The Affiliate | Fall/Winter 2011

Fall/Winter 2011

the

affiliate News about Smithsonian Affiliates

Detail of the Smithsonian Community Reef on view at the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre until 2016.

Putnam Museum Provides New Home for Smithsonian Community Reef

Photo courtesy Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre.

By Cara Seitchek

The Smithsonian Community Reef, a six-month highlight of the National Museum of Natural History’s (NMNH) Sant Ocean Hall, will grace the entrance to the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre’s Ocean Experience Hall for the next five years. The coral reef, composed of thousands of crocheted natural forms, will provide myriad educational opportunities for the Putnam Museum in the disciplines of science, math, marine biology, ecology, and conservation.

“We had already discussed creating our own crochet coral reef,” said Kimberly

Findlay, president and CEO of the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa. “It was very exciting to have the Smithsonian reach out to us and ask if we would host an object that had been on view at the National Museum of Natural History.”

“Although the community coral reef was not conceived as a traveling exhibition,” said Meg Rivers, NMNH exhibits developer, “it was so magnificent and received such acclaim from visitors that we couldn’t box it up and put it in storage. continued page 3

Smithsonian Affiliations

Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre

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www.affiliations.si.edu

www.putnam.org

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from the director We extend a warm welcome to our newest Smithsonian Affiliates

“We Have Returned�: Museums and Revitalization Post-Katrina A recent trip to Louisiana and Mississippi made it crystal clear that museums are more than wallpaper on the local landscape; they are indeed essential to the survival and revival of their communities. Six years ago, August 29, 2005, New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The destruction along the Gulf Coast was incalculable—lives lost, neighborhoods destroyed, infrastructure shattered, and tens of thousands dispersed. Museums fought to save buildings and collections; a task made more difficult by the absence of staff due to mandatory evacuation and personal losses.

Many predicted the complete disappearance of New Orleans and its unique way of life.

Smithsonian Affiliates in New Orleans, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and The National World War II Museum, took a leadership role among the cadre of cultural organizations determined to present a different narrative. Less than two months after Katrina, The Ogden reopened with a regular Thursday night concert series, affirming the musical vitality of New Orleans while also providing jobs and a place for locals to reconnect. Missing New Orleans, an exhibition and book project, was rushed to print, with a new section featuring images of the destroyed homes of museum staff. Across the street

from The Ogden, The National D-Day Museum—soon to be renamed The National World War II Museum—reopened its doors three months after Katrina, and in language reminiscent of General MacArthur, printed T-shirts announcing “We Have Returned.� Both museums play a major role in the revival of New Orleans by offering a vibrant cultural life and embarking on expansion projects, making a strong impact on the local economy and the long-term outlook for the city’s future.

A hundred miles east in Biloxi, Mississippi, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is also re-emerging. The museum’s Frank Gehry-designed buildings, then under construction, were nearly destroyed by a barge tossed ashore during the storm.

Museum staff refused to throw in the towel; with patience and determination, they put the pieces of the project back together.

The museum complex, now with several buildings open to the public, stands as a tribute not only to its namesake George Ohr, the self-proclaimed “greatest art potter on Earth,� but also to the indomitable spirit of art and those who work tirelessly to make it accessible.

The late Stephen Weil, Smithsonian colleague and museum sage, asked frequently and provocatively “Do museums

matter?� After my visit, I would answer that museums not only matter but in many places they are the core institutions that stand between the life and death of a community. Head to the Gulf Coast, visit our Affiliates, and see what I mean.

Harold A. Closter closterh@si.edu

Columbia Memorial Space Center Downey, CA USS Constitution Museum Boston, MA Yankee Air Museum Belleville, MI City of Las Cruces Museum System Las Cruces, NM Stafford Air & Space Museum Weatherford, OK

Editor Christina Di Meglio Lopez Assistant Editor Elizabeth Bugbee Writer Cara Seitchek Designer Brad Ireland Printing Chroma Graphics, Inc.

Affiliations Staff Directory Jennifer Brundage, National Outreach Manager Elizabeth Bugbee, External Affairs & Professional Development Coordinator Harold A. Closter, Director Alma Douglas, National Outreach Manager Aaron Glavas, National Outreach Manager Laura Hansen, National Outreach Manager

contents

Christina Di Meglio Lopez, External Affairs Manager Caroline Mah, National Outreach Manager Gertrude Ross, Financial Manager Š 2011 Smithsonian Institution The Affiliate is published by Smithsonian Affiliations. All rights reserved.

For information

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Smithsonian Affiliations Smithsonian Institution P.O. Box 37012 MRC 942 Washington, DC 20013-7012

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Putnam Museum Provides New Home for Smithsonian Community Reef

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2011 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference Focuses on Education

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Science Mystery VANISHED at Affiliate Museums

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Don Williams: Preserving Treasures, Saving Stuff

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The Ties That Bind: Charlotte Museum of History and SITES

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Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood: News about Smithsonian Affiliates

Telephone: 202.633.5300 Fax: 202.633.5313 affiliations.si.edu

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science/arts

Top to bottom Installation of the Smithsonian Community Reef at the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre.

Detail of the Smithsonian Community Reef.

All photos courtesy Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre.

continued from page 1 Putnam Museum Provides New Home for Smithsonian Community Reef

The Putnam Museum has created a wonderful space for it as well as incredible programming.”

The Smithsonian Community Reef is a satellite project of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project (HCCR) created by The Institute for Figuring (IFF) in Los Angeles, California.

Organized by sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim, HCCR was based on the work of Cornell University mathematician Daina Taimina, who crocheted the first threedimensional representations of hyperbolic geometry for her classes in 1997.

The Wertheims, who grew up in Australia, adapted the natural forms to create a version of the Great Barrier Reef with loopy “kelps,” fringed “anemones,” crenellated “sea slugs,” and curlicue “corals.” After outgrowing their coffee table and home, the HCCR is now loaned to institutions around the world for display and to inspire local communities to create their own reefs.

NMNH’s Sant Chair in Marine Science Dr. Nancy Knowlton, who brought HCCR to the museum, said that the project helps make the public aware of the problems facing coral reefs, which have lost almost 50 percent of their living coral globally.

“I can’t think of any better way of merging arts with sciences and showing both the beauty of coral reefs and the deterioration they face.”

The Smithsonian Community Reef turned into a year-long labor of love for Community Reef Coordinator Jennifer Lindsay, who oversaw the creation of the

reef and outreach into the community.

Starting in May 2010, Lindsay connected to the knitting and crocheting community, soliciting contributions of crocheted coral using the patterns developed by Taimina and the Wertheim sisters.

“We received 4,000 pieces through the mail from 819 contributors, representing 25 states, three countries, and ages from three to 101,” said Lindsay. “Several knitting shops hosted free events to teach crochet and ended up with reefs growing in their shops. Groups who participated included blind knitters, homeless women, and even regular visitors to the museum would sit down and crochet a piece.”

With select pieces from IFF’s reef as guidance, Lindsay worked with a team of 88 volunteers who assisted her in sorting and grading the 520 square feet of “coral,” and then helped her assemble what became the Smithsonian Community Reef.

“Luckily I had the resources of the museum and its specimens to serve as models,” she said. “And comparing the marine species on display with the crocheted reef created conversations that were enriching for visitors.”

The final Smithsonian Community Reef required a large platform, rolls of chicken wire, large cardboard tubes, pipe cleaners, twist ties, and hot glue. Installation consumed 484 person hours; de-installation, 32 person hours. The Quiksilver Foundation, the Embassy of Australia, and the Coral Reef Alliance provided critical financial support.

“The Putnam Museum really needed Jennifer’s vision to re-create the reef,” said Rivers. “We sent 200 photographs and a 50-page document explaining how the reef was constructed.”

“As a museum of science and history, we are becoming more and more interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content. Our education team really wanted to do something with the reef to meet STEM goals,” said Findlay. “Although not typically done to accompany the reef, our education team felt strongly about this and worked with IFF until they agreed that we could create an education module.”

In order to emphasize the mathematical concepts contained in the reef, the Putnam Museum’s signage discusses different types of geometry — Euclidian, the familiar theory of points, angles, and lines; and hyperbolic, a concept useful for describing the more complex shapes of the natural world. Simple demonstrations by staff members show how a simple piece of yarn could turn into infinite numbers of parallel lines when a piece of crochet is folded upon itself.

“We came up with a happy medium for everyone,” said Rivers. “NMNH is very happy for its reef to have a new home and a new relationship with an Affiliate museum.”

Findlay agrees. “Having the reef here benefits our community, contributes to our purpose and mission, and strengthens our relationships with our local schools and the Smithsonian.” the affiliate

“The Smithsonian Community Reef project complements the experience learners of all ages have come to appreciate at the Putnam Museum in Davenport. This exhibit will give Iowans, who do not often get to see coral reefs in person, a wonderful chance to learn about the ecology of the ocean and pacific islands ecosystem.”

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre

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2011 conference

2011 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference Focuses on Education

By Cara Seitchek

Top left Conference attendees in the Smithsonian Castle Commons for the Welcome Reception at the Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference. Photo courtesy Smithsonian Affiliations.

“We tried to model how to partner and sions about innovative education programs think about partnering,” said Elizabeth that reach into the local community. Fifteen Eder, assistant chair, National Educational Smithsonian educators from every field and Partnerships, Smithsonian American Art discipline shared their ideas, successes, and Museum. “By providing an opportunity challenges with using technology, working for people to team up and brainstorm with local schools, and creating citizen together, Affiliate staff members could share science programs. stories and broach possible partnerships.”

Afternoon sessions covered topics as Eder’s session, Not Your Ordinary varied as the Smithsonian’s Immigration Classroom: Reaching Students Using Documents Initiative, building membership programs, and Works of Art as Primary Sources, adapted creating mobile platforms, promoting her teacher training program to include science education, and using works of art “group speed dating” for greater participant as primary sources. interaction. This focus on partnerships Meg Colafella, former director of remained a key theme throughout the membership at the Senator John Heinz 2011 Affiliations National Conference, History Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 13 – 15, 2011, in Washington, D.C. described her approach to membership as From the keynote address presented by “non-traditional.” Instead of membership Assistant Secretary for Education and Access, existing as a separate office, she integrated Claudine Brown, to the Visiting Profesmembership practices into the entire sional and Intern Partnership Awards, museum by creating collaborations with conference participants attended educational other departments and doubling membersessions, took behind-the-scenes tours, met ship within two years. with Smithsonian staff, and visited with “I came to the session with real, usable fellow Affiliate members. ideas that people could take away with For Will Ticknor, director of museums them,” she said. “We had a lot of interaction for the City of Las Cruces Museum with the audience with a lot of good System, Las Cruces, New Mexico, his first questions and answers. I enjoyed learning Affiliations Conference “was an excellent with everyone there, and the information opportunity to learn about all the benefits sharing has continued after the conference.” of the Affiliations program. We were so Judy Brown, senior vice president of busy, the week just flew by.” programs at the Miami Science Museum, Tuesday morning, nearly 90 attendees Miami, Florida, had a similar experience gathered for a series of roundtable discuswith her session, Success with Science: New

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Approaches for New Audiences, which focused on issues related to increasing career pathways in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for girls.

“I found it a positive experience to talk about how programming at museums can really make a difference in the lives of young people. The discussion was enlightening, and I gained insights into the participants and their thoughts. I extended an invitation for Affiliates to participate in our mini-grant program; this was well received and I see new collaborations on the horizon.”

Wednesday morning brought attendees together at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Café with Executive Chef Richard Hetzler. His demonstration on salmon preparation as an interpretive tool prompted a spirited discussion on the many ways Affiliates incorporate food into their educational programming.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama, for example, offers instruction on hydroponic and aeroponic gardening and the challenges of growing food without oxygen or soil. Center Director Deborah Barnhart said that her kitchen staff has devised a menu using the 15 foods you can grow on Mars and made it an immersive experience for participants.

Barnhart, another first-time conference attendee, said that the conference also allowed her to gather information on

2011 conference

preparing traveling exhibitions for international locations.

“By talking with people at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and learning their best practices, we were able to emulate them and prepare our exhibition on Wernher von Braun so that we can send it to Europe sooner than we thought.”

Other Affiliate attendees also tapped into the Smithsonian’s knowledge about loans through behind-the-scenes sessions offered at four Smithsonian museums. A road trip to the Anacostia Community Museum focused on connecting to the community, particularly in an urban setting.

Representative Sam Johnson (TX-03) hosted the Congressional Reception, which concluded the conference and brought together Affiliate members, Smithsonian staff, Congressional representatives, and other key partners of the Affiliations program. Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough welcomed everyone and outlined several key Smithsonian initiatives.

More than 54 Affiliates sent staff to the conference, with 26 states and Puerto Rico represented. Eight new Affiliates sent staff members with 48 percent of the 168 Affiliates sending at least one staff member.

Both Barnhart and Ticknor plan to attend next year’s conference and bring other staff. “It’s like having my own private docent to the Smithsonian,” said Barnhart.

Ninety Affiliates participated in Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day on September 24, 2011.

“The Affiliate partnership is essential to the effort to make America’s artistic, historic and scientific treasures more accessible to the American people no matter where they live.

Just as importantly, it brings our experts together with your experts to create innovative, educational outreach programs for learners of all ages.”

Clockwise

Smithsonian

from top left

Assistant Secretary

Smithsonian Secretary

for Education and

G. Wayne Clough and

Access, Claudine

Representative Tim

Brown, delivered the

Huelskamp (KS-1)

Keynote Address

with conference

during the 2011

guests at the

Affiliations National

Congressional

Conference.

Reception on

Erin Blasco,

Capitol Hill.

National Postal

National Outreach

Museum, and Natalie

Manager, Jennifer

DeRiso, Sentator

Brundage, took notes

John Heinz History

for discussion during

Center, discussed

a session.

program ideas at

Conference

the educational

attendees at the

roundtables. All

What’s the Big Idea?

photos courtesy tony

roundtable session.

brown / imijphoto.com.

G. Wayne Clough Secretary, Smithsonian Institution

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science/history

Science Mystery VANISHED at Affiliate Museums

By Cara Seitchek

Don Williams: Preserving Treasures, Saving Stuff

By Cara Seitchek

Perhaps you met him at a Saving Stuff event, so you know he’s a font of information about conservation. Maybe he appeared at your Affiliate museum to put together a 3,000-piece wooden Chinese pavilion, so you know he’s a wonderful woodworker.

But did you know that his favorite color is grey and he loves peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches?

Don is just one of the multi-talented staff members of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI). Part scientist, scholar, and hands-on worker, conservators bring together many disciplines to ensure that treasures of national and personal interest survive for future generations.

“Conservation brings together the intuitive and the physical,” he said. “It combines problem-solving skills with

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“Can children solve scientific problems in a collaborative way in an online forum?” asked Michelle Smith, SCEMS director of publications and digital media. “We found that they could. VANISHED demystified science and made it very human and accessible.”

This spring, 15 Affiliates reached out to local students through VANISHED, a learning game created through a partnership between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Education Arcade and the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS). The game, funded by a grant from the National

manual work, as well as research and the challenge of figuring out a solution. I love the research and history of furniture making as well as the technical aspect of it.”

Don’s path to conservation was a bit backwards. Always a “putterer” in his garage, he started his career working in a furniture warehouse, spending half his time cleaning the warehouse and the other half learning about furniture restoration.

“I worked my way through better and better shops, and while I had a few false starts, I always came back to furniture restoration.”

When one job enabled him to work on objects in the collection of Charles and Jayne Wrightsman, he realized his interest could be a career, so he attended the University of Delaware, earning a B.A. in conservation.

“Usually people get the degree and then work in an apprenticeship, but I had already had years of experience, so I did my apprenticeship before my training.”

In 1984, Don joined the Smithsonian Institution, where he has worked on Archie Bunker’s chair, the Wright Brothers’ Flyer and many other iconic objects. He says his favorite object is always the one he is working on right now. Today, he’s working on an Italian marquetry cabinet for Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and creating an exact replica of a Samuel Gregg chair from the National Museum of American History.

Students from eight Affiliates were selected to participate in the Smithsonian Latino Center’s Young Ambassadors Program in June and July 2011.

Science Foundation (NSF), challenged participants to locate clues in their neighborhoods in order to solve a scientific mystery and, in the process, learn more about problem-solving.

VANISHED presented the target audience — 10 ½ to 14-year-olds — with an environmental disaster that could be solved through puzzles, online challenges, and visits to museums. Over an eight-week period, participants worked together by sharing question and answers, interviewing scientists, and locating clues — some found at their local Affiliate.

“A child would get to a particular museum at a specific day and time, identify the clue, and communicate it to the other players,” said Smith.

Some Affiliates offered behind-thescenes tours or an opportunity to meet staff experts, while other museums suggested exhibitions to explain an area of science or history relevant to solving the puzzle.

Students could visit the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas, to investigate space exploration, or the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, to explore ecosystems, and then message the other 6,500 participants to share this knowledge and move the group toward solving the mystery.

“This grant was awarded from the NSF’s informal science education program,” said Smith, “and the Affiliates played an

important role in the informal learning that took place in their museums.”

Five Smithsonian scientists served as advisors and mentors, providing videoconference “office hours” for live interactions with a geologist, a paleontologist, an entomologist, and other experts. Students posed questions related to the game and interviewed the scientists about their career paths and the challenges of their jobs.

“We have extensive evidence of players becoming highly engaged; they designed and criticized sophisticated hypotheses and were thrilled to collaborate with scientists,” said Stephanie Norby, SCEMS director.

“They threw themselves into the game’s science fiction in order to conduct real scientific research.”

Outside the Smithsonian, Don is an active member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. He serves on their board and expresses concern that “people today are not being schooled in manual professions.”

To teach people about the importance of conservation, Don co-founded MCI’s graduate Furniture Conservation Training Program, which has trained dozens of specialists in furniture preservation. He lectures extensively, and writes for both professional and popular audiences on topics including shellac, varnish, and japanning. His 2005 book, Saving Stuff (written with Louisa

Jagger), provides simple, easy-to-read, and easy-to-understand conservation tips for the general public. Many Smithsonian Affiliates have hosted Don for lectures, demonstrations, and staff training since he began traveling to Affiliate neighborhoods in 2005.

“Two hundred years ago people were writing about the science of painting and the art of metallurgy,” he said. “I love bringing together two seemingly different things and finding the connections and similarities. It’s a path of delight.”

the affiliate

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Bottom

Artwork copyright

Don Williams

Ruwen Liu 2010

examines a visitor’s photo album at Littleton Museum in Littleton, Colorado.

Photo courtesy Tim Nimz, Littleton Museum

the affiliate

history

Summer 2011 Affiliations Visiting Professionals and Intern Partners Congratulations to our summer 2011 Visiting Professionals and Intern Partners! Smithsonian Affiliations is proud to offer opportunities for Affiliates to support ongoing initiatives at their organization through professional development programs across the Institution. For information about these opportunities, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee, BugbeeE@si.edu, 202.633.5304

V isiti n g P r o f essi o n a l

V isiti n g P r o f essi o n a l

Angelica Docog

Annette Fromm

A f f i l iate

A f f i l iate

Charlotte Museum of History (Charlotte, North Carolina)

The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Miami, Florida)

S I u n it

S I u n it

Pan-Institutional

Pan-Institutional

P r o j ect

P r o j ect

Models of Accessibility: Identifying Conceptual Frameworks for Special Needs Communities, Culturally Diverse Communities, and Educators

Exhibition Planning: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Sensitive Exhibit Design and Community Consultation for Reflections Across Time: Seminole Portraits

I n te r n Pa r t n e r

I n te r n Pa r t n e r

Meghan Burke

Jessica Lapinsky

A f f i l iate

A f f i l iate

Michigan State University Museum (East Lansing, Michigan)

Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (Champaign, Illinois)

S I u n it

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

S I u n it

P r o j ect

P r o j ect

Accessibility, Evaluation, and Collections Management at the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Disaster Planning and Response: Developing a Workshop Series for Library, Archives, and Museum Collections at the University of Illinois

I n te r n Pa r t n e r

I n te r n Pa r t n e r

Brandie Macdonald

Marlina Reese

A f f i l iate

A f f i l iate

Charlotte Museum of History (Charlotte, North Carolina)

The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future (Dallas, Texas)

S I u n it

S I u n it

National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of American History

P r o j ect

P r o j ect

Broadening Museum Access: Enhancing Community Engagement with Culturally Diverse Programming

From Cataloguing to Digitization: A Study in Collections Management Best Practices at the National Numismatic Collection

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Angelica Docog photo courtesy tony brown/imijphoto.com. All others courtesy Smithsonian Affiliations.

The Ties That Bind: Charlotte Museum of History and SITES

By Cara Seitchek

The Charlotte Museum of History (CMH), an Affiliate since 2003, is actively expanding its relationship with the Smithsonian. From hosting Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) exhibitions to making connections through professional development programs, CMH is enthusiastic about the ways in which the Affiliations program benefits its community.

CMH has hosted several SITES exhibitions — five booked between April 2011 and 2013. To complement them, CMH created programming to draw in new audiences, aided by Smithsonian Community Grants sponsored by the MetLife Foundation.

“The SITES exhibitions provide a conceptual framework around which my staff can then create local programming or a complementary exhibition,” said Angelica Docog, CMH president and CEO. “We don’t have the staff or resources to create an exhibition of the level or caliber of the Smithsonian, but collaborating with SITES has given us new ways to connect with our communities.”

The exhibition, Singgalot (The Ties That Bind), is just one example of CMH using SITES to broaden its reach in the Charlotte community. Singgalot provided CMH with an opportunity to work with the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas, which raised funds to produce three free family days that brought in more than 5,000 people.

“They took ownership of the exhibition and programming, and embraced it as one of their own,” said Docog. “We received a lot of coverage in the local Asian press.”

One poignant story, reported in the The Charlotte Observer, described a local woman discovering a photograph of her father in the exhibition. Singgalot’s message,

the bond between people and their histories, encouraged her to re-connect with her family.

Native Words: Native Warriors, on view through January 2012, provided avenues to engage with the Charlotte Native American community through a partnership with Many Journeys, a local American Indian organization.

In November, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) sent Museum Cultural Specialist Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa / Ohkay Owingeh / Santee Dakota) to participate in the 3rd Annual American Indian Heritage Celebration at CMH. During the event, Zotigh presented a Hoop Dance Workshop, led a blessing of the grounds, demonstrated Native American drumming, and sang Native American songs.

Zotigh’s participation resulted, in part, from a connection made when CMH Education and Volunteer Coordinator Brandie Macdonald (Choctaw / Chickasaw) traveled to NMAI as an Affiliations Intern Partner in summer 2011.

Macdonald also utilized her knowledge to create new programs. One she developed while at NMAI — Art is History, You Me We: Our Generation — received funding and was offered to 50 inner-city high school students.

Macdonald said, “By providing educational programming, we encourage a deeper understanding of our community’s past and present.”

Docog is already planning for hosting SITES’ American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music exhibition. “Seeing it installed as a full-scale exhibition gave me ideas on how we can use the content in Charlotte,” she said. “I want to ensure that we are accessible to everyone.”

Michelle Torres-Carmona, director of SITES scheduling and exhibitions, described CMH as having “established a foothold in the Charlotte community. They work well with their neighbors and other organizations.” the affiliate

Singgalot opening

Bert Rodriguez and

celebration with

Nini Rodriguez.

Angelica Docog, Tony

Photo courtesy Hearth

Amore, Dr. Nini Batista,

Bound Photography.

FACC President

The Charlotte Museum of History

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www.charlottemuseum.org

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Top to bottom

Summer campers

Robert Adams

help welcome

(1917 – 1984),

HistoryMiami,

Upright Leaf Forms,

Miami, Florida,

1957, iron, Gift of

to the Smithsonian

Joseph H. Hirshhorn,

Affiliations program.

Hirshhorn Museum

Photo courtesy

and Sculpture

HistoryMiami.

Garden, Smithsonian Institution, on loan to the Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, Texas.

Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood News about Smithsonian Affiliates Arizona

California

Challenger Space Center (Peoria) hosted the National Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) exhibition In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight in November 2011.

Riverside Arts and Cultural Affairs Division, Riverside Metropolitan Museum (Riverside) hosted Smithsonian Week in Riverside in May 2011.

In September 2011, Rusty Russell, collections manager, botany, National Museum

of Natural History (NMNH), lectured during Smithsonian Citizen Science Week.

Connecticut In May 2011, Hunt Hill Farm (New Milford) hosted Anna Karvellas, managing editor, William Steinway Diary Project at the National Museum of American

History (NMAH) and The Smithsonian Associates Scholar, Robert Wyatt.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center (Mashantucket) hosted a live webcast of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) symposium, Quantum Leap: Does Indian Blood Still

Matter?, in September 2011. In October 2011, the museum opened the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) exhibition IndiVisible: AfricanNative American Lives in the Americas.

Illinois

Florida

Iowa

The South Florida Museum and Parker Manatee Aquarium (Bradenton) hosted the SITES exhibition Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants in October 2011.

Smithsonian Assistant Secretary for Education and Access, Claudine Brown, gave remarks and presented HistoryMiami (Miami) with a Certificate of Affiliation in July 2011.

The Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach) began an annual program, Septembers with the Smithsonian, with a lecture from Valerie Paul, director of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce, and a performance by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Septet in September 2011.

Anna Forgerson, senior museum education specialist at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, taught a workshop at the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre (Davenport) in May 2011.

Georgia NASM Photographer, Eric Long, lectured and hosted a book signing in July 2011 at the Tellus Science Museum (Cartersville). The museum also hosted the NASM exhibition, At the Controls, in November 2011.

David W. Penney, associate director for museum scholarship at NMAI, presented a lecture on Native American objects at Booth Western Art Museum (Cartersville) in October 2011.

The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art (Elmhurst) exhibited five pieces of jewelry on loan from NMAH and a sapphire flower brooch on loan from NMNH in September 2011.

Maryland NASM Curator, Mike Neufeld, lectured on his book National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography at College Park Aviation Museum (College Park) in October 2011.

Montana In May 2011, Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program at NMNH, presented Discovering Human Origins: Excitement and Challenges in the Public Understanding of Human Evolution at the Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman) and Briana Pobiner, science outreach and education program specialist for the Human Origins Program led a workshop.

In October 2011, NASM Curator, Mike Neufeld, spoke about his book National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography.

New York NMAH Exhibition Program Manager, Monica Smith, spoke about the history of the electric guitar at The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages (Stony Brook) in June 2011.

Smithsonian National Board Member, Abby Joseph Cohen, presented the lecture LongTerm Prospects for Economic Growth and American Prosperity at the Museum of American Finance (New York) in October 2011.

North Carolina Smithsonian Affiliations Director, Harold Closter, presented a 10th Anniversary Affiliate Award to the Schiele Museum of Natural History

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Four Affiliates welcomed Smithsonian Books author and astronaut Al Worden for lectures and book signings, August through October 2011.

& Lynn Planetarium (Gastonia) in September 2011.

Oklahoma Tricia Edwards, education specialist for the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at NMAH, traveled to Science Museum Oklahoma (Oklahoma City) for a Spark!Lab Outreach Kit workshop in May 2011.

Pennsylvania Gail Joice, NMAI collections manager, participated in Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures at the Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh) in June 2011. NMAH loaned the museum four flag-related artifacts, including a fragment of the StarSpangled Banner, for the exhibition Stars & Stripes: An American Story exhibition, on view through June 2012.

National Portrait Gallery (NPG) Writer, Warren Perry, presented the lecture Presumed Guilty: William Doster’s Defense of the Lincoln Conspirators at Historic Bethlehem Partnership, Inc. (Bethlehem) in May 2011.

Puerto Rico The Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanistícos (Gurabo) hosted the annual museum studies workshop in June 2011. The workshop featured Suzannah Niepold and Elizabeth Deines (Smithsonian American Art Museum), Jenny Wei (NMAH), and was co-taught by Jennifer Brundage (Smithsonian Affiliations).

www.affiliations.si.edu

Tennessee Smithsonian Folkways Archivist, Jeff Place, spoke at the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance (Bristol) during the Rhythm and Roots Festival in September 2011.

Texas NMNH Senior Archeologist, William Fitzhugh, presented a lecture on Genghis Khan at the Irving Arts Center (Irving) in September 2011.

In May 2011, The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future (Dallas) exhibited Lillian Evanti, an oil on canvas by Lois Mailou Jones, on loan from NPG. The Ellen Noël Art Museum (Odessa) unveiled Robert Adams’ sculpture Upright Leaf Forms, on loan from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, at a press ceremony featuring Smithsonian Affiliations Director, Harold Closter, in June 2011.

Wisconsin Wisconsin Maritime Museum (Manitowoc) hosted the SITES exhibition Native Words, Native Warriors in October 2011.

Wyoming Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody) loaned five works of art to the Smithsonian American Art Museum for The Great American Hall of Wonders, an exhibition in Washington, D.C., through January 2012.