The Affiliate Newsletter | Spring 2017

Spring 2017

the

affiliate News about Smithsonian Affiliates

Left

Right

Courtesy Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of

Institution Traveling

Denver Art Museum

Exhibition Service, photo by Chance Multimedia. © & ™ 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used

Denver Art Museum Delves Deeply into the World of Costume

under authorization. continued page 3

As the Denver Art Museum (DAM) prepared to host the exhibition, Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume, Stefania Van Dyke, interpretive specialist, and Jodie Gorochow, manager of artist and studio programs, combined their creativity to produce an experience in the DAM studio space that examined the process of costume design.

“While we want our visitors to have an interactive experience in the exhibition itself, the studio allows us to encourage people to stay longer and immerse themselves in the

subject matter. The space allows us to expand the exhibition experience,” said Van Dyke.

The exhibition, developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in partnership with the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and in consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd., presents more than 70 hand-crafted costumes from the first seven films in the Star Wars saga. Highlighting the creative components, craftsmanship, and artistry of the conceptual artists and costume designers, the exhibition tells the Star

Smithsonian Affiliations

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the affiliate Spring 2017

We extend a warm welcome to our newest Smithsonian Affiliates

Connections I am often asked by colleagues why organizations as diverse as museums, cultural centers, research institutions, libraries, national parks, and aquaria want to become Smithsonian Affiliates. There are numerous explanations: a prior history of collaboration through artifact loans and exhibits, close personal working relationships and common scholarly goals, an interest in reclaiming local history housed here at the Smithsonian, access to innovative educational programs and strategies, a desire to be recognized on the national level, and many more. What links all these reasons is one single, powerful idea — trust. As numerous surveys over many years have shown, the Smithsonian is one of the most widely recognized and trusted names in America and around the world. In times of rapid and unpredictable change, partnerships based on trust may be essential keys for survival.

Turning the question around, I have asked colleagues at the Smithsonian why they are so supportive of our partnerships with Smithsonian Affiliates, giving time and expertise, often in the face of competing priorities? The following explanations consistently rise to the top: Affiliates facilitate the public display of Smithsonian collections that might not otherwise be seen.

Affiliates give renewed context and added layers of meaning to Smithsonian collections, especially those that have unique histories associated with a particular local community.

Affiliates loan their own collections to Smithsonian museums for new exhibitions, providing greater depth and often filling in critical gaps in the presentation.

Affiliates conserve and restore Smithsonian collections at their own expense and with their own considerable expertise.

Affiliates open doors to the local community and collaborate with Smithsonian scholars on important research and collecting initiatives.

Affiliates enable Smithsonian organizations to qualify for large exhibition and educational grants and help reach diverse national audiences.

Affiliates serve as local partners in the Smithsonian’s National Campaign and help establish an awareness of the Smithsonian’s broad reach and a rationale for increased philanthropy.

But no matter how one looks at it — from the point of view of Smithsonian colleagues or Smithsonian Affiliates, Smithsonian Affiliations is an enterprise built and fueled entirely on trust — between organizations, between people, and between the communities and audiences that benefit from our work locally, nationally, and internationally.

As I prepare for my upcoming June retirement, after 40 years of service to the Smithsonian and 13 years as director of Smithsonian Affiliations, I thank all of you for the trust you have placed in me and for the honor of working so closely with people who truly make a difference in the lives of so many, an opportunity I could never have planned or imagined. I look forward to our ongoing friendship and wish you the very best for continued success.

Affiliates bring national attention to important Smithsonian milestones and initiatives such as the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture or Museum Day Live!

Inspiring Women and Girls of Color.

There is not enough space in this column to provide the rich details behind each of these reasons for maintaining and advancing our partnerships. Many of those details are found in the accompanying pages of this newsletter.

Desert Caballeros Western Museum Wickenburg, Arizona California State Railroad Museum Sacramento, California John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Science Houston, Texas John G. Shedd Aquarium Chicago, Illinois Arecibo Observatory Science and Visitors Center Arecibo, Puerto Rico National Music Museum Vermillion, South Dakota

Editor Elizabeth Bugbee Writer Cara Seitchek Designer Brad Ireland Printing Chroma Graphics, Inc.

Harold A. Closter Director Smithsonian Affiliations

Affiliations Staff Jennifer Brundage, National Outreach Manager Elizabeth Bugbee, Communications and Professional Development Manager Harold A. Closter, Director

Contents

Alma Douglas, National Outreach Manager Aaron Glavas, National Outreach Manager Laura Hansen, National Outreach Manager Christina DiMeglio Lopez, External Affairs Manager Caroline Mah, National Outreach Manager Gertrude Ross, Financial Manager Natalie Wimberly, Management Support Specialist Š 2017 Smithsonian Institution

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Denver Art Museum Delves Deeply into the World of Costume d

Young Astronomers Shine at the Smithsonian

The Virtues of Virtual Curation

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Plimoth Plantation Performance Launches Religion Series at the National Museum of American History

Etowah Artifacts Come Home to Georgia

Apollo 11 Touches Down

On the Road with Smithsonian Speakers

Affiliate Archives Tell Kay WalkingStick’s Story

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Michigan State University Museum, DuSable Museum of African American History, Museum of the African Diaspora, and UTSA Institute of Texas Cultures participated in a workshop for researching, developing and curating a digital exhibition for Will to Adorn, a project developed at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

the affiliate Spring 2017

The Affiliate is published by Smithsonian Affiliations. All rights reserved.

For information Smithsonian Affiliations Smithsonian Institution P.O. Box 37012 MRC 942 Washington, DC 20013-7012 Telephone: 202.633.5300 Fax: 202.633.5313 affiliations.si.edu

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art/culture Top left

Bottom left

Courtesy Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of

Institution Traveling

Denver Art Museum.

Exhibition Service, photo by Chance Multimedia. © & ™ (2017) Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.

Wars story through the process of art and design, a natural fit for the exhibition space at DAM. DAM’s studio is a flexible space, used to provide activities that align with temporary exhibitions, and allows visitors to make new connections to art through activities such as stop-motion animation to illustrate dance in American art and mixing pigments to complement a recent Wyeth exhibition.

During the Star Wars exhibit, the studio was lined with sketches from professionals and visitors, a video that showed design professionals at work, large tables that encouraged drawing, and scattered mannequins ready to be covered with scraps of nascent costumes.

“Some of the skills required for designing costumes are quite advanced,” said Gorochow.

“Draping and sketching take tremendous talent so I wanted to find a way for our visitors to access this experience in our studio.”

As part of their research, Van Dyke and Gorochow reached out to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) and head costume designer Kevin Copenhaver, a 26-year veteran of designing for theater productions.

“Not only did he serve as a consultant for the studio, but he also allowed us behind-the-

scenes access to DCPA’s costume studio so we could see how their process works,” said Van Dyke. “We could see the creative potential within this artistry that people don’t usually get to see.”

DAM replicated this experience by offering a series of weekly visits by local artists who brought their talents in mask construction, special make-up effects, and prop fabrication to the studio. While demonstrating their art, visitors could ask questions and participate. An accompanying blog offered profiles and interviews with the artists.

“Denver has a large community of talented artists and we were thrilled to feature them in the studio. Every week we pull the curtain back so visitors can see them creating art,” said Gorochow. “It was a natural fit to show real-world artists designing alongside the iconic designs in The Power of Costume.”

Within the studio, visitors of all ages engaged in interactive hands-on experiences such as creating costumes with bubble wrap, sketching their ideas for costumes, and using light boxes to trace costume designs.

“So many visitors told us ‘I want to do this at home’ and asked us where to buy a mannequin so they could continue the activities,” said Gorochow. “One person told me she learned so much from a six-year-old.”

Always a popular site for visitors, the studio has experienced a strong increase in the

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continued from page 1 Denver Art Museum Delves Deeply into the World of Costume

number of visitors since DAM eliminated the admission fee for children and has become a favorite place for families to visit and play.

“Our next temporary exhibition, The Western: An Epic in Art and Film, also looks at costumes and set design but through the genre of western films, so we plan to continue many of our activities throughout the summer,” said Van Dyke.

“Denver Art Museum is a recognized leader in museum interpretation and in helping museum practitioners understand how visitors interact with, and engage in the arts,” said Myriam Springuel, director of SITES. “For Power of Costume, the museum extended the storyline to engage visitors in creative activities. In the Costume Studio space, visitors reinforce and exemplify the exhibition’s story for themselves and for other visitors. The Denver Art Museum is a perfect partner for this exhibition.”

“The Denver Art Museum is a jewel of our community, providing invaluable cultural enrichment to us all. Inside its striking silhouette is a varied collection of artwork, exhibitions, and programs that tell the story of humanity here in the Front Range and around the world. The museum’s ability to educate, inform, and inspire is complemented by its affiliation with the Smithsonian and I am incredibly supportive of this fruitful partnership that continually helps to improve and expand its offerings to the public.”

the affiliate

Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO-1)

Spring 2017

history/science

Plimoth Plantation Performance Launches Religion Series at the National Museum of American History Guest author: Richard Pickering, Deputy Executive Director, Plimoth Plantation

During the first weekend of November, the National Museum of American History hosted the first in a new program series, Sounds of Faith, centered on religious musical traditions. Developed in partnership with Plimoth Plantation, Waking the Ancestors: Recovering the Lost Sacred Sounds of Colonial America used theater and music to illustrate some of the earliest encounters between Europeans and Native Americans.

The Sounds of Faith series is part of the museum’s new comprehensive initiative to explore the role of religion in America.

Support for the religion initiative comes from the Lilly Endowment Inc., a philanthropic organization that funds religion, education, and community development programs.

us to increase the impact of our outreach programs. We embed the activities in an elementary school summer program, and a two-day workshop for middle-school students.”

Three students from Tonkin’s programs accompanied her to D.C. Over three days, they — and 45 students, teachers, and Affiliate educators associated with eight other Affiliates and partner institutions — explored the Smithsonian, presented posters of their “Using the lens of the telescope showed me a research, performed a stage production, and new way of expressing myself,” said a student met with Smithsonian curators. participant in the Youth Capture the Colorful Mary Dussault, principal investigator and SAO education specialist, said, “Once you Cosmos (YCCC) program created by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory have a shared experience, it is helpful to build (SAO), in collaboration with Smithsonian on it. Creating this learning community Affiliations. In February 2017, a group of allows students to interact with professionals these students, their teachers, parents, and at many levels.” mentors gathered in Washington, D.C., to Created with National Science Foundadiscuss the program and its impact on their tion and NASA grants, YCCC has been brought to the Affiliate community through a series of studies.

YCCC allows users of all ages to access an Youth Access Grants (YAG), administered by online portal to control robotic telescopes the Smithsonian Office of the Assistant located at SAO sites in Cambridge, MA, and Secretary for Education and Access. The 2016 Amado, AZ. Like scientists who take raw grant enabled YCCC participants to share their images of the night sky for analysis and experiences with other recipients of YAG funding, which ranged from a game about research, users can take their own images of fresh water to teacher training about Native outer space to create pictures of galaxies, American culture. nebula, and planets.

Since 2012, 25 Affiliates — and organizaShauna Tonkin, director of education at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, tions outside the Affiliations network — have said, “The YCCC program is a flexible tool for unlocked the mysteries of the universe

Young Astronomers Shine at the Smithsonian

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Plimoth Plantation

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www.tinyurl.com/npr-plimoth

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www.plimoth.org

“The Religion in America initiative explores the influence of the many religious traditions that have called America home,” said Dr. Peter Manseau, the museum’s new Lilly Endowment Curator of American Religious History.

“We are particularly interested in moments of intersection between the varied beliefs and practices that make up the nation’s unique spiritual heritage. Plimoth Plantation’s moving performance, Waking the Ancestors, dramatically captured the complexity of religion in early America and will serve as a model for future presentations of our Sounds of Faith concert series.”

The arrival of the Mayflower on the shores of North America in 1620 forever transformed the lives of those living on the continent. Led

by Plimoth Plantation’s Deputy Executive Director Richard Pickering and Director of Wampanoag & Algonkian Research Darius Coombs Waking the Ancestors was documentary theater, chronicling two 17th-century musical traditions: hymns and psalms from the Church of England and Calvinist congregations, and the sacred songs and dances of the Wampanoag, the indigenous people of southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and nearby islands.

The two Waking the Ancestors performances were accompanied by programming in Flag Hall at the American History Museum.

Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag and Colonial living history educators held conversations on early American and Native spirituality, demonstrated instruments, and performed rounds, songs, and ballads prior to the Sunday matinee.

The development of Waking the Ancestors took more than a year and half of dialogue and

through this program. At the YAG presentation, educators agreed that YCCC teaches new 21st-century skills and brings STEM to classrooms in innovative ways.

“Because we are an aviation museum, we have the opportunity to integrate history and STEM concepts in our programs,” said Tonkin.

“We believe both components are vital: history gives context to STEM and STEM concepts give relevance to the history that must be preserved.”

development between the Smithsonian and Plimoth Plantation. Plimoth Plantation developed the script and musical selections in consultation with Dr. Manseau to ensure that the program advanced the aims of the museum’s new religion initiative. Success required frequent communication and multiple visits to the Smithsonian, eventually resulting in a performance plan combining song, spoken word, and dance for a cast of nine.

The national impact was almost immediate. On Thanksgiving Day 2016, the Sounds of Faith series and Waking the Ancestors were featured on NPR’s news program All Things Considered. Plimoth Plantation’s Native American staff praised the cultural sensitivity of the Smithsonian and NPR in understanding that the recitation of prayer in Wampanoag and the indigenous honor song for the dead were too sacred to be photographed or recorded. In partnership with the performances at the museum, the All Things Considered coverage made a significant contribution to raising the national visibility of Wampanoag communities, their traditions, and persistence post-colonization. Plimoth Plantation’s Native staff has had longstanding relationships with the National Museum of the American Indian, and we were honored to bring indigenous history to the other end of the National Mall. the affiliate

Photo courtesy of Plimoth Plantation.

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Affiliations.

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history/culture

I’m currently the director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where I also teach undergraduate students archaeology as part of the VCU School of World Studies.

From its beginnings in August 2011, the goals of the VCL were to preserve the past through cutting-edge digital technology — especially three-dimensional (3-D) laser scanning and 3-D printing, prepare my students for the future of archaeology by teaching them this technology, and create a virtual research resource accessible to anyone across the globe.

The VCL has become a center for student research at VCU, in part because of the dozens of partners we have across the U.S. and one international partner in India. A number of these partners are Smithsonian Affiliates, including the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH).

The VMNH has an extensive reference collection of modern animal bones, many of which we have 3-D scanned to create a digital type collection to help scholars identify bones found on archaeological sites. The VMNH Curator for Archaeology, Dr. Elizabeth Moore, has opened its general archaeological collection to our 3-D preservation efforts. At VMNH, I also began working with then Curator of Paleontology, Dr. Alton Dooley, and became an official Research Associate of VMNH, which led to my working closely with the Smithsonian Affiliations office.

I represented VMNH at the 2015 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference, which showed me how extensive and diverse the Affiliate network is. I saw how they seek to link museums to share knowledge and collections, and that a few museums are turning to digital means such as 3-D visualiza-

tion through 3-D scanning and 3-D printing.

While at the conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Smithsonian Affiliations Director Harold Closter and show off some of the 3-D printed replicas I carry. Harold was particularly interested in the potential for virtual curation to extend museum collections from a fixed physical place to the unlimited boundaries of the internet.

In follow-up conversations, Harold mentioned speaking with Dr. Alton Dooley, director of the Western Science Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, who knew of my work from his time at VMNH. The VCL has 3-D scanned and 3-D printed a number of fossils that were in the VMNH collection, including fossil whale vertebra, giant ground sloth claws, and even some giant beaver bones. Harold, Alton, and I decided that a similar 3-D scanning project at the Western Science Center would be beneficial — so I ended up in Hemet, California, for a couple of days in August 2016 on a special mission funded by Smithsonian Affiliations.

On my first day at the Center, I met with Alton and researcher Dr. Kathlyn Smith of Georgia Southern University. Kathlyn was studying mastodon tusks and my visit was timed to coincide with hers. I quickly moved to 3-D scanning mastodon and mammoth teeth, as well as a prehistoric American camel skull whose face had been damaged by an Ice Age predator. I also scanned bones associated with the skeleton of a mastodon known affectionately as “Max” — including his skull, tusks and a fragment of his leg. I was pleased to have a young student from the nearby Western Center Academy help with these efforts — it was great to see how well the Center integrated its research mission with the education of developing scientists. This 3-D scanning trip was a great success. I am now planning a return excursion for August 2017 to document “Little Stevie,” a mastodon skeleton exhibited under a clear covering in the Center’s floor.

Based on the success of this trip, Smithsonian Affiliations arranged for another Affiliate visit in January 2017 — this time to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum (LVNHM).

The goal of this second trip was to introduce new ways of documenting, preserving, and sharing the past — especially via virtual curation through 3-D scanning, as well as 3-D printing. On my first day, I met with LVNHM Executive Director and Founder Marilyn Gillespie and was later joined by Assistant Professor in Residence for Paleontology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Dr. Joshua Bonde. Joshua helped throughout the visit with selecting items for 3-D scanning, including the only dire wolf bone identified in Nevada, as well as dinosaur and mammoth remains. With a hand-held 3-D scanner, I created a digital model of one of the museum’s most prized objects — the most intact skull of a Rhynchotherium, an extinct Ice Age cousin of the modern elephant. After I returned to VCU, my students and I began to translate the 3-D digital scans back into a tangible format via 3-D printing. Unlike the original bones and fossils, these replicas can be handled and studied by the thousands of school children who visit LVNHM every year.

I look forward to working with other Smithsonian Affiliates in the future. I think the work of these affiliated organizations in reaching out to the interested public is critically important. 3-D scanning and 3-D printing allow museums to move beyond their brick-and-mortar foundations and share their missions and their stories with a global audience.

Virginia Museum of Natural History

Western Science Center

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

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The Virtues of Virtual Curation Guest author: Bernard K. Means, Director, Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University

Top left

Top right

Dr Bernard K.

Dr. Elizabeth Moore

Means shows where

talks to VCU alumnae

carnivores damaged

while Ice Age bones

an Ice Age mastodon

are 3D scanned. Photo

bone at the Virginia

courtesy of Bernard K.

Museum of Natural

Means.

History. Photo courtesy of Bernard K.

Bottom right

Means.

3-D scanning “Max” the Mastodon mascot at Western Science Center. Photo courtesy of Bernard K. Means.

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Spring 2017

art/science/culture/history what we did without guidance from our National Outreach Manager, Caroline Mah.” The exhibit features everyday tools and ceremonial objects, complemented by mineral and rock specimens that connect the loaned artifacts to the natural resources surrounding the mound site and throughout the Southeast.

“Tellus sits in a mineral-rich area, and mining and mineralogy are the two subjects Guest authored by: Asia Johnson, Marketing that are the foundation of the museum,” said Assistant, and Jose Santamaria, Executive Director, Santamaria. “As soon as we began to review Tellus Science Museum the objects, we immediately recognized sites From Clay to Copper: Minerals and Artifacts of in the region where we could find the raw Etowah opened in November 2016 at the Tellus material from which they were probably Science Museum, featuring more than 60 made.” artifacts from the Etowah Indian Mounds.

To add further depth to the exhibit, This archaeological site in Cartersville, Santamaria led museum staff and volunteers in Georgia, is less than ten miles from the field work during the summer of 2016 to museum. The objects, many of which had collect mineral samples. The data collected rarely been on view before, are on loan from will provide valuable information on sourcing the Department of Anthropology at the for the Anthropology Department’s database National Museum of Natural History. and facilitate the continued collaboration Plans for the exhibition began in 2009 between both organizations. when the Tellus became an Affiliate. “Etowah Also included in the exhibit are artifacts is close to the museum and of wide regional made of more distant materials, illustrating interest,” said Tellus Executive Director Jose the trade routes used by the mound builders.

Santamaria, “We knew that the Smithsonian “The people of Etowah used local mineral had essential artifacts from the site. When we resources but also traded for what they did not first visited to review this collection, we were have,” said Gramsey. “Some of these objects astonished by the number of objects they had were made of material that came from 300 to in their care.”

400 miles away.”

The Smithsonian Affiliations office was From Clay to Copper has generated integral to navigating the research and loan tremendous interest in the community. “We process. “We had three site visits to examine are attracting archaeology and mineralogy and select the objects,” said Amy Gramsey, enthusiasts, two groups that don’t normally director of curatorial services at the Tellus and cross paths,” said Rebecca Melsheimer, the lead curator and designer of the exhibition. librarian and lead researcher on the exhibit.

“I don’t think we could have accomplished “This has been a great opportunity for the

Smithsonian to share the cultural heritage of this area, and for us to share our history in a unique way.”

The opening reception on November 5 attracted wide support from the region and included introductory remarks from former Smithsonian Secretary, and Georgia native, Dr. G. Wayne Clough, followed by Etowah expert Dr. Adam King, archaeology professor from the University of South Carolina.

Originally set to close on October 1, 2017, the exhibition has been extended to November 5, 2017 because of such strong interest and visitation.

offerings,” said Brenda Swann, deputy director of collections, interpretation & programs.

Swann works with her Smithsonian Affiliations National Outreach Manager to identify speakers whose expertise fits current exhibitions and programming. Guest speakers have included Paul F. Johnston, curator at the National Museum of American History, who spoke about shipwreck exploration; Douglas Herman, senior geographer at the National Museum of the American Indian, who spoke about celestial navigation by Pacific Islanders; and Daniel Piazza, curator of philately at the National Postal Museum, who spoke about communication during the Revolutionary War. “We are delighted to host Smithsonian speakers in our neighborhood. Through our affiliation, the Museum brings the joy of lifelong learning to the community in a way not possible without our Smithsonian Affiliate status,” noted Kathy Fleming, director of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum.

Smithsonian experts from across the Institution have traversed the country sharing stories of their research and collections. Susan Evans McClure, director of the Smithsonian Food History Program at NMAH was the keynote speaker at the South Dakota State Historical Society, where the topic was South Dakota food traditions. Sunae Park Evans, American History Museum senior

conservator, discussed the careful art of conserving gowns of the First Ladies at Long Island Museum, in New York. Yankee ingenuity and invention was the focus at a lecture by American History Museum Historian Eric Hintz at the Connecticut Historical Society.

People are the greatest asset at the Smithsonian and connecting them with Affiliate communities is a valued feature of national outreach. Dr. Richard Kurin, Acting Provost and Under Secretary for Museums & Research, has been a prolific Smithsonian representative. “Over the years, I have traveled to about 40 Smithsonian Affiliates, giving talks and lectures, participating in celebratory events, and meeting with staff, board members, and supporters. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every visit as an opportunity to bring a bit of the Smithsonian to that particular museum and community. But just as important, it’s been a great way to learn about the wonderful, creative work being done by so many of our dedicated professional colleagues around the nation.”

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Tellus Science Museum

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

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www.tellusmuseum.org

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Etowah Artifacts Come Home to Georgia

On the Road with Smithsonian Speakers Underwater archeology. Gems and jewels.

Historic gardens. Stamps and postal artifacts.

Smithsonian curators and experts research these topics and many more from the worlds of science, art, culture, and history. In the past year alone, nearly 100 Smithsonian speakers have shared their expertise with Affiliates from Maine to California. They travel to

Spring 2017

Affiliate organizations to lecture, provide educational workshops, examine collections, and more. These Smithsonian scholars are a valuable resource, enabling Affiliates to bring even more of the Smithsonian to their community throughout the year.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, in St. Augustine, Florida, has hosted 12 Smithsonian scholars since 2011, assisted by a grant from their local Tourism Development Council.

“The grant allows us to bring outside speakers to our community. Not only does it cover the speaker stipend and travel, it also provides funding for advertising, which expands our reach beyond our immediate area and informs those communities about our

the affiliate

Copper Plate.

Embossed A91113, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

the affiliate

Smithsonian Latino

at the Rockwell

Center Director,

Museum. Photo

Eduardo Diaz,

courtesy Smithsonian

leads a lecture on

Affiliations.

diversity in America

science

Apollo 11 Touches Down “Destination Moon epitomizes the Smithsonian’s ability to illuminate the American experience in all its dimensions,” said Smithsonian Secretary David J. Skorton. “When Apollo 11 landed on the moon and humans first stepped foot on another celestial body, it changed the way we saw ourselves.”

In fall 2017, the Apollo 11 command module, Columbia, will travel for an Affiliateonly national tour while the National Air and Space Museum renovates its Apollo mission gallery. Space Center Houston (Houston, Texas), Saint Louis Science Center (St. Louis, Missouri), Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and The Museum of Flight (Seattle, Washington) will give visitors a close-up view of this historic spacecraft.

“Working with our Smithsonian partners, we will share stories of some of the countless Americans behind-the-scenes who made that landmark achievement possible,” said Heinz History Center President and CEO Andrew E. Masich. “The astronauts were the ‘rock stars’ of the Apollo mission, but there were many unsung heroes with a roll-up-your-sleeves ‘we can do it!’ spirit. Many of those innovators worked for Pittsburgh-based companies, including Westinghouse, Alcoa, North American Rockwell, Union Switch & Signal, and others.”

Affiliate Archives Tell Kay WalkingStick’s Story

Heard Museum www.heard.org www.amfedarts.org/exhibitions/kay-walkingstick

Instead of keeping the capsule in storage during museum renovations, curators at the Air and Space Museum decided to share it with Affiliates so more communities would have broader access to it. Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission will include other artifacts from the lunar mission including Buzz Aldrin’s gloves and visor, a survival kit and star chart, and a “rock box” that was used to bring samples of moon rocks back to Earth.

Space Center Houston will incorporate the capsule into the narrative it tells about the history of NASA, while the Saint Louis Science Center will highlight the contributions of McDonnell Douglas, the NASA contractor for the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. The Heinz History Center will focus on the local, Pittsburgh contributions.

The final stop on the national tour at The Museum of Flight will celebrate Seattle’s contribution to the space program and coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.

Douglas King, president and CEO of The Museum of Flight said, “We are honored to host this amazing and historic exhibition not only to help the public understand the incredible people behind one of the great events in history — when humans first left the planet — but also to talk about the next 50 years and to excite and prepare the young people who will write the next chapters of the story.”

Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Air and Space Museum. It is made possible by the support of Jeff and MacKenzie

“The title of the exhibition perfectly brings to the fore the importance of someone who is not confined to the catalog of a Native American artist or a sub-field. Kay WalkingStick is an American artist,” said Dr. Ann Marshall, director of curation and research at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist traces the artist’s dynamic career from the New York art world of the 1960s and 1970s to the present. Co-curated by Kathleen AshMilby (Navajo), associate curator at the

Bezos, Joe Clark, Bruce R. McCaw Family Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, John and Susann Norton, and Gregory D. and Jennifer Walston Johnson. Transportation services for Destination Moon are provided by FedEx. the affiliate

(Left to right) General

Institution; Douglas

J.R. “Jack” Dailey,

King, President and

John and Adrienne

CEO, The Museum

Mars Director,

of Flight, Seattle;

National Air and

William T. Harris,

Space Museum;

Chief Executive

Myriam Springuel,

Officer, Space

Director, Smithsonian

Center Houston;

Institution Traveling

Harold Closter,

Exhibition Service;

Director, Smithsonian

Bert Vescolani,

Affiliations; Patricia

President and CEO,

Bartlett, Acting

Saint Louis Science

Assistant Secretary

Center; Andrew

for Education and

Masich, President and

Access, Smithsonian

CEO, Senator John

Institution. Photo by

Heinz History Center,

Mark Avino/Courtesy

Pittsburgh; David J.

National Air and Space

Skorton, Secretary

Museum, Smithsonian.

of the Smithsonian

National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), and Dr. David Penney, NMAI associate director for museum scholarship, the exhibition debuted in fall 2015 at NMAI in Washington, D.C. Now traveling, the exhibition will be seen at five museums across the country.

The Heard Museum, the first stop on the national tour, loaned two works of art to the original exhibition at NMAI and provided access to Kay WalkingStick’s extensive archives. In the archives, Ash-Milby discovered ephemera and artifacts for the exhibition that she couldn’t find anywhere else.

“The Heard Museum has a very complete library and archives on Native American art history,” said Ash-Milby, who conducted some of her publication research in Phoenix.

“Their archives contributed to the success of the exhibition and are a key resource to anyone conducting serious research on contemporary Native American art.”

Kay continually contributes to her archives at the Heard and it’s the one place to locate hard-to-find information such as a newspaper clippings from suburban New Jersey in the 1970s or a radio transcript promoting an exhibition of hers in the 1960s.

A poem used in the exhibition came from the Heard’s archives. “The poem was created for WalkngStick’s first solo exhibition in 1969 at a New York Gallery that no longer exists,” said Ash-Milby. “I would not have been able

Seven Affiliates screened The Obama Years: The Power of Words, a Smithsonian Channel Black History Month special.

to find it anywhere else but the Heard.”

“We have worked with Kay over the years on a number of projects,” said Marshall.

“It meant a great deal to show a comprehensive exhibition about her work and see the tremendous response to it. In addition, the catalog is terrific and the video accompanying the exhibition is extremely well-done.”

The Heard Museum honored WalkingStick’s long career at their annual Moondance Gala, scheduled to coincide with the exhibition’s opening in October 2016.

“Given the special relationship the Heard Museum has with WalkingStick, and as a Smithsonian Affiliate, it was a natural fit for us to present this fine exhibition organized by the National Museum of the American Indian.

We are delighted that our outstanding Library and Archive played a role in the curator’s research for this important exhibition,” said David M. Roche, Heard Museum director and CEO. the affiliate

Photo courtesy of the Heard Museum.

7 the affiliate Spring 2017

Illinois

Below

Right

The Arab American

On loan from

National Museum

the Smithsonian

(Dearborn) featured

American Art

Grammy-nominated

Museum, Firewood

oud musician and

#55, 1942, a gouache,

composer, Rahim

ink, and watercolor

Peoria Riverfront Museum (Peoria) displayed the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) exhibition, Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code.

AlHaj, during its

on paper by Jacob

Global Fridays

Lawrence, was

Maryland

program, presented

included in the High

in partnership

Museum of Art

with Smithsonian

(Atlanta) exhibition

Folkways. Photo

Cross Country:

courtesy of Arab

The Power of Place

American National

in American Art,

Museum

1915 – 1950. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood New about Smithsonian Affiliates (November 1, 2016 – April 30, 2017)

Art of the Airport Tower, a National Air and Space Museum exhibition, organized for travel by Smithsonian Affiliations, made its Affiliate debut at College Park Aviation Museum (College Park).

Marybeth Kelley, Smithsonian Associates, served on the exhibition jury panel at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center (Dowell).

Massachussetts Springfield Museums (Springfield) hosted Jeweled Objects of Desire, an exhibition on loan from NMNH. The Museum also welcomed Cindy Brown, Smithsonian Gardens, for a lecture about American gardens.

Nebraska Mary Dussault, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, presented the lecture How to Survive a Black Hole! at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum (Ashland).

The Museum also hosted the HarvardSmithsonian exhibition, Black Holes: Space Warps and Time Twists.

Durham Museum (Omaha) hosted the SITES exhibition, Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project.

The Museum also welcomed Shannon Perich, NMAH, for the lecture What Did Archie Bunker Say? How Entertainment Shaped Our National Identity in the 1970s, in conjunction with the SITES exhibit.

New York

Arizona Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West (Scottsdale) included two paintings from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in its exhibition, The Taos Society of Artists.

African American scientists and visionaries through its exhibition Creative Mind, which included posters from A Place for All People, provided at no cost by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

Arkansas

California

Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs) honored

The Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach), included a

8 the affiliate Spring 2017

painting by Frank Romero, on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in its exhibition Dreamland: A Frank Romero Retrospective.

Colorado Brent Glass, Director Emeritus, National Museum of American History (NMAH), visited History Colorado (Denver) for a lecture

and book signing for his new publication, 50 GREAT AMERICAN PLACES: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S.

Connecticut NMAH historian, Eric Hintz, presented the lecture, Yankee Ingenuity: Hartford as a Place of Invention at the Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford).

Michelle Wilkinson, National Museum of African American History and Culture; Adriel Luis, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC); and Eduardo Diaz, Smithsonian Latino Center, were part of the Diversity in America lecture series at The Rockwell Museum (Corning).

A handbag carried

by Mamie Eisenhower, on loan from NMAH, was included in the

Long Island Museum (Stony Brook) exhibition, Brilliant Partners: Judith Leibert’s Handbags and the Art of Gerson Leiber. The Museum also hosted Sunae Park Evans, NMAH textile conservator, who spoke about conserving and preserving textiles and costume pieces. In conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition, Edible Eden: The Art of Long Island’s Forests, Fields and Waters, Susan Evans McClure, NMAH, discussed food as a tool for connecting people.

North Carolina Paula Johnson, NMAH curator, discussed Julia Child’s kitchen at the North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh).

Ohio Richard Cooper, director of museum experiences at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati) traveled to D.C. to participate in the PEEPS: Exhibit Share Fair Promoting Excellence in Museum Exhibitions at the Smithsonian, highlighting the Center’s Rosa Parks Experience.

Pennsylvania The Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh) also welcomed Brent Glass for a lecture and book signing for his book, 50 GREAT AMERICAN PLACES: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S. Two artifacts from the NMAH Photo History Collection are included in the Center’s exhibition #Pixburgh: A Photographic Experience.

Rhode Island Rhode Island Historical Society (Providence) featured a talk from Taina Caragol, National Portrait Gallery, about

Arizona State Museum (Tucson), Mystic Seaport (Mystic, Connecticut), and National Museum of Nuclear Science and History (Albuquerque) participated in the National Museum of American History training program, Let’s Do History.

Latino activist Dolores Huerta, and a talk about food history with Susan Evans McClure, NMAH.

tary for Museums and Research, spoke at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane).

South Carolina

Wisconsin

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville) opened Spark!Lab, a new permanent exhibition created by the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at NMAH. South Carolina State Museum (Columbia) exhibited Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, created in collaboration with APAC and organized for travel by SITES.

The Civil War Museum, part of Kenosha Public Museums (Kenosha) displayed, Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963, an exhibition presented by the NMAAHC and NMAH.

South Dakota South Dakota State Historical Society (South Dakota) hosted two Smithsonian online education programs featuring streaming content from NMAH and NASM.

Texas Carol O’Donnell, Smithsonian Science Education Center director, presented a talk about STEM education at the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston (Houston).

In celebration of the opening of the new NMAAHC, Frontiers of Flight Museum (Dallas) exhibited, A Place for All People, a poster exhibit provided at no cost by SITES.

Washington Matthew Carrano, NMNH, spoke about dinosaurs in the public program, Windows into the World of Giants, at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Seattle).

Richard Kurin, Smithsonian Acting Provost / Under Secre-

Wyoming Myths, Memory and the Wild West, an American History (After Hours) event at NMAH, featured Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody) curator Jeremy Johnston.