Report to the Regents

Second Quarter, Fiscal Year 2010

The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins opened on March 17, 2010, to mark the 100th anniversary of 

the National Museum of Natural History’s building on the National Mall. The 15,000-square-foot exhibition 

examines how humans have evolved over the past 6 million years.
Broadening Access: Visitation Summary

In the fi rst two quarters of fi scal year 2010, the Institution counted 10.3 million visits to its museums 

in Washington, D.C., and New York, plus the National Zoological Park and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy 

Center—down about 4 percent from the same period in fi scal year 2009. Th is small dip in visitorship 

should be considered in light of the paralyzing snowstorms that hit the Washington, D.C., region in 

December 2009 and February 2010, and shut down Smithsonian museums for several days. 

In the fi rst six months of fi scal year 2010, the Smithsonian also counted: 

Approximately 2.5 million visits to traveling exhibitions mounted by the Smithsonian Institution 

Traveling Exhibition Service; and 

More than 93 million visits to Smithsonian Web sites—down about 4 percent from the fi gure for 

the fi rst half of fi scal year 2009. 

Visits to Smithsonian Museums

First Two Quarters of Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010 

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0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Anacostia

Renwick

Cooper -Hewitt-NY

Heye Center -NY

Postal

African Art

Ripley Center

Hirshhorn

Freer/Sackler

Reynolds Center

Udvar-Hazy

National Zoo

American Indian

SI Castle

American History

Air and Space

Natural History

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

Report to the Regents, June 2010 1
Grand Challenges Highlights 

Understanding the American Experience 

Research 

Th e National Museum of the American Indian produced the latest 

in a series of contemporary art catalogues. HIDE: Skin as Material 

and Metaphor accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the 

Museum’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York City.

Th is quarter saw the publication of two books by National Air and 

Space Museum staff : 

Photographers Mark Avino and Eric Long worked with 

Roger Connor and Christopher Moore of the Museum’s 

Aeronautics Division on In the Cockpit II: Inside HistoryMaking Aircraft of World War II. 

Melissa Keiser of the Museum’s Archives and David 

Romanowski of its Exhibits Design Division coauthored 

Legacy of Flight: Images from the Archives of the Smithsonian 

National Air and Space Museum.

Th e Community and Creativity Project, an initiative of the Anacostia Community Museum, will soon 

begin a process of documenting cultural activities in far southeast Washington, D.C., that is expected to 

culminate in a community-based exhibition, a published guide, and Web-based community resources. 

Th e Smithsonian American Art Museum

published (with Yale University Press and the 

Library of Congress) Framing the West: The 

Survey Photographs of Timothy H. O’Sullivan, to 

accompany an exhibition of the same title.

In collaboration with National Museum of 

Natural History anthropologist Douglas Owsley, 

Museum Conservation Institute scientists 

are chemically studying human remains from 

a cemetery at Fort Craig, New Mexico. Th e 

analysis of Native, European, and African 

American remains will provide insight into diet, 

health, access to pharmaceuticals, and social 

divisions at the Fort. 

A book by the Archives of American Art’s Liza 

Kirwin, Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, 

Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, was 

published by Princeton Architectural Press to accompany an exhibition of the same name.

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Framing the West: A stunning example of Timothy O’Sullivan’s 

early landscape photography.

Hide explores skin as medium and message 

in contemporary Native American art.

2 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Th e Asian Pacific American Program sponsored “After the War: Japanese American and African 

American Community Relationships in post-World War II California,” a panel discussion that examined 

the confl icts and activism of the Japanese American and African American communities in Los Angeles.

Th e Smithsonian Institution Libraries announced the new Margaret Henry Dabney Penick Resident 

Scholar Program, a fellowship to support senior scholars’ research on the legacy of Patrick Henry and his 

political circle, as well as other historical subjects from the Colonial and Early National periods.

Broadening Access

Th e First Ladies at the Smithsonian 

exhibition at the National Museum 

of American History has long been 

one of the most popular Smithsonian 

attractions. A new gallery in the 

exhibition, A First Lady’s Debut, 

opened on March 10, 2010. It 

focuses on media coverage of First 

Ladies during inaugural events and 

highlights 11 gowns worn by the 

most recent First Ladies, from Mamie 

Eisenhower to Michelle Obama.

With funding from a Smithsonian 

Web 2.0 grant, a number of units are 

collaborating to create a Web site on 

the civil rights movement that will showcase the breadth of Smithsonian collections and expertise, and 

include Web 2.0 features. 

Framing the West: The Survey Photographs of Timothy H. O’Sullivan (February 12–May 9, 2010) opened at 

the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Th e exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Library of 

Congress, features more than 120 early landscape photographs and stereo cards of the American West.

The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942–1946 at the 

Renwick Gallery (March 5, 2010–January 

30, 2011) features art from internees 

and their families. Th e honorary 

patron is Norman Y. Mineta, a former 

U.S. Representative, Secretary of 

Transportation, and Smithsonian Regent, 

who was interned as a child. Th e show has 

attracted wide coverage in media including 

the Washington Post, BBC World News 

America, and National Public Radio.

At the Game Developers Conference in 

San Francisco, Georgina Goodlander of 

the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Chris Melissinos, chief gaming offi cer at Sun Microsystems 

and founder of PastPixels, presented “A Day at the Museum: How the Smithsonian is Embracing 

Games.”

A new gallery in the First Ladies exhibition features inaugural gowns from Mamie 

Eisenhower (1953, left) and Michelle Obama (2009, right).

Th is depiction of a World War II Japanese-American internment camp 

by an unknown artist is featured in Art of Gaman.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 3
Th e National Museum of American History held several programs to mark Black History Month: 

In partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the 

Museum presented a three-day family festival featuring music, historic theater, and interactive 

activities focusing on Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. 

The Smithsonian honored the three living members of the “Greensboro Four” with the James 

Smithson Bicentennial Medal. Th ese men challenged Jim Crow laws by sitting in “whitesonly” seats at a segregated lunch counter. Th e day after the ceremony, the honorees shared their 

experiences in a televised “youth town hall” that was broadcast to classrooms across the nation. 

Th e Museum debuted “Sing for Freedom,” an interactive daily program that explores the role of 

music in the struggle for freedom, and was honored to present an excerpt at the White House on 

February 26, 2010, as part of the First Lady’s commemoration of Black History Month. 

Th e National Museum of the American Indian presented a range of off erings on the Mall, including: 

“Sharing Our Stories,” a 

storytelling festival that drew 

a physical audience of 5500; 

several of the programs were also 

Webcast live, drawing tens of 

thousands of additional viewers. 

Th e annual Power of Chocolate 

program included cooking 

demonstrations, hands-on 

family activities, presentations 

by indigenous chocolate-makers, 

and more. Th e event was 

cosponsored by the Smithsonian 

Latino Center.

Also in partnership with the Smithsonian Latino Center, the Museum hosted a concert by the 

Buenos Aires ensemble Capilla del Sol to kick off the 2010 Argentina at the Smithsonian series. 

Th e opening of its One Life: Echoes of Elvis exhibition (January 8–August 29, 2010) drew international 

attention to the National Portrait Gallery in media as varied as National Public Radio, Good Morning 

America, Switzerland’s Neue Zurcher Zeitung, France’s Le Monde, Indonesia’s Bisnis, the Kuwait Times, 

and China Daily. Curator Warren Perry’s quip “Everybody needs to have a moment with Elvis” was the 

“Quote of the Day” for Time magazine online on January 8, 2010, the birthday of “Th e King.”

Highlights of National Museum of African American History and Culture programs included a panel 

discussion on author Ralph Ellison’s unpublished follow-up to his 1952 classic Invisible Man; the staging 

of an original theatrical work, Words Between Two Reformers: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, 

in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery; and a variety of programs to mark the February 2010 

celebration of Black History Month. 

Lions of Industry, Mothers of Invention, an original interactive production from The Smithsonian 

Associates’ Discovery Th eater that celebrates African Americans who overcame great odds to succeed, was 

presented in 16 D.C.-area schools, where it was seen by nearly 4,000 students and teachers.

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Th e Power of Chocolate program is an annual favorite at the National 

Museum of the American Indian.

4 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Th e George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian opened Part I of 

HIDE: Skin as Material and Metaphor (March 6–August 1, 2010). Th is exhibition and the programs 

connected to it explore skin as both an artistic medium and a powerful metaphorical tool.

Th e National Postal Museum launched several online exhibitions on its Arago collections Web site: 

Parts three and four of Women 

On Stamps focus on women 

who have made signifi cant 

contributions to the visual arts, 

literature, and performing arts. 

Playing To Win: American 

Sports and Athletes On Stamps 

highlights sports, athletes, and 

great moments in American 

athletics, as depicted on U.S. 

postage stamps. 

Remember the Pony looks at the 

short-lived but now legendary 

Pony Express mail delivery 

system.

Part I of the Archives of American Art exhibition Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, 

and Other Artists’ Enumerations was on display in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Reynolds 

Center from February 5 to June 1, 2010. 

A condensed version of the Anacostia Community Museum’s exhibition East of the River: Continuity and 

Change opened at the Historical Society of Washington D.C. and will remain on view indefi nitely. 

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

Research: Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory (SAO) 

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 

scientists’ research appeared in 98 peer-reviewed 

papers and 327 other articles at conferences and other 

venues. Among the high-profi le journals that carried 

Center results were Nature and Science. 

In February 2010, NASA launched the Solar 

Dynamics Observatory, the most advanced spacecraft 

ever designed to study the sun. Th e data it provides 

will give researchers insights that may eventually 

allow predictions of solar activity that can aff ect 

spacecraft, astronauts, and electronic systems on 

Earth. Under contract to Lockheed-Martin, SAO built 

and assembled much of the Atmospheric Imaging 

Assembly instrument for the mission.

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A selection of the athletic-themed stamps featured in Playing to Win.

An early example of the spectacular images obtained from 

NASA’s new Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 5
SAO astronomers used the Submillimeter Array telescope to get the sharpest view ever of “star factories” 

in a galaxy 10 billion light-years away that is making new stars 250 times faster than the Milky Way. Due 

to the time it takes light to travel to Earth, the galaxy is seen as it existed in the distant past, just 3 billion 

years after the Big Bang—the epoch when the majority of stars were born. 

SAO Senior Physicist Margaret Geller won the James Craig Watson Medal of the National Academy 

of Sciences for her lifetime scientifi c achievements and the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the 

American Astronomical Society for her work on the distribution and clustering of galaxies.

Research: National Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) 

Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS) 

Th omas R. Watters published an edited volume, Planetary 

Tectonics, that describes the tectonic landforms of solid 

bodies throughout the solar system and presents a survey of 

tectonic structures on several planets, moons, and asteroids. 

CEPS staff had a major presence at the 41st annual Lunar 

and Planetary Science Conference, making 13 presentations 

and serving as coauthors of an additional 18; topics ranged 

from ancient lakes on Mars to radar studies of the Moon to 

the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. 

Other Research 

Th e Smithsonian is a partner on the OSIRIS-Rex program, chosen by NASA as one of three fi nalists 

for the agency’s next venture into the solar system. If selected, the mission would land on an asteroid 

thought to contain the primitive building blocks of life. Tim McCoy of the National Museum of Natural 

History’s mineral sciences department would be involved in analysis of images and samples.

A meteorite that produced a colorful streak in the sky visible from southern New Jersey to southwestern 

Virginia before crashing through the roof of a Lorton, Virginia, doctor’s offi ce on January 18, 2010, 

was identifi ed by Mineral Science Division staff at the National Museum of Natural History as a rather 

ordinary stony chrondite meteorite, weighing about two-thirds of a pound.

Broadening Access 

Highlights of physical and virtual access at the 

National Air and Space Museum included the 

following:

Th e “Mars Corner” of the Exploring the 

Planets gallery was upgraded to feature 

material on recent missions, such as 

the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars 

Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, 

and Mars Phoenix, and a prospective 

treatment of the upcoming Mars 

Science Laboratory.

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Th e Mars Corner of Exploring the Planets was updated. 

Layers likely deposited by an ancient lake that once 

fi lled Uzboi Vallis on Mars. 

6 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Radar Mapping of the Moon, a Web page based on the work of Bruce Campbell of the Center 

for Earth and Planetary Studies, will provide updates on an eff ort to produce a high-resolution 

radar map of the Moon and should be of interest to both the public and researchers. 

In collaboration with the Smithsonian Office of Accessibility, the Visitor Services Division 

installed an assistive listening device at the National Mall building welcome center.

In collaboration with Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory educators, the Smithsonian Center for 

Education and Museum Studies produced “Th e Universe: An Introduction,” the spring 2010 issue of its 

free publication for educators, Smithsonian in Your Classroom. It features an interview with astronomer 

Lisa Kaltenegger on the search for life on planets outside the Earth’s solar system. 

Phil Sadler of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory won the American Astronomical Society’s 

Education Prize. 

Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

Research: National Zoological Park’s (NZP) 

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

In the second quarter of fi scal year 2010, NZP researchers had 26 

publications in peer-reviewed journals, including four high-impact journals 

(The Condor, Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology, and Ibis.) 

Th e Panama Amphibian Rescue Project, a partnership including NZP and 

the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, established its fi rst rescue pod 

(a colony of amphibians at risk of extinction due to an invasive pathogen). 

Th e Project also is developing technologies to control the amphibian chytrid 

fungus so that captive amphibians may be reintroduced to the wild one day. 

JoGayle Howard of SCBI received the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Champion Award (for 

contributions to the conservation and recovery of threatened species in the United States) for her work 

with the endangered black-footed ferret. 

Mary Hagedorn of the SCBI Center for Species Survival 

participated in a workshop in Singapore on coral conservation 

that sought both to teach Asian and European professionals 

how to collect and rear coral spawn, and to educate 

international dredging companies about coral ecology. 

SCBI’s Janine Brown coedited a special issue of the journal Zoo 

Biology on the care of elephants in Association of Zoos and 

Aquariums institutions. 

A second edition of Introduction to Conservation Genetics,

coauthored by Jonathan D. Ballou of the SCBI Center for 

Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, was published in 

March 2010. Th is authoritative textbook is widely used in universities and workshops across the world. 

Robert Rice of the SCBI’s Migratory Bird Center participated in a Biodiversity Markets Symposium at 

Duke University, sitting on a panel that addressed the role of certifi cation and certifi ed products.

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Coral specialist Mary Hagedorn at work. 

NZP’s Matt Evans in Panama. 

Report to the Regents, June 2010 7
Research: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) 

SERC’s Marine Invasions Program has expanded to tropical ecosystems. Greg Ruiz and his colleagues 

began a new project, funded by the Department of Defense, to evaluate the risk of invasions in Guam 

and Micronesia and develop a biosecurity plan to minimize the spread of non-native species associated 

with military and commercial activities in the region. 

In a paper in the March 2010 issue of Wetlands, 

SERC’s Karin Kettenring, Melissa McCormick, and 

Dennis Whigham explore the spread of the non-native 

reed Phragmites australis, which arrived in the United 

States around 1800, began to spread rapidly around 

the Chesapeake Bay in the 1980s, and now dominates 

many wetlands in the region. They hope their research 

will inform a new strategy for dealing with P. australis 

that will give native plants room to grow.

In coastal waters around the world, there are more 

than 500 hypoxic zones where dissolved oxygen 

concentrations are so low that they threaten aquatic life. SERC’s Denise Breitburg recently received a 

grant from the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research to study shallow water hypoxia and 

its effects on individuals, populations, and ecosystems. 

Research: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

Scientists from the Department of Invertebrate Zoology contributed to Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters and 

Biota: Volume 1, Biodiversity, a volume on the fauna of the Gulf of Mexico that covers 15,419 species. 

At a recent scientifi c conference, Frank Crandall presented his discovery of a new family of ribbon 

worms, based on specimens collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program. NMNH has the most extensive 

collection of Antarctic invertebrates in the world, without which such research would not be possible. 

Kris Helgen of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology coauthored a paper in the November 2009 issue 

of Genome Research that details a plan to sequence the genomes of more than 10,000 vertebrate species. 

News coverage of this ambitious project, known as the Genome 10K Initiative, included profi les in 

Nature, Science, and dozens of other print and online media. 

Research: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

(STRI) 

STRI postdoctoral fellow Sean M. McMahon 

coauthored (with Geoff rey Parker and Dawn Miller 

of the Smithsonian Environmental Research 

Center) an article in the Proceedings of the National 

Academy of Sciences that fi nds forests in the eastern 

United States are growing faster in response to 

climate change. Th is important fi nding is an early 

result of a project, funded by the HSBC Climate 

Partnership, to determine if trends in tropical forest 

dynamics also can be seen at temperate sites. 

SERC scientists are studying invasive reed species around the 

Chesapeake Bay. 

STRI’s Sean McMahon and his SERC colleagues reported 

important fi ndings on tree growth. 

8 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Scientists at STRI’s new insect neurobiology lab discovered that the brain region responsible for learning 

and memory is bigger in social queens than solitary queens in the tropical bee Megalopta genalis. Th eir 

study, published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), is the fi rst comparison 

of brains within a single species in which some individuals are social and others are not.

STRI hosted four international conferences/workshops on science and conservation in the tropics: 

“Th e Mesoamerican Conference on Reforestation with Native Trees” (January 21–22, 2010), at 

which experts from Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, and other countries of the region shared their 

experiences of reforestation with native species. 

“Subduction Zones and Bent Orogenic Belts of the Caribbean” (February 8–11, 2010) explored 

the evolution of the Isthmus of Panama. 

“Taking Stock” (March 1–4, 2010) brought together an international team of scientists to discuss 

outputs of the HSBC Climate Partnership, currently at the mid-point of its fi ve-year duration. 

“Th e 2010 International Workshop on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism” (March 22–24, 2010), 

where researchers from eight countries presented fi ndings on biofuels, adaptation to extreme 

temperatures and drought, and fl exible gene expression in response to environmental change.

Broadening Access 

Th e Virtual Watershed project of 

the Smithsonian Latino Center’s 

Latino Virtual Museum (LVM)—

a partnership with the National 

Museum of Natural History, 

the Smithsonian Environmental 

Research Center, the 

Smithsonian Tropical Research 

Institute, and the National Zoo, 

plus the Grid Institute of Boston 

College—aims to create a stateof-the-art, immersive, 3-D digital 

environment for learning about 

watershed ecosystems. 

Th e Smithsonian has joined Arizona State University (ASU) in an innovative biodiversity education 

partnership that will allow ASU students and faculty to participate in fi eldwork at Smithsonian facilities 

in Panama; develop virtual classrooms; and enable Smithsonian scientists to participate in ASU degree 

programs. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Director Eldredge Bermingham and Robert E. Page 

Jr., Dean of the ASU School of Life Sciences, will direct the program. 

Biodiversity Heritage Library program director Tom Garnett and Martin Kalfatovic, both of the 

Smithsonian Institute Libraries (SIL), attended a meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, that brought together 

participants in a Brazilian-funded initiative to digitize libraries’ biodiversity collections. 

Th e Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) Rubenstein Fellows Program, funded by Regent David M. Rubenstein, 

was launched at the National Museum of Natural History. Th e 17 accepted fellows will prepare species 

pages for the EOL Web site, which seeks to document every known species. 

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Th is digital blue crab will soon be scuttling around the Virtual Watershed of the 

Latino Virtual Museum. 

Report to the Regents, June 2010 9
Th e exhibition Deeper than Light, a blend of art, science, and 

technology that reveals the unusual organisms living in the depths 

of the ocean, was on view in the National Museum of Natural 

History’s Ocean Focus Gallery (February 20–May 23, 2010).

Valuing World Cultures 

Research and Scholarship 

In What Does It Mean to Be Human?, a companion book to the 

National Museum of Natural History’s David H. Koch Hall of 

Human Origins, authors Rick Potts of the Museum’s Department of Anthropology and Chris Sloan 

present and expand upon the exhibition’s story of how human physical traits and behaviors emerged. 

Conservators from the Museum Conservation Institute joined an archaeological team from the 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to excavate a pre-Columbian mortuary complex at El Caño 

in Coclé Province, Panama. Th e team discovered extensive ceramic off erings and skeletal remains 

with regalia made of gold, animal teeth, and other exotic materials. Th eir work will be featured in an 

upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine. 

Th e Smithsonian Latino Center’s Central American Ceramics Research Project, led by Professor Alex 

Benítez of George Mason University, is exploring pre-Columbian ceramic traditions, with an eye to a 

future exhibition, public programs, and education and outreach activities. 

Following excavations along coastal areas, Torben Rick of the National Museum of Natural History’s 

Department of Anthropology and Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon published a recent article in 

Science discussing how humans have substantially altered and in many ways enhanced marine ecosystems. 

Together with a curator and an archaeologist from the National Museum of Korea, the Freer and Sackler 

Galleries’ Louise Cort and Keith Wilson reviewed the Freer’s Korean collections as a fi rst step in a new 

collaborative project between the Galleries and the National Museum of Korea.

Th e catalogue from the Sackler Gallery exhibition Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur 

received the College Art Association’s 2010 Alfred Barr Award for museum scholarship. 

National Museum of African Art research and collection strengths were highlighted in a number of 

publications, including “Th e Collection of the National Museum of African Art” by Bryna Freyer and 

Christine Mullen Kreamer in Sculpture Review.

Access

Th e David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins opened on 

March 17, 2010, to mark the 100th anniversary of the 

National Museum of Natural History’s building on 

the National Mall. Th e 15,000-square-foot exhibition 

examines how humans have evolved over the past 

6 million years, addressing the profound question 

“what does it mean to be human?”

Deeper Th an Light off ers a glimpse 

of deep-sea denizens. 

A display of skulls from the Hall of Human Origins.

10 Report to the Regents, June 2010
A Human Origins Web site was also launched, featuring an interactive timeline, a virtual excavation based 

on a Smithsonian site, high-resolution 3-D scans of fossils and artifacts, and a forum for teachers. 

Th e Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened two new exhibitions: 

ColorForms (March 11, 2010–winter 2011) uses 

artworks from the Museum’s own collection, 

along with several paintings on loan from the 

National Gallery’s Mark Rothko holdings, to 

explore how color remains an essential tool for 

artists, regardless of medium.

Josef Albers: Innovation and Inspiration (February 

13–April 11, 2010) presented nearly 70 works 

spanning the 50-year career of the renowned 

American artist, drawing on the Museum’s 

collection of Alber’s works—the largest and most 

comprehensive in the world.

Th e Hirshhorn has also received extensive media 

attention (including front-page coverage in the New York 

Times) over its plan to open a Pavilion for International 

Cultural Dialogue in late 2011 or early 2012. Th e 

Pavilion, housed in a huge infl atable structure that will 

transform the Museum’s central plaza into an indoor 

public space, will serve as a new kind of public forum for 

discussions of key cultural issues of this era. 

Two exhibitions opened in the Arthur M. Sackler 

Gallery: 

Perspectives: Hai Bo (March 27, 2010–February 

27, 2011) explores resilience and isolation in 

rural China, as captured in fi ve stunning, largescale photographs of the artist’s home region.

Th e paired exhibits In the Realm of Buddha: The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection 

and Lama, Patron, Artist: The Great Situ Panchen (March 13–July 18, 2010) juxtapose a Tibetan 

Buddhist shrine featuring art from the 12th–19th centuries with a display of works by and about 

Situ Panchen (1700–1774), an artist, teacher, and founder of the Palpung monastery. 

Th e Freer and Sackler Galleries held the 14th annual Iranian Film Festival in January and February 

2010—one of the Galleries’ most popular events and an institution among the local Iranian community. 

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings was very much in the public eye:

Folkways reached an agreement with the United Nations Education, Science, and Culture 

Organization (UNESCO) to add UNESCO’s world music ethnographic series, consisting of 

more than 120 albums from around the world, to the Folkways collections. 

Th e National Gallery of Art screened the Smithsonian Channel’s Worlds of Sound: the Story of 

Folkways Records at its Black Maria fi lm festival event in early March 2010. Th e fi lm also garnered 

honors at the Houston Film Festival. 

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Th e infl atable Pavilion for International Cultural Dialogue 

will transform the Hirshhorn plaza.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 11
Folkways released Classic Appalachian Blues, a compilation with liner notes cowritten by the 

Folklife Archives’ Jeff Place; and Volumes 7, 8, and 9 of Music of Central Asia.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum opened two of its “Quicktake” installations showcasing upand-coming design from around the world. 

Quicktake: Tata Nano—The People’s Car

(February 18–April 25, 2010) featured the lowpriced automobile that brings the dream of car 

ownership within the reach of many middleclass citizens of India. 

Quicktake: Rodarte (February 11–March 14, 

2010) highlighted the fashion label founded in 

2005 by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy and 

named a 2009 fi nalist in the National Design 

Awards. 

Broadening Access: Events and Outreach

Events

Th e second quarter of fi scal year 2010 saw the celebration of two of the fi ve Congressionally mandated 

Heritage Months, for which the Smithsonian Heritage Month Steering Committee, chaired by the 

Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, produces family day celebrations. 

In February 2010, the National Museum of American History hosted Black History Month 

Family Day for an audience of over 1,000. 

In March 2010, the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum

celebrated Women’s History Month with a program of performances, workshops, hands-on art 

and stamp-collecting activities, and other off erings. 

For the past fi ve years, the National Air and Space 

Museum has held its own heritage family day series 

to celebrate the diversity that makes America great. 

Th e Museum celebrated African American Pioneers 

in Aviation History on February 20, 2010; Women in 

Aviation (at the Udvar-Hazy Center) on March 13, 

2010; and Kites of Asia on March 20, 2010. 

More than 5,000 people participated in events at the 

44th annual Smithsonian Kite Festival sponsored by 

The Smithsonian Associates, and thousands more 

joined to watch and fl y their own kites.

Th e Smithsonian Institution Libraries hosted a two-day 

symposium, “Th e Era of Experiments and the Age of Wonder: Scientifi c Expansion in the 17th–19th 

Centuries,” to mark the reopening of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology.

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Th e African-American Pioneers in Aviation event at the 

National Air and Space Museum.

Th e revolutionary Tata Nano made an appearance at CooperHewitt, National Design Museum.

12 Report to the Regents, June 2010
In February 2010, the Smithsonian Tropical 

Research Institute launched celebrations of 

the 100th anniversary of the Smithsonian in 

Panama. In December 1910, nine prominent 

scientists working under the umbrella of the 

Institution undertook an environmental impact 

study of the Panama Canal Zone to document 

its fl ora and fauna. 

National and International Outreach

Smithsonian Affiliations off ers museums, cultural institutions, and educational organizations access to 

the Institution’s collections and resources. As of March 2010, there were 166 Affiliates in 41 states, the 

District of Columbia, Panama, and Puerto Rico. In this quarter, Affi liations welcomed two new members 

(the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, Washington, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, 

Arizona), and 30 Smithsonian collections objects were loaned to Affi liate organizations.

Th e Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) continued to sustain a high level of 

outreach activity: 

In the second quarter of fi scal year 2010, SITES circulated 42 exhibitions to 69 venues in 29 

states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, where they were viewed by about 1.5 million 

visitors. 

SITES opened national tours of two exhibitions: Elvis at 21 at the Grammy Museum in Los 

Angeles, California, and IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas at the Broward 

County Library in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

SITES completed beta testing for the launch of Green Revolution, its fi rst-ever “zero carbon 

footprint exhibition.” Th is innovative new initiative involves licensing exhibition design fi les to 

exhibitors, enabling multiple host venues to create their own shows.

Th e National Science Resources Center (NSRC) remains active in promoting reform in the science 

curriculum across the nation’s schools and beyond: 

Th e 2010 NSRC National Science Education Leadership Development Forum was held in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 90 government, business, education, and non-profi t leaders from 13 

states and Mexico attended. 

NSRC staff participated in the “International Workshop on the Transition of Inquiry-Based 

Science Education from Primary to Secondary School,” hosted by the University of Chile. 

NSRC hosted science educators from Central and South Asia who were traveling in the United 

States through the World Learning program of the U.S. Department of State. 

Staff participated in a Department of State roundtable discussion with visiting science educators 

from the Near East and North Africa, and later hosted several individuals from the delegation in 

the NSRC offi ces to further discuss its programs with them. 

The Smithsonian Associates presented 38 programs related to the Grand Challenge of Understanding 

the American Experience, 34 programs connected to Valuing World Cultures, and four devoted to the 

theme of Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet. 

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Director of Cultural Heritage Policy James Early carried out a 

weeklong speaking tour of museums in Peru in collaboration with the U.S. embassy.

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Th e Smithsonian comes to Panama, 1910. 

Report to the Regents, June 2010 13
Strengthening Collections

First Lady Michelle Obama presented the gown she 

wore to the 2009 inaugural balls to the Smithsonian’s 

First Ladies collection on March 9, 2010, in a 

ceremony at the National Museum of American 

History attended by the gown’s designer, Jason Wu.

Bill Moggridge, a National Design Award winner 

for Lifetime Achievement and the new Director of 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, donated 

his 1981 prototype for the Grid Compass computer—

the world’s fi rst laptop computer—to the Museum’s 

collection. 

Th e Museum Conservation Institute instituted an 

umbrella research theme called “Healthy Environments, 

Healthy Practices, and Healthy Collections.” It focuses on: 

Reducing the energy requirements and costs of maintaining the museum environments 

(temperature, humidity, and light) essential for protecting and conserving collections;

Developing (or identifying) conservation protocols, procedures, and products that are as safe as 

possible for staff , collections, and the global environment; and 

Measuring the impact of these programs and projects.

Th e famous Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, on 

loan from Lawrence Graff , is on public display 

for the fi rst time in 50 years, alongside the 

Hope Diamond at the National Museum of 

Natural History (January 28–August 1, 2010). 

Th e Hope and Wittelsbach diamonds were 

long rumored to have come from the same 

crystal. In January 2010, however, Museum 

scientists carefully analyzed both gems and 

concluded this was unlikely. 

Th e National Museum of African American History and Culture acquired two color lithographs by 

famed artist Romare Bearden. 

Th e National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of Natural History have 

worked for over two years to prepare a loan of 585 objects to the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center at 

the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, with the aim of increasing Alaskans’ access to Smithsonian collections. 

To verify the authenticity of a “printed slave dress” in mint condition acquired by the National Museum 

of African American History and Culture, researchers from the Museum Conservation Institute used 

non-destructive techniques to analyze individual dress threads. Th eir fi ndings were consistent with a pre1865 date of manufacture and suggest the dress deserves a place in the Museum’s collection. 

Th e Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Lunder Conservation Center of the 

Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery sponsored Collaborations in 

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First Lady Michelle Obama shares the stage with Secretary 

Clough and American History Director Brent Glass.

Smithsonian experts determined that the Wittelsbach-Graff and Hope 

diamonds were probably not cut from the same crystal.

14 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Conserving Time-Based Art, a three-day colloquium that brought together Smithsonian and external 

specialists to discuss the needs of art works in media such as fi lm, video, and digital software. 

On February 4, 2010, the National Zoological Park’s beloved 41⁄2-year-old giant panda, Tai Shan, was 

sent to Chengdu, China. Under the Zoo’s agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, 

Tai Shan was transferred to China take part in a panda breeding program. 

Th e second quarter of fi scal year 2010 saw a baby boom of rare and endangered species off spring at the 

National Zoological Park. New off spring include strawberry dart frogs, maned wolves, clouded leopards, 

Andean bears, and a brown kiwi.

Organizational Excellence

Leadership Milestones

Claudine K. Brown was named to the new position of Director of Education, and 

will begin on June 20, 2010. She will be responsible for defi ning the Institution’s 

education strategy; developing K–12 education off erings; overseeing the National 

Science Resources Center and Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum 

Studies; and coordinating the eff orts of unit-based education offi ces. Brown 

previously worked at the Institution in the early 1990s as Director of the National 

African-American Museum Project and Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for the Arts and Humanities. Since 1995, she has 

served as Director of the Arts and Culture Program at the 

Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Daniel Sheehy was named Director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural 

Heritage, after having served as Acting Director of the Center since April 2009 

and Director and Curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings since 2000. Prior 

to joining Folklife, Sheehy served as Director of Folk and Traditional Arts at the 

National Endowment for the Arts. 

A brown kiwi chick, clouded leopard cubs, and Andean bear cubs were welcome arrivals at the Zoo.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 15
Major Construction, Renovation, and Facilities Projects

National Museum of African American History and Culture

$500 million total estimated project cost

Work on the second phase of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the new Museum continues, 

with a public hearing on the draft EIS anticipated in summer 2010. Monthly meetings with historic 

resources consulting parties also continue. In April 2010, the architectural team of Freelon Adjaye 

Bond/SmithGroup shared design alternatives with the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Park 

Service, whose comments will inform a concept design to be presented in June/July 2010. A request for 

qualifi cations for construction management services will be issued in summer 2010, with the goal of 

opening the Museum in late 2015. Total project costs are $250 million in Federal capital funds and $250 

million in non-Federal capital funds. 

Arts and Industries Building (AIB)

$64 million estimated cost for shell only

Construction documents for roof reconstruction, window replacement, 

and structural upgrades are on schedule, and work on these major 

improvements will begin in fall 2010. Th e design of the building core 

is in the scope development phase. Exterior masonry repair/cleaning 

and selective interior demolition and hazmat removal (funded by the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) will be completed in spring 

2010. Th e interior work has begun to restore the original character 

of the building, including open views that had been obscured for 

nearly 100 years. Exploration of program possibilities for the building 

is under way. A strategy for a public opening in fi scal year 2015 has 

been developed, and is achievable if goals for corporate and private 

fundraising are met and adequate resources are allocated within the 

facilities capital plan. 

National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

Revitalization of west wing public space, package III: $60 million total project cost

Th e focus of the third phase of renovation is renewal and modernization of three public space fl oors 

in the west wing. Data gathering and fi eld surveys on existing conditions have been completed; the 

schematic design phase is progressing and is expected to be completed by summer 2010. Th e Federal 

appropriation for design ($6 million) was received in fi scal years 2009 and 2010. Additional Federal 

funding ($54 million) has been requested for fi scal years 2011–2013.

Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture

$19.5 million total estimated project cost

Th e Smithsonian will complete the renovation of the Reynolds Center with the reconstruction of the 

F Street stairs and the addition of landscaping and security. Fiscal year 2016 estimates for the associated 

costs are $9.5 million in Federal funds and $10.0 million in Trust funds.

16 Report to the Regents, June 2010
National Zoological Park, Asia Trail II: Elephant Trails

$52.4 million estimated total project and program cost

Th e second phase of the Asia Trail project will renovate the elephant house and enlarge yard space at a 

projected cost of $52.4 million—$37.6 million Federal (received in fi scal years 2006–2010) and 

$14.8 million Trust. Construction began in March 2008 and was initially scheduled for completion in 

April 2011. However, while the elephant barn and outdoor habitat are substantially complete, remaining 

work on the “elephant community center” has been removed from the original contract, due to lessthan-satisfactory performance. A new contractor is preparing a proposal to complete the project, and 

renovation of the “community center” will commence in late summer, with completion expected in 

spring 2012. Th e elephants will be moved into their new holding area early this summer. 

National Zoological Park, General Services Building

$28.4 million total estimated project cost

Design continues for structural repairs, fi re-protection improvements, and safety upgrades at the Zoo’s 

General Services Building, which houses vital functions that must remain operational throughout 

construction. Th e phased project will entail permanent relocation of the Institution’s vehicle maintenance 

branch to Suitland, Maryland, and temporary relocation of other functions to swing space. Th e 

construction authorization request for the new vehicle maintenance facility in Suitland was approved by 

the House and is currently under review by the Senate. A contract for construction of this facility was 

awarded in January 2010, using fi scal year 2010 funds. Design for General Services Building upgrades 

and the associated North Road retaining wall will be complete by summer 2011, with construction 

expected to begin in 2012. Federal funding has been requested for fi scal years 2012–2014.

National Zoological Park, Seal / Sea Lion Exhibit

$40.0 million total estimated project cost

Th e Zoo’s seal/sea lion exhibit is being revitalized to 

meet current standards for animal care and to improve 

accessibility. Th e project includes an upgrade of 

underground utilities in Beaver Valley. A construction 

contract was awarded in September 2009. Demolition 

is almost complete and utility work has begun at the 

lower end of the site. Construction is expected to 

begin in summer 2010. Th e non-capital, interpretive 

component of the project will be funded with $1 million in Trust funds, while the Federal capital 

contribution is approximately $39 million, with multi-year funding in fi scal years 2009–2012. 

National Air and Space Museum—Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Phase II

$81.8 million total project cost

Phase II of the Udvar-Hazy Center, now under construction, will add 237,000 square feet of collections 

care space to the current facility. Construction should be complete in December 2010, with fi t-out of 

the storage, processing, and archives spaces subject to the receipt of Federal funding. Total project costs 

include $68.7 million in Trust funds and $13.1 million in Federal funds.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 17
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

$53.5 million total estimated project cost

A contract for the renovation of the Fox-Miller townhouses was awarded in January 2010, and 

construction began in February 2010. Design for the Carnegie Mansion renovation is scheduled for 

completion in September 2010, with a construction contract expected to be awarded in April 2011 and 

construction expected to begin in July 2011. Total project costs include $21 million in Federal funds and 

$32.5 million in private funding. Federal funds included pre-fi scal year 2009 awards of $2.9 million for 

design and collections storage, $1.7 million in fi scal year 2009 funds for the Fox-Miller work, and the 

balance for Mansion construction in fi scal years 2011–2013. Of the required private funds, over 

$28.5 million (nearly 90 percent) has been identifi ed in gifts and pledges.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Mathias Replacement Laboratory Project

$44.5 million total estimated project cost

Th e Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is eliminating trailers that now house 25 percent of 

lab space and 65 percent of offi ce space; renovating and reconfi guring the existing Mathias Lab; and 

creating replacement labs to meet national standards. Th e 85,000-square-foot project employs sustainable 

technologies and building materials that will yield substantial reductions in energy and maintenance 

costs. Schematic design was completed in September 2009, with fi nal design completion scheduled for 

mid-2010. Construction is scheduled to commence in early 2011 and to be completed in 2013. 

National Museum of Natural History, Main Building Ground Floor and Mezzanine

$18.5 million total project cost

Th e entire north ground fl oor of the main Natural History Building is slated for renovation. Th e 15,500-

square-foot west end of the fl oor will become a new learning center, and the 27,600-square-foot east 

end will house an expanded Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, renovated Smithsonian Institution 

Libraries facilities, an improved paleobiology high bay laboratory, and consolidated facility support 

operations. Design for this Federally funded project will be complete in May 2010, and an award for 

construction is anticipated by the end of this fi scal year. 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa Laboratory Facilities

$19.1 million total estimated project cost

With the acquisition of 172.5 acres in Gamboa in 2007, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is 

proceeding with replacement of outdated facilities. A new terrestrial science lab facility on the site will be 

funded with $15.67 million in Federal and $3.46 million in Trust funds. Programming and design are 

under way, with the fi rst construction procurement actions scheduled for late fi scal year 2010.

Museum Support Center of the National Museum of Natural History, Pod 3

$42.6 million total estimated project cost

Th e renovated Pod 3 in Suitland, Maryland, substantially completed in February 2010, will provide 

consolidated storage space for frozen, refrigerated, gas-preserved, and dry collections, allowing the 

Smithsonian to vacate leased properties and freeing up congested space in several museums. Over 

18 Report to the Regents, June 2010
$15 million of shelving/racking, cases, and freezers are now being installed. Transfers of collections from 

four museums are to begin in June 2010, and will take two years and cost almost $5 million to complete.

Permanent Physical Security Barriers

$55 million total project cost

Construction of security barriers at the National Air and Space Museum is complete. Th e fi rst phase of 

barrier construction at the National Museum of Natural History has also been fi nished, and a contract 

for the fi nal phase was recently awarded. Barriers are now in place on three sides of the National 

Museum of American History, and all construction should be completed there by early summer 2010. 

Construction of security barriers for the Castle and Quadrangle is programmed to start in fi scal year 

2014. Design and construction of off -Mall barriers will follow in order of priority. 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Projects

$25.0 million total project cost

Th e American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed on February 17, 2009, provided $25 million for 

repair and revitalization projects not covered by fi scal year 2009 funding, most involving safety/code 

compliance or sustainability and energy effi ciency. By the end of March 2010, all 23 project contract 

actions, totaling $22.6 million, were under contract, with the residual $2.4 million held for contingencies 

and management. All construction should be fi nished by the end of 2010. In compliance with the Act, 

the Smithsonian is reporting on jobs created and expenditure of funds; the third quarterly report was 

completed at the end of April 2010.

Sustainability

Around the Smithsonian, work continues on multiple projects 

aiming to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design (LEED) certifi cations, in areas including geothermal 

heating and cooling, cool building analysis, use of “green roofs” 

and photo-voltaic cells, solar panel water heating, and water 

reclamation.

In response to Executive Order 13514 (Federal Leadership 

in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance), the 

Smithsonian set a fi scal year 2020 target to reduce certain 

greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent relative to fi scal year 

2008 levels (including both direct emissions from buildings 

and vehicles and indirect emissions from purchased energy). 

Th e plan calls for reducing energy use by 10–47 percent at eight major facilities where conservation 

opportunities are greatest. Estimated required investment is $47 million, a portion of which can be 

contractor-fi nanced. 

Also in response to the Executive Order, two Smithsonian Strategic Sustainability Plan workshops were 

held to kick off an Institution-wide eff ort focused on greenhouse gas emission reductions, sustainable 

acquisition, electronics stewardship, and Smithsonian-specifi c innovations. Th e plan is expected to be 

delivered by the June 2010 deadline specifi ed in the Order.

Report to the Regents, June 2010 19
Information Technology

Th e second quarter of fi scal year 2010 saw several notable developments at the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer (OCIO):

OCIO began to execute the Smithsonian’s Digitization Strategic Plan, launching a fi rst wave 

of action-item teams to work on (1) a methodology to count what has been digitized and how 

many digital assets exist; (2) selection and prioritization criteria for digitization; (3) digital asset 

retention and life cycle management processes; (4) a conceptual data model that describes the 

information stored around each digital asset; (5) rights, restrictions, and security requirements for 

digital assets; (6) technical standards and best practices; and (7) defi ning Centers of Expertise (in 

areas such as audio, video, 3-D images, and so on) to digitize collections in-house and advise on 

best practices for both in-house and outsourced eff orts. Teams are comprised of pan-Institutional 

representatives and operate under the auspices of the Digitization Program Advisory Council. 

A Smithsonian Commons prototype was developed to demonstrate how an integrated, panInstitutional Web experience might look and function. Th e Smithsonian Commons will be a 

special part of the Institution’s digital presence on both the Web and new media platforms (such 

as smart phones) dedicated to freely sharing of Smithsonian resources. Th e concept was initially 

brought to light through last year’s Web and new media strategic planning processes as a way to 

share Smithsonian assets with the world in a participatory manner.

Th e annual update of the Smithsonian’s Information Technology Plan Strategic Overview, aligned 

with the Smithsonian’s new strategic plan, was released. 

OCIO completed an upgrade of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute domain name 

system (DNS). It now uses the same platform as the Smithsonian’s Washington, D.C., facilities, 

which will improve OCIO’s ability to provide maintenance and support. (DNS is the system that 

converts user-friendly named addresses into numeric IP addresses necessary for communication 

across computer networks.) 

In March 2010, the National Air and Space Museum launched the fi rst mobile Web site at the 

Smithsonian. Th rough this site, which is specifi cally formatted for mobile devices, visitors carrying Webenabled smartphones can access information about the Museum and fi nd objects on display. 

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20 Report to the Regents, June 2010
Prepared by 

Offi ce of Policy and Analysis