFest: a celebration of diversity
When you have a guest programmer from the Smithsonian Institution and one of the featured films is produced by the Sundance Institute, those strategic alliances give the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum’s 14th Annual Native FilmFest “street cred” that would be the envy of many other film festivals around the country.

Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA); Cincinnati Museum Center (Cincinnati, OH); St. Augustine, FL (St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum)
Top US family vacation destinations named
The best family-friendly vacation spots in the US as chosen by 2,000 families from across the country. Animal attractions, science museums, and tourist towns resonated with families this year.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Huntsville, AL)
Space & Rocket Center celebrates 45 years with cake & Biergarten
In 1968, the state’s citizens voted to finance construction of the Center, which houses the National Historic Landmark Saturn V Moon Rocket, the Apollo 16 Command Module, the Pathfinder space shuttle display and many other exhibits. The Center is a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum and is the Official Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center.

Vintage Photos celebrate the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s 45 years
Enjoy a gallery of vintage historical photos from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s 45 years of educating America and the world about the NASA and the U.S. Space program. The photos begin with the groundbreaking for the Alabama Space & Rocket Center and include visits by astronauts and celebrities to the center.

Sullivan Museum and History Center (Northfield, VT)
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum curator to speak at Norwich
Norwich University’s Sullivan Museum and History Center, Vermont’s only Smithsonian Affiliate, will host Dr. Tom Crouch, Senior Curator of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum for a lunch-and-learn on Wednesday, April 8 at noon in Milano Ballroom, located in Roberts Hall.

Affiliates in the news!

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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.

Upcountry History Museum (Greenville, South Carolina)
Upcountry History Museum named Smithsonian Affiliate
On Monday, Greenville became the only city in South Carolina to have two Smithsonian affiliate museums, as the Upcountry History Museum joined the Children’s Museum of the Upstate as a partner of the iconic American institution.

Editorial: Smithsonian comes to local History Museum
Greenville’s ability to better connect the present with the past took a giant leap forward this week with the announcement that the Upcountry History Museum – Furman University has become a Smithsonian Affiliate. This is exciting news for what it means in terms of new opportunities for people who want to better understand our lives today by more fully understanding the experiences and people who shaped our shared history.

Greenville museum becomes SC’s newest Smithsonian affiliate
Earlier this week, Greenville became the only city in South Carolina to have two Smithsonian affiliate museums, as the Upcountry History Museum joined the Children’s Museum of the Upstate as a partner of the iconic American institution.

Greenville now home to two Smithsonian affiliate museums
The Smithsonian Institution is hundreds of miles from Greenville, but you don’t have to travel that far to enjoy some of its treasures. On Monday, Greenville became the only city in South Carolina to have two Smithsonian affiliate museums, as the Upcountry History Museum joined the Children’s Museum of the Upstate as a partner of the iconic American institution.

UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures (San Antonio, Texas)
UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures hosts 28th Annual Asian Festival Feb. 21
A special feature of the 2015 festival is the opening of “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab,” a new exhibit which will remain at the museum into the fall. Originating at the Smithsonian, the exhibit follows the history of the Sikh culture and the religion which unites them across borders and around the world, including Texas and San Antonio. Members of the Sikh community will serve as gallery hosts and tour guides during the festival. 

San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures hosting exhibit on Sikhs
Developed by Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Sikh Heritage Foundation, it “features a collection of traditional Sikh art, information on the culture’s history and beliefs, artifacts such as ceremonial weapons and armor, and a model of the Golden Temple”.

Institute of Texan Cultures hosts new exhibit “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab” Feb. 21
The UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) and San Antonio’s Sikh community will celebrate the opening of a new exhibit “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab” from Feb. 21 to Jan. 3. The exhibit originated at the Smithsonian and has been supplemented with additional material on Sikhs in Texas.

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Volunteers survey mammals in East Tennessee
Volunteers have conducted a survey of mammals in East Tennessee state parks by using technology. The volunteers were recruited by a research project called eMammal, which provided the cameras, software and instructions. The eMammal project is a collaboration between the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution.

Caught on camera: Volunteers use technology to survey mammals
The eMammal project is a collaboration between the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution. So far, surveys have been conducted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and most recently, Tennessee.

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, Texas)
Love Jones
His legacy will be spotlighted at Fort Worth Museum of Science and History when it welcomes in What’s Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution.

History Colorado (Denver, Colorado)
Chicano history is Colorado history
“I was really happy to see that History Colorado was doing the show,” Eduardo Diaz said. “If you want to know a little bit more, if you want to go deeper, if you want to have more context about the place that you now call home, I think you need to see this show.”

Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona)
Heard Museum hosts panel to discuss Native American stereotypes in sports mascots
The panel, “Indigenous Stereotypes in Sports,” explored the Native American stereotypes present in many of the logos and names of American sports teams. began with a keynote speech by Kevin Gover, director of the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution.

Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana)
Conner Prairie overhauls balloon exhibit with eye on history
To get the historical context right, museum staff has consulted with Tom Crouch, a senior aviation curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

Tellus Science Museum (Cartersville, GA)
Tellus Science Museum Receives Multiple Awards
The Moon Rock display at Tellus received a best museum exhibition award. The exhibit combines Apollo artifacts from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum with an impressive lunar sample from NASA

US Space & Rocket Center (Huntsville, AL)
History comes alive during Smithsonian talk, book signing at Rocket Center in Huntsville
Kurin, who will also speak at 6 p.m. Thursday during the USSRC’s “Inventors’ Ball,” will sign copies of his book following his talk. Christina DiMeglio Lopez, external affairs and membership manager for Smithsonian Affiliations, will welcome Center members and Smithsonian magazine subscribers.

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Boulder, CO)
UCAR Announced as a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which provides unique exhibits on weather and climate, has been accepted to join a leading group of national museum and cultural organizations as an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

Old Governor’s Mansion (Milledgeville, GA)
Old Governor’s Mansion Announcement
VIDEO- https://vimeo.com/116551421

Old Governor’s Mansion in Milledgeville named Smithsonian affiliate
The affiliation makes the mansion the ninth in the state and the first in Middle Georgia to receive this recognition, according to a news release

Old Governor’s Mansion becomes first Smithsonian affiliate in central Georgia
“The opportunity to be an affiliate of the Smithsonian is a great honor for the Old Governor’s Mansion and Georgia College,” said Director Matt Davis. “We look forward to building partnerships for exhibitions, loans and the development of programming. This partnership will be a huge benefit to the Mansion as we continue to build our national profile within the museum field.”

Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco, CA)
Museum of Africa Disapora celebrates $1.3M makeover
“We’re delighted to begin this new affiliate partnership between MoAD and the Smithsonian Institution, one that builds on shared missions, a commitment to education and prior collaborations,” said Harold A. Closter, director of Smithsonian Affiliations. “Since its founding in 2005, MoAD has been a beacon to the museum community by applying innovative exhibition ideas to the study of living communities and their cultures. We welcome the opportunity to work together through the sharing of our knowledge base, collections and traveling exhibits to place the story of human migration in local, national and global contexts.”

Telluride Historical Museum and The Pinhead Institute (Telluride, CO)
Place of invention
“We are thrilled that Telluride was selected to participate in the Places of Invention program,” Kinias said in a press release. “Having Telluride recognized as an innovative community by our Smithsonian partners is an incredible honor and is testimony to Telluride’s strong history of innovative residents.”

Affiliates in the news!

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Congrats to these Affiliates making news!  Each month we highlight Affiliate-Smithsonian and Affiliate-Affiliate collaborations making headlines.  This is a compilation of clippings from mid-November until early-January. 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.

Henry Woodward tries his hand at "Snap Circuits" Photo by Jim Levulis WAMC

Henry Woodward tries his hand at “Snap Circuits” Photo by Jim Levulis WAMC

Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) RADIO SPOT
An Educational “Spark” At Berkshire Museum
“Hands-on engagement is a really great way to foster creativity and innovative thinking,” says Maria Mingalone, the director of interpretation at the Berkshire Museum. “So that’s really the aim and the goal of our Spark!Lab.” Developed at the Smithsonian Institution, the program features 10 hands-on laboratories for kids 5 or younger. but if you’re older, they’ll let you in.

Springfield Art Museum (Springfield, Ohio)
Springfield Art Museum shows student artists’ work
We were thrilled to take advantage of this exciting educational opportunity and to show that our Smithsonian affiliation is a tremendous boon, not only for the Springfield Museum of Art but for the Springfield community as a whole,” Housh said.

Tellus Science Museum (Cartersville, Georgia)
Tellus Museum adds space artifacts, new exhibits in 2014
Tellus also received for display from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum a real lunar module engine which was test fired by the space agency in Mississippi in 1972. The lunar module was used to taxi two astronauts to the Moon’s surface and back from the command ship soaring in lunar orbit.

In Tellus exhibit, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling
But the idea behind it – and the other 46 pieces in the touring exhibit drawn from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s collection – was to show how simple materials can be transformed into remarkable treasures with artistic skill and ingenuity (oh, and bling – can’t forget the bling).

Tellus presents ‘Jeweled Objects of Desire’ exhibit
“Sidney Mobell honored the life of his wonderful wife Ronni Grant Mobell with the donation of 19 of his famous jeweled art creations to the Smithsonian. Since that time in addition to the installation of a Mobell jeweled art collection display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., Mr. Mobell’s exhibit has traveled to Smithsonian affiliate museums in Florida, [Louisiana and] Kentucky.

San Francisco jewelry artist Sidney Mobell created this U.S. mail box, plated with 24-karat gold and studded with 137 sapphires weighing 48.20 carats, 100 rubies weighing 24.50 carats, 25 diamonds weighing 2.25 carats, and 10 emeralds weighing 1.75 carats. It’s on view in the exhibit “Jeweled Objects of Desire” at Cartersville’s Tellus Science Museum.

San Francisco jewelry artist Sidney Mobell created this U.S. mail box, plated with 24-karat gold and studded with 137 sapphires weighing 48.20 carats, 100 rubies weighing 24.50 carats, 25 diamonds weighing 2.25 carats, and 10 emeralds weighing 1.75 carats. It’s on view in the exhibit “Jeweled Objects of Desire” at Cartersville’s Tellus Science Museum.

Renowned Jewelry Designer Sidney Mobell Opens Gem Exhibit At Tellus Science Museum
Mobell’s pieces on exhibit were donated by him to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and are on loan to Tellus as part of the Jeweled Objects of Desire exhibit. The exhibition features gems and jewelry from other artists represented in the Smithsonian’s collection such as Aldo Cipullo and John Sinkankas. Tellus has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since opening in 2009.

Smithsonian Curator To Discuss Reportedly Cursed Diamond In Cartersville
Dr. Post’s lecture precedes the opening of Jeweled Objects of Desire, one of the first of many Smithsonian exhibits to be on display at Tellus Science Museum. Tellus Science Museum has been a Smithsonian-affiliate institution since it opened in 2009. 

Tellus highlights Hope Diamond tonight
We’ve been affiliates of the Smithsonian for over five years now,” Tellus Executive Director Jose Santamaria said. “We’ve developed a good relationship, not just with the Smithsonian in general, but with Jeff. Our former curator, Julian Gray, and I have visited him a couple of times to review items to put on display here at Tellus. We actually have a pretty large, significant exhibit opening up in a couple of weeks because of collaborating with him.

Smithsonian Curator To Discuss Hope Diamond At Tellus Science Museum
Dr. Post’s lecture precedes the opening of Jeweled Objects of Desire, one of the first of many Smithsonian exhibits to be on display at Tellus Science Museum. Tellus has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since opening in 2009

Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, Maine)
Abbe Museum helps bring together Wabanaki youth and astronomy
The full exhibition will include students from other Wabanaki communities and promote increased interest, awareness and knowledge of astronomy content and Wabanaki oral histories.

Students from the Indian Township School will combine their own stories and images of the cosmos as part of the Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos program. The Abbe Museum and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are helping to provide this opportunity. IMAGE COURTESY OF ABBE MUSEUM

Students from the Indian Township School will combine their own stories and images of the cosmos as part of the Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos program. The Abbe Museum and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are helping to provide this opportunity. IMAGE COURTESY OF ABBE MUSEUM

Abbe Museum Partners with Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Smithsonian Affiliations
The Abbe is partnering with the Indian Township School to offer the opportunity for students to research, learn, and photograph the cosmos using telescopes owned and maintained by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco, California)
Museum of the African Diaspora’s Rebirth: Q&A with MoAD Director Linda Harrison
The museum is also now officially a Smithsonian Affiliate, allowing it access to the Smithsonian Institute’s vast array of resources, including its unmatched artifact collection, which houses 136-million cultural and historical artifacts.

Renovated MoAD bigger, better
A recently acquired affiliation with the Smithsonian also boosts MoAD’s draw. This association with the venerated national museum center will allow MoAD to present significant traveling shows and to access the Smithsonian collection for exhibits and research.

MoAD cuts the ribbon and welcomes art lovers to reimagined space
As to MoAD’s recent affiliation with the Smithsonian, “I am delighted after all these years, MoAD has arrived at the point where it is associated with the premier museum in America.”

Celebrate the culture, history and art of people of African descent

MoAD reopens with big changes and big plans
Central to that initiative is the museum’s new status as a Smithsonian Affiliate. Partnering with the powerful Washington, D.C., institution will give MoAD access to the Smithsonian’s enormous resources and expertise. Benefits include touring exhibitions, object loans, and visiting scholars and speakers. The advantages are mutual. “We’re very interested in having a presence with this museum in San Francisco,” said Laura Hansen, national outreach manager for Smithsonian Affiliations.

(From left) Wade Rose, Linda Harrison, Alejandro de la Fuente, Lava Thomas, Naomi Kelley, Willie Brown cutting the ribbon at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD).

(From left) Wade Rose, Linda Harrison, Alejandro de la Fuente, Lava Thomas, Naomi Kelley, Willie Brown cutting the ribbon at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD).

Museum of American Finance (New York, New York)
David Rubenstein to Receive 2015 Whitehead Award for Public Service and Financial Leadership From Museum of American Finance
“There is no more deserving recipient of the 2015 Whitehead Award than David Rubinstein,” said David Cowen, President and CEO of the Museum of American Finance. “His outstanding achievements in the financial world are only surpassed by his deep commitment and dedication to preserving the nation’s history.”

Anchorage Museum (Anchorage, Alaska)
ArtBeat: Three gutsy women at the Anchorage Museum
Three Alaska women have been laying their guts out at the Anchorage Museum this week. Literally. Mary Tunuchuk, Elaine Kingeekuk and Sonya Kelliher-Combs have been working with animal intestines to make traditional items and contemporary art in a weeklong residency in the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center that winds up today.

The Command Module, Apollo 9 (Gumdrop) is on loan to the San Diego Air and Space Museum from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The Command Module, Apollo 9 (Gumdrop) is on loan to the San Diego Air and Space Museum from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

San Diego Air and Space Museum (San Diego, California) (NASM loan)
New Space Vehicle Orion Launching December 4th; Apollo 9 On Exhibit at San Diego Air & Space Museum
Just as this Orion launch is a precursor to returning people to deep space, so the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s Apollo 9 spacecraft was a vital stepping-stone for astronauts to land on the moon in the summer of 1969.

Museum of Appalachia (Norris, Tennessee)
Tennessee’s Museum of Appalachia is a colourful side trip off I-75
Now operated as a non-profit corporation overseen by a board which includes the founder’s daughter, Elaine Meyer, the Museum of Appalachia recently was accepted into the Smithsonian Affiliation program, an acknowledgement of its importance to preserving the history of mountain pioneers.

Heard Museum (Phoenix, Arizona)
EDDIE VAN HALEN TO Help Launch Smithsonian/Zocalo Initiative
The kick-off event January 14 will feature former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of the Girl Scouts Of The USA, at the Heard Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate in Phoenix. Music icon Eddie Van Halen will headline the next event at the National Museum Of American History in February.

Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman, Montana)
The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer
As fantastical as the Jurassic Park movies are, there’s a real scientist behind the franchise – Jack Horner, a paleontologist at Museum of the Rockies, who not only served as scientific adviser on all four films, but also helped inspire the character of Dr. Alan Grant, played by actor Sam Neill. We spoke with Horner, 68, about making dinosaurs from mosquitoes and what to expect from Jurassic World.

Jack Horner, curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, poses near the Wankel T. rex, in Fort Peck, Mont., in June 1990. COURTESY MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES/SMITHSONIAN

Jack Horner, curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, poses near the Wankel T. rex, in Fort Peck, Mont., in June 1990. COURTESY MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES/SMITHSONIAN

America’s T. Rex Gets A Makeover
(Affiliate mentioned in caption of one of the images.)

Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, Colorado)
New Volume Documents the Science at the Legendary Snowmastodon Fossil Site in Colorado
Project co-leader and former DMNS chief curator, Dr. Kirk Johnson, and several scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and academic institutions around the world contributed articles to the journal.  “Nothing beats pulling fossils out of the ground,” said project scientist Dr. Jeff Pigati of the U.S. Geological Survey, “but the site also lets us see what the Colorado Rockies were like during a period of time that we simply couldn’t reach before the discovery.” 

Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
Mid-America Science Museum Renovation on Schedule, Re-opening Set for March
The museum, which opened in 1979 and has been a Smithsonian Institution affiliate since 2001, is undergoing its first renovation and expansion. New features include new classroom space, a maker space, updated exhibits for school groups, activities for adults and opportunities for teacher professional development in hands-on science education.

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (Seattle, Washington)
Wing Luke Museum spotlights Asian-Pacific impact on Northwest history VIDEO
The first affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute is right here in Seattle. The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience offers a unique perspective into the historic and cultural impact of the Asian Pacific community in the Northwest. The museum opened in 1967, named in tribute to Wing Luke, the first person of color elected to the city council, and the first Asian American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest.

North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh, North Carolina)
NC Museum of History salutes state’s celluloid past
They set to work, researching to identify as many made-in-North-Carolina films as they could. The oldest one they found was “The Heart of Esmeralda,” a silent film from 1912. Then they started borrowing artifacts such as the coonskin cap worn by Fess Parker in 1955’s “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier,” which is on loan from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

From left, objects conservator Jennifer French and registrar Camille Hunt carefully move the coonskin cap worn by actor Fess Parker in the beloved 1950s TV series “Davy Crockett” into a display case. The cap is on loan from the National Museum of American History. JULI LEONARD

From left, objects conservator Jennifer French and registrar Camille Hunt carefully move the coonskin cap worn by actor Fess Parker in the beloved 1950s TV series “Davy Crockett” into a display case. The cap is on loan from the National Museum of American History. JULI LEONARD

Museum exhibit shines spotlight on NC film history
Loaners include the Smithsonian and film companies, but also a stuntman and a make-up artist. “One of the great things about this exhibit — our own collection was small, and we didn’t have a whole lot of really good things,” said exhibit team leader Camille Hunt. “But everyone was so eager to help out and came forward with all these amazing artifacts.”

The saga of Davy Crockett’s coonskin cap
Curator Dwight Blocker Bowers shares the story of Davy Crockett’s coonskin cap, now on view in Starring North Carolina! at the North Carolina Museum of History, a Smithsonian Affiliate museum.

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville, South Carolina)
Museum explores space through past, future artists
The space exhibit is just the first project in the Smithsonian affiliation, but its impact so far is exceeding even Halverson’s expectations. “Now the Space and Rocket Center is interested in hosting this exhibit, so the momentum that gets created when these collaborations occur, that is just so powerful,” she said.