The Affiliate Newsletter | Spring 2018

Spring 2018

the

affiliate News about Smithsonian Affiliates

Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood: A New Model for Collaboration

Twenty-five Smithsonian programs reached more than 25,000 people in Georgia and Texas in the summer and fall of 2017. The collaborations, part of a growing Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood initiative, brought Smithsonian scholars, exhibitions, artifacts, and education to four Affiliates — The John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science (Houston, Texas), the Tellus Science Museum (Cartersville, Georgia), the Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta), and the High Museum of Art (Atlanta, Georgia).

“We’re really embracing the idea of being the Smithsonian in your neighborhood,” said Jose Santamaria, Tellus Science Museum director. The museum recently hosted Art of the Airport Tower, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. At the July opening, 5,000 children visited the exhibition during the museum’s camp program. In addition, the exhibition’s photographer and curator, Carolyn Russo, continued page 3

Smithsonian Affiliations

1

www.affiliations.si.edu

the affiliate Spring 2018

Director's column What a privilege it has been to see firsthand the profound impact of Affiliate organizations in communities across the nation. I see the strength and value of the Affiliate network in each collaboration — whether it is among Affiliate organizations and Smithsonian museums or among Affiliates around a Smithsonian topic, communities are enriched every day.

The importance of our Affiliate network is integral to the Smithsonian’s new Strategic Plan: Greater Reach, Greater Relevance, and Profound Impact (https://www.si.edu/ strategicplan). Affiliates are key partners in meeting the Smithsonian’s new vision, “to inspire more people, where they are, with greater impact, while catalyzing critical conversation on issues affecting our nation and the world.”

The Smithsonian Secretary’s Youth Advisory Council is an example of the many ways in which we aspire to build on existing partnerships and bring diverse perspectives back to the work of the Smithsonian. The Council was established by Secretary David Skorton as a way for the Smithsonian to gain advice from young people. To include a national focus in 2018, the Council collaborated with Smithsonian Affiliations to grow the program’s outreach in its second year. “I’m really pleased to expand the opportunity to include teens nationally through our Smithsonian Affilia-

tions program,” said Secretary Skorton.

“I look forward to connecting with our local teens and others from diverse areas in America, and gaining a wide variety of perspectives.”

Teens from five Smithsonian Affiliates were selected to provide a national perspective — the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, Ohio); the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, Michigan); the Upcountry History Museum-Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina); The Rockwell Museum (Corning, New York); and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, Texas). The students offered their insights on the role the Smithsonian and museums in their community play in their lives, the significance of “real” versus digital experiences, and ways in which museums can facilitate conversations around today’s critical issues.

Youth are not the only focus for helping to implement the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan.

In an effort to support, and to learn from, staff at Affiliates, Smithsonian Affiliations was awarded a grant from the Getty Foundation.

In fall 2018, the Smithsonian Affiliations Visiting Professionals Program will bring together a cohort of mid-career Affiliate colleagues from organizations with art collections to learn and grow — both personally and organizationally. Through peer-to-

peer discussions and hands-on sessions at the Smithsonian, participants will create digitally focused projects to be implemented at their organizations. In addition, participants will discuss leadership, change management, and plans for bringing new ideas back to their Affiliate organization.

During the leadership transition at Affiliations, we welcome Tricia Edwards as Interim Associate Director. Already familiar with our work through her former position as Head of Education at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and establishing Spark!Lab exhibitions at four Affiliates, Tricia brings expertise in managing short- and long-term strategic initiatives. “I’m excited to join the Affiliations team,” said Edwards. “Through my work with the Spark!Lab National Network, I learned a tremendous amount about creating collaborative, sustainable, and reciprocal partnerships. I’m looking forward to continuing this work across all Smithsonian content and with many more partner organizations, and especially looking forward to learning from our Affiliate network.”

Mark your calendars to come together in 2019 for our next Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference. We are shifting to an early summer date for the Conference in Washington, D.C., and invite you to save

June 23-26 for insightful sessions, hands-on workshops, and countless networking opportunities with fellow Affiliates and Smithsonian colleagues.

It is an exciting time for Smithsonian Affiliations. As I look forward, I know the strength of the program is in continued collaboration with each other to increase our reach and impact. Please stay in touch and let me know how we can work together to enrich the diverse communities we all serve.

Myriam Springuel Interim Director, Smithsonian Affiliations Director, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

Contents Editor Elizabeth Bugbee Writer Heather Shelton Designer Brad Ireland Printing Chroma Graphics, Inc.

Affiliations Staff Jennifer Brundage, National Outreach Manager Elizabeth Bugbee, Communications and Professional Development Manager

1

5

7

Alma Douglas, National Outreach Manager Tricia Edwards, Interim Associate Director Aaron Glavas, National Outreach Manager Laura Hansen, National Outreach Manager

1

5

7

Christina DiMeglio Lopez, Senior Advancement Officer

Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood: A New Model for Collaboration

A Groundbreaking Partnership: The Anchorage Museum and the Smithsonian

Sharing Science with Everyone

Gertrude Ross, Financial Manager

4

6

There’s Music in the Air in Hawaii

The Will to Adorn: Affiliate Students Explore Dress, Identity, and Community

Diversity in America: A Smithsonian Speaker Series at The Rockwell Museum

2 the affiliate Spring 2018

With a Little Help From an Affiliate Friend

Myriam Springuel, Interim Director Natalie Wimberly, Management Support Specialist

8

© 2018 Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood

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

art/culture/science/history

continued from page 1 The Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood: A New Model for Collaboration

discussed the beauty of the airport tower during a lecture and book signing.

Visitors of all ages in Atlanta were engaged with Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood programming at the Georgia Aquarium. Nearly 350 middle school students took a deep dive into STEM-based career programming with Jennifer Collins, a science educator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “They had no concept about these careers,” said Roison Florence, director, grants, corporate sponsorships, and annual giving at the Aquarium. “Local teachers appreciated the program’s ability to expose students to these specialized professions.”

Even the littlest visitors to the Aquarium were able to participate in the fun as they were challenged to think about water and water science through inquiry-based learning workshops led by Ann Caspari, a family programs manager at the National Air and Space Museum.

The Science on Tap program for adults completed the Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood series at the Aquarium. Two scientists from the National Museum of Natural History spoke to visitors about success stories in marine conservation and ocean plastics.

“There’s so much doom and gloom,” mused Florence. “To have people from the Smithson-

ian come down and talk about what individuals can do to turn things around was awesome.

There are reasons to be hopeful.”

About two and a half miles away, at the High Museum of Art, a different kind of discussion was going on — one about jazz among K-12 students and the Smithsonian’s Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. “It was a mix of performance and teaching,” recalls Dina Tyson, school programs manager at the High Museum. Each musician also talked about their personal journey and how they became professional musicians. “They were wonderful. The kids were so captivated, just seeing the musicians up close.” There was also a Sunday family performance at the museum which drew more than 4,600 attendees.

“Everyone was tapping their feet or clapping along. A few families even got up to dance,” recalls Nicole Cromartie, manager of family programs at the High Museum.

In Texas, a series of lectures from experts at the National Museum of Natural History encouraged participants at The Health Museum to explore more about medical innovation and its importance to our present and future well-being. The programs complemented Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code, a traveling exhibition from the National Museum of Natural History and the National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute. One hundred middle school campers from a STEM program for girls were also challenged to investigate similar topics and

careers. “It really opened their eyes to the diversity of careers in museums,” said LaTanya Miles, The Health Museum director of education. “This was new to the girls.”

The series was a resounding success, so much so that the Affiliates in Georgia and Texas are already planning 2018-2019 events and programs. Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood has become a signature program. It began at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach, Florida) and the Springfield Museums (Springfield, Massachusetts), and has now expanded to Affiliates in Atlanta and Houston.

“Through this initiative we are able to develop deeper collaborations and bring even more of the Smithsonian to communities across the country,” said Myriam Springuel, Smithsonian Affiliations interim director. “We are excited to continue this type of programming and look forward to working with more of our Affiliates to help serve their local audiences.”

Smithsonian in Your Neighborhood launched in Springfield with a grant from the MassMutual Foundation, in collaboration with Mr. Roger Crandall, a Smithsonian National Board Member and in Atlanta and Houston with a gift from the Gay and Erskine Love Foundation, in collaboration with Mr. David M. Love, a Smithsonian National Board Member.

Cover, left

Top left

Photo courtesy of

Photo courtesy of

Georgia Aquarium.

The Health Museum.

Cover, top right:

Bottom left

Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of

Secretary, David J.

Addison Hill for the

Skorton, and Melanie

Georgia Aquarium.

Johnson, John P. McGovern Museum

Top and bottom right

of Health & Medical

Photos courtesy of

Science President &

the Smithsonian

CEO. Photo courtesy

Institution.

of Alexander’s Fine Photography Design for The Health Museum.

Cover, bottom right Photo courtesy of The Health Museum.

the affiliate

Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood

3

www.neighborhood.si.edu

the affiliate Spring 2018

history/culture/art

There’s Music in the Air in Hawaii Dr. John Troutman, curator of American music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, has a style that’s rooted in country music, but his favorite instrument plays much more than just one type of sound. Over the last eight years, this musician-turned-professor-turned-curator has been researching the Hawaiian steel guitar, spending a few weeks at a time conducting research in Hawaii, learning from local musicians, mining island archives, and getting to know local traditions. Troutman even took lessons in Hawaiian steel guitar from a well-known master, learning what he calls “the beautiful nuances of the music.”

Troutman recently visited two Smithsonian Affiliates in Hawaii — the Lyman Museum (Hilo), and the Kona Historical Society (Captain Cook). His lecture at the Lyman Museum explored the findings of his book Kika Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music. According to Troutman, there’s so much more to this story than music. The history of the steel guitar in Hawaii reflects larger societal issues and racial stereotypes stemming from a time when Hawaiian musicians were touring and playing during the Jim Crow-era.

“John was able to make a connection with everyone. He was so accessible, so approachable, and because the research was local, it had

Diversity in America: A Smithsonian Speaker Series at The Rockwell Museum

By Brett Smith, Programs and Events Manager, The Rockwell Museum

In spring 2017, The Rockwell Museum (Corning, New York) and Smithsonian Affiliations collaborated on a Smithsonian Speaker Series to shed light on the significant role that race and ethnicity play in shaping contemporary culture. The intent of the series was to engage and attract a broader audience through programming that addresses national topics on the local stage and to show the Corning community the benefit of having a Smithsonian Affiliate in their hometown.

“The Smithsonian lecture series truly activated the programming calendar at The Rockwell Museum with ideas, personalities, concepts, and subjects from the Smithsonian Institution.

Never passive, the talks sparked conversation

on topics across disciplines and connected them to our own local and regional stories,” said Brian Lee Whisenhunt, The Rockwell Museum executive director.

With support from Smithsonian Affiliations, three experts from across the Smithsonian were identified to be featured during the series — Michelle Wilkinson, curator, National Museum of African American History and Culture; Adriel Luis, curator of digital & emerging media, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center; and Eduardo Díaz, executive director, Smithsonian Latino Center.

Each speaker applied the program theme, Diversity in America: Modern Art, Contemporary Voices, to their area of expertise. From Art & Activism in 21st- Century America to Latino Representation at the Smithsonian, the speakers discussed their work in a context that was applicable to the Corning community. To further extend the reach of his talk, Eduardo Díaz hosted a workshop with area educators.

It provided an overview of educational resources available to Spanish language teachers through real-time demonstration of Latino Center online resources.

With higher than average non-member participation, the Museum saw a wide range of demographics from the greater Corning community. “Engaging a broader audience is an ongoing initiative at the museum and the Smithsonian Series moved the needle,” said Brett

4

The Rockwell Museum

the affiliate

www.rockwellmuseum.org

Spring 2018

Smith, programs and events manager. Moving, inspirational, and enlightening were just a few of the reoccurring words used to describe the series.

Since becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2015, The Rockwell Museum and the Smithsonian have collaborated on a wide range of projects. The museum has opened its doors for free in the spirit of the Smithsonian for Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day and received Smithsonian loans such as Gwendolyn by John Sloan (1871-1951), on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Recently, two teens from Corning participated online in the Smithsonian Secretary Youth Advisory Council which engages young people across the nation in helping to guide the work of the Smithsonian.

a lot of relevance for people,” emphasized Lyman Museum Executive Director, Barbara Moir. “The audience came out of the woodwork — some all the way from Kona a few hours away, driving back in the middle of the night.”

Moir, who takes great pride in the programming the museum brings to visitors, said that programs like Troutman’s lecture do make a difference. “It was like bringing the Smithsonian right into our living room.”

Troutman was just as thrilled with the collaborations at both Affiliates. “I just loved it. It was an honor,” he noted. “John’s workshop was significant not only for its content and inspiration, but for its role in providing resources to a truly underserved community,” said Joy Holland, Kona Historical Society executive director. Troutman, who once built exhibitions inside Airstream trailers prior to coming to the Smithsonian, said he could relate to the idea of working with tight budgets. “It was really great to talk to fellow museum folks who are wearing many hats,” he said “figuring out different strategies and opportunities for working together. There’s so much potential!” the affiliate

Photos courtesy of Kona Historical Society.

The museum is kicking off 2018 with speakers from the National Museum of the American Indian and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for the Art + Science lecture series. And the museum is already looking ahead to 2019 when it will host the National Portrait Gallery traveling exhibition Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits. the affiliate

Photo courtesy Smithsonian Affiliations.

history/culture

Photo courtesy of the Anchorage Museum.

A Groundbreaking Partnership: The Anchorage Museum and the Smithsonian The Anchorage Museum in Alaska’s largest city is 4,282 miles and four time zones from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Yet, despite that divide, the Smithsonian and the Anchorage Museum have managed to forge a connection that brings people and places together in an unprecedented way.

The museum’s Arctic Studies Center features the history and voices of Alaska’s indigenous cultures and includes 600 artifacts on loan from both the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. “The partnership was years in the making,” says Julie Decker, director and CEO of the Anchorage Museum.

“Decades ago, former Alaska senator Ted Stevens Sr., visited the Smithsonian and saw the vast collections of artifacts from Alaska.

He wondered if Alaska could somehow be an

extension of the Smithsonian,” Decker recalls of the partnership’s genesis. The culmination of those decades of collaboration resulted in the museum becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2014. Those original artifacts that began the story are still on grand display at the museum.

From the beginning, context and interpretation from Alaskan Native advisers was a critical component of collaborating with the Smithsonian to bring these artifacts home.

“I’m not sure I can even articulate how important it is that the objects have essentially been returned to their place of origin,” said Kelly McHugh, National Museum of the American Indian conservator. “Having some of these older pieces on display and accessible shows how long Alaska Native people have been sustaining and surviving in their land and gives non-Native people the opportunity to learn and understand as well.”

Accessibility is one of the reasons the museum and its partners thought it was imperative to give people a chance to study the collection in a tangible way. “We wanted to create an opportunity for things to live and breathe,” said Aaron Leggett, curator of Alaska history and culture at the Anchorage Museum. “It’s really important to the people of Alaska to have access to these objects.

And, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, especially by young Native Alaskans who are seeing these objects they never knew existed.”

The loan is just the tip of the iceberg for the partnership between the Anchorage Museum and the Smithsonian. The museum has also hosted events and kick-off festivities connected to the loan for audiences of more than 10,000 people. In addition, the museum has collaborated with the Smithsonian on programs for other exhibitions such as Cruisin’ the Fossil Coastline — the culmination of a 10,000-mile, 250-day journey by National Museum of Natural History Director, Kirk Johnson, and Alaska Artist, Ray Troll. The pair spoke to an audience of more than 240 people at the museum last fall about their adventures on the road, regaling the audience with tales of mega bears, a “walking whale,” long-gone polar desert landscapes, giant sea-going reptiles, and more. “Ray and Kirk have a following,” Decker explains.

“They definitely attracted a new audience.

Exhibitions are not the only thing we do.

Programs like this are hugely important.”

From programs to exhibitions, the Anchorage Museum is writing the book about community impact through Smithsonian collaborations. “This has been a groundbreaking partnership,” said Leggett. “I think we’re connecting with people in ways we hadn’t in the past, and we’ve gotten great buy-in from the community. People are saying, ‘this is a world-class institution.’ They are so proud.”

“I am extremely proud of the partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and the Anchorage Museum. Since 1865, when the Smithsonian helped fund an expedition of naturalists to Alaska — whose findings served as a basis for the Alaska Purchase — Americans in the Lower 48 began to recognize the importance of Alaska’s biodiversity, history, and peoples. That partnership continues to this day, uniting Native culture bearers and scientists from across the circumpolar north and Washington, D.C., to develop a deeper, richer understanding of our Great Land. ”

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

the affiliate

Anchorage Museum

5

www.anchoragemuseum.org

the affiliate Spring 2018

history/culture

Why do we dress the way we do? It’s a constant question for Dr. Diana Baird N’Diaye, cultural anthropologist at the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and head of the Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity project. “One of the major ways that people express themselves, whether they’re conscious of it or not, is through clothing,” N’Diaye says. It’s a simple yet profound exercise, especially in a cultural context.

“Will to Adorn is about the diversity of the African American population as seen through the lens of dress,” she explains. Over the last few years, N’Diaye has been researching aesthetics of style and its impact on African American diversity and identity. In 2013, the program was part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and since then has been gaining serious traction with scholars, artists, and folklorists.

It’s a project that calls for grassroots participation, local research, and hitting the pavement to talk to people living in towns and cities across America.

Smithsonian Affiliations has collaborated with N’Diaye for several years during the program’s research phase. The next phase was to expand the program to multiple partners on the community level, with Affiliate organizations conducting local research and contributing to the body of knowledge. By engaging youth curators in each Affiliate community, the program encouraged students to curate and share their own stories using digital technologies.

Over the summer, four Affiliates – the DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago, Illinois), the UTSA Institute for Texan Cultures (San Antonio, Texas), Michigan State University Museum (East Lansing, Michigan), and the Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco, California) — and Mind Builders Cultural Arts Center in New York, were selected as partners, receiving support from a Smithsonian Youth Access Grant funded by the Smithsonian’s Office of the Associate Provost for Education and Access. Affiliates recruited local students to serve as curators and tasked them with gathering information in their towns about African American wearable art traditions from people of diverse geographic, ethnic, occupational, and religious backgrounds.

6

www.instragram.com/willtoadorn

The Will to Adorn: Affiliate Students Explore Dress, Identity, and Community

the affiliate Spring 2018

Left

Right

Photo courtesy of

Photo courtesy of the

the Michigan State

Museum of the African

University Museum.

Diaspora.

From these regional bases, students explored their cities and talked to everyone from traditional milliners to neighborhood hairdressers and barbers to entrepreneurs. They logged their thoughts and experiences on a digital bulletin board that now includes hundreds of contributors and more than 1,000 photos. This Will to Adorn community database is also a place to gather ideas for more polished projects that students create later. Students also used the digitial collections in the Smithsonian Learning Lab to enhance their writing assignments, photographic essays, videos, and Pinterest-like lesson plans.

Their explorations culminated in a trip to Washington, D.C., in March 2018 where two student curators shared their experiences at the Smithsonian Youth Access Forum held at the Smithsonian Castle. Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton provided opening remarks and welcomed educators and youth participants from Affiliate communities. The participants discussed how they organized their projects, the knowledge and skills they gained, and the impact the project has made in their lives.

“The Smithsonian Affiliations program is at the forefront of our outreach to local communities across the country,” noted Secretary Skorton.

“The students who gathered here in the nation’s capital to participate in the Will to Adorn program exemplify the power of sharing culture and using creativity to teach, inspire, and break down barriers between one another.”

Central to the Will to Adorn project is an exploration of digital technologies and modern storytelling. Collaborators have documented the learning process on individual Will to Adorn Instagram channels, showing students working with regional artists and craftspeople. “The students are getting to know how to use professional equipment, while at the same time, thinking about publishing their stories in thoughtful and responsible ways. There’s a level of responsibility that’s distinct from personal social media use,” said N’Diaye.

Perhaps the most important lesson is the project’s power to teach meaningful communication strategies and get students thinking outside of their comfort zones. “Taking fashion as a lens has been a wonderful way to discuss economic, cultural, and historical differences and break down barriers to begin to understand their city as a whole,” said Chelsea Ridley, educational services manager at the DuSable Museum.

Will to Adorn and its wide-reaching youth curator program have visited 11 cities, including the four Affiliate communities, and incorporated the ideas of more than 15,000 participants.

“In a time when people are being defined by everybody else except themselves, I think the idea of the Will to Adorn implies that people have agency and are talking about how clothing is a major means of defining and proclaiming yourself to the world,” notes N’Diaye. the affiliate

science Frost Science President and CEO Frank Steslow added, “as a longstanding Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, Frost Science has had the honor of collaborating and partnering with many of the Smithsonian’s departments and scientists, offering our guests an enhanced experience.” He reiterated Kurin’s remarks The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of about close collaboration as he looked to the Science has a new address in the heart of future of the partnership and the many downtown Miami. The building is not the “opportunities for engagement with the typical steel and glass you may expect. Instead, Smithsonian.” the façade undulates with varied colors and Opening weekend featured several textures, suggesting patterns within the Smithsonian collaborations. The museum’s scientific world — plant cells, computer code, new exhibition, Feathers to the Stars, features or even DNA. The 250,000-square-foot four artifact loans from the Smithsonian’s interior houses a wide range of exhibitions, a National Air and Space Museum. The loans state-of-the art planetarium, and a three-level, help tell the story of flight that covers millions 500,000-gallon aquarium teeming with sea life. of years of history.

The museum moved from a much smaller Navigating a sustainable future is a core building in the Coral Gables neighborhood to vision for Frost Science. The museum is host the new downtown facility in 2017. “It’s to H2O Today, an exhibition organized by the incredible — surrounded by other institutions, Smithsonian Institution Traveling rounding out this vibrant cultural hub in Exhibition Service (SITES). A new SITES Miami,” beams Rebecca Dorfman, public build-it-yourself exhibition, H2O Today relations manager at the museum. “It has provided the museum the flexibility to design invigorated the community. People are really it in a unique space — outside the museum. embracing the museum. And the best part is Before visitors enter the museum they are that we get to share science with everyone.” challenged with considering how critical For opening weekend, Richard Kurin, water is to daily life around the world. then the Smithsonian’s Acting Provost and The weekend also included a program Under Secretary, provided remarks at the from the Smithsonian Latino Center. opening ceremony and Gala. He lauded the ¡Descubra! Meet the Science Expert used informal long history and close collaboration between conversation and hands-on activities to Frost Science and the Smithsonian. He noted explore Latino achievements in science. the role Frost Science will play in inspiring the Since its affiliation in 1998, Frost Science youth of the city, county, state and region, and has consistently been an engaged partner with with its ribbon cutting declared “Miami the the Smithsonian. For two decades, the science capital of the nation.” museum has hosted complementary exhibition

Sharing Science with Everyone

With a Little Help From an Affiliate Friend

By Terry Brennan, Curator/Director of Restorations, San Diego Air and Space Museum

Why would a museum, even one with the capability to do so, want to build a reproduction 1932 Boeing P-26 Peashooter? “Why not?,” said San Diego Air and Space Museum lead volunteer Jerry Orr. The Peashooter was not just another nondescript piece of military hardware.

Rather, it was the transitional fighter for the ages, with both engineering steeped in the past and imaginative design concepts that would foretell the future of virtually all fighter aircraft to follow on. It deserved to be built.

In the basement of the museum, work began to create a new P-26; work that would culminate nearly 11 and a half years later with the Peashooter on display in the museum’s WWII gallery. But there was one nagging issue that weighed on everyone’s mind throughout the process. Where would we come up with a pair of 1932 streamlined tires?

The tires were built by Firestone and were used on only one production aircraft, the P-26.

The last was built in 1932 and had fate not stepped in, our project would have lacked a large slice of authenticity. While visiting an aircraft salvage yard in Los Angeles, Orr tipped over a rotting carton only to find a single streamline tire inside. Dried and withered, it could never be used for our project, besides, there was only a single tire.

He purchased the tire nonetheless and brought it to the museum where we all studied it, imagining just how we might somehow use it. Another volunteer mentioned that he had a friend who operated a foundry and that perhaps he could make a mold from the tattered remains of the original and cast a pair of duplicates for use on the project. What seemed at the time a somewhat farfetched idea turned out to be a realistic solution and within short order we had cast not two but six tires that were, in appearance, identical to the original.

Throughout the final stages we had periodically contacted Jeremy Kinney, aeronautics curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and we were aware that their P-26 aircraft did not have authentic tires. In a gesture of appreciation for all that the Air and Space Museum had done for us, we called and offered him a set of polyurethane reproduction tires and one original tire. As the phone went silent, we could only imagine that Jeremy wondered just where in the world we had come up with a

and educational programs. Frost Science implemented the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos astrophotography workshops into its Upward Bound grant program and has opened its doors to the local community annually on Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. “Whenever the Smithsonian name is mentioned, it brings a level of credibility to our programming,” says Dorfman. “Now, being a member of the Frost Science board helps cement that relationship,” adds the Smithsonian’s Kurin. Past or present, the Frost Science is a model of building strong partnerships with the community and the Smithsonian. the affiliate

The Smithsonian would like to thank Patricia and Phillip Frost, past Smithsonian National Board Members and Smithsonian Regent, for their service and generous support over the past 20 years. We value the relationship we have with the Frosts and the Affiliates in Miami. The capacity and stewardship they have brought to cultural and educational organizations is unparalleled.

Photo courtesy of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.

pair of streamlined tires to offer them. We eased his curiosity with our junkyard story and Jeremy took us up on the offer. With a little help from an Affiliate friend, our tires will be on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center when the new Reinventing Flight exhibition opens in 2021.

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (TMS A19730273000cp04).

the affiliate

San Diego Air and Space Museum

7

www.sandiegoairandspace.org

the affiliate Spring 2018

Bottom

Top

California Science

The Art of Romaine

Center (Los Angeles)

Brooks, a traveling

has a brand new

exhibition from

display case to house

the Smithsonian

the Apollo-Soyuz

American Art

Command Module,

Museum, opens at

on loan from the

the Polk Museum

National Air and

of Art at Florida

Space Museum.

Southern College

Photo courtesy of the

(Lakeland) October

California Science

4. Romaine Brooks,

Center.

La Baronne Emile

Currently at Affiliates California Open through December 2018 is Uncovering Ancient Mexico: The Mystery of Tlatilco, an exhibition organized by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum (Riverside) that includes nine artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum exhibition, Art of the Airport Tower is on view until September 4 at the Aerospace Museum of California (McClellan).

D’Erlanger, about 1924, oil on canvas.

SAAM, gift of the artist.

Smithsonian In Your Neighborhood New about Smithsonian Affiliates (June 1 – October 31, 2018)

Last chance!

Arizona The Heard Museum (Phoenix) exhibition Awa Tsireh: Pueblo Painter and Metalsmith includes artwork from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). The exhibition closes July 1.

Kentucky The Frazier History Museum (Louisville) exhibition The Magnificent Mona Bismarck includes three dresses from the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and closes July 29.

Missouri Through September 3, the Saint Louis Science Center (St. Louis) hosts the exhibition Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission, created by the National Air and Space Museum and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

Oregon Ascent: Climbing Explored, an exhibition curated by the High Desert Museum (Bend), includes two works of art and Thomas Moran’s brushes and palettes from SAAM, on view until September 3.

Pennsylvania Seven artifacts from the National Museum of American History are included in the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle (Doylestown) exhibition Racing: A Need for Speed. On view until September 9.

Coming soon More than 100 Affiliates will participate in Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day on September 22. The theme this year is Women Making History.

Maryland

Arizona

Jennifer Daniels, landscape architect at the National Zoo, juried an exhibition at Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center (Dowell) that is on display through summer 2018.

On June 2, the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum (Bisbee) will open Water/Ways, a traveling exhibition from Museum on Main Street, an ongoing collaboration between SITES and state humanities councils.

California The SITES exhibition Mail Call will open at the USS HornetSea, Air and Space Museum (Alameda) on August 4.

Connecticut Mallory Warner, museum specialist, Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History, will talk about women in World War I at the Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford) on October 11.

Florida The Annual Natural History Festival at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (Daytona Beach) will host two talks featuring Valerie Paul, director of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, on September 8. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra returns to the museum for two concerts September 28-29.

An etching on loan from the National Museum of American History is included in the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College (Lakeland) exhibition Von Wagner Code opening June 23.

Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code, a National Museum of Natural History traveling exhibition, will open at the Orange County Regional History Center (Orlando) on October 13.

Maryland A Smithsonian Associates all-day tour of Calvert County includes a tour through Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center (Dowell) on June 16.

Missouri Margaret Weitekamp, curator, Space History Department at the National Air and Space Museum, will give a lecture on Star Trek, at the Saint Louis Science Center (St. Louis) on July 6.

Ohio Teachers from Ohio will participate in the National Museum of American History program, Let’s Do History, hosted by The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art and Technology (Newark) on October 1.

Pennsylvania

Texas

The National Museum of Industrial History (Bethlehem) will welcome Shari Stout, collections manager at the National Museum of American History, for a discussion about the 250th anniversary of the discovery of anthracite on August 25.

The Senator John Heinz History Center (Pittsburgh) hosts Theresa McCulla, historian of the American Brewing Initiative at the National Museum of American History, for a lecture and tasting on June 3. Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission will open at the Heinz History Center on September 29. The exhibition is created by the National Air and Space Museum and organized for travel by SITES.

A new program Smithsonian Spotlights on African American History at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center, part of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, will feature Smithsonian Channel programs on Saturdays in June and July.

South Carolina The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville) will host Smithsonian educators from the National Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center for teacher professional development workshops on July 18.

Tennessee The International Storytelling Center (Jonesborough) will show three Smithsonian Channel programs — First Ladies Revealed: Twists of Fate; A StarSpangled Story: Battle for America; and My Big Bollywood Wedding — during afternoon public programs in June and July.

Virginia Opening on September 1 at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens (Norfolk) is 3D Printing the Smithsonian, featuring 10 objects scanned and 3D printed using collections from the Freer|Sackler Galleries.

The museum will also host Cynthia Brown, manager, horticulture collections management and education at Smithsonian Gardens, on July 11, and Alison Cawood, citizen science coordinator at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, on September 26.

West Virginia As part of West Virginia’s birthday celebration events, Heritage Farm Museum and Village (Huntington) will continuously loop the Smithsonian Channel program Aerial America: West Virginia on June 20 and June 23.

3ULQWLQJ RI WKHVH EURFKXUHV XVLQJ WKLV FRPELQDWLRQ RI SDSHUV VDYHV WKH IROORZLQJ 75((6 %78V 727$/ (1(5*< 127 86(' /%6 &2 *5((1+286( *$6(6 6$9(' *$//216 :$7(5 6$9(' /%6 :$7(5 32//87$176 127 &5($7(' /%6 62/,' :$67( 127 &5($7(' 3ULQWHG RQ IRUHVW IULHQGO\ (QGXUDQFH 5HF\FOHG 3DSHU

8 the affiliate Spring 2018