Report to the Regents

Second Quarter, Fiscal Year 2011

The National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and National 

Museum of Natural History have collaborated to create Smithsonian Wild, a website featuring 

206,000 “camera-trapped” images of wildlife. 
Broadening Access: Visitation Summary

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, the Institution counted about 10.5 million visits to its museums 

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

Center—up about 2 percent from the figure for this period in fiscal year 2010. Of particular note was 

the increase in visitation at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture (up 38 

percent), which reflects the impact of two exhibitions that received wide media coverage: the Smithsonian 

American Art Museum’s Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven 

Spielberg and the National Portrait Gallery’s Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. 

The Smithsonian also counted: 

Approximately 1.5 million visits to traveling exhibitions mounted by the Smithsonian Institution 

Traveling Exhibition Service; and 

About 61 million visits to Smithsonian websites. 

Visits to Smithsonian Venues

First Two Quarters, Fiscal Years 2009, 2010, and 2011 

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0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

AnacostiaRenwickCooper-Hewitt-NYHeye Center-NYPostalAfrican ArtRipley CenterHirshhornFreer/SacklerUdvar-HazyAmerican IndianNational ZooReynolds CenterSI CastleAmerican HistoryNatural HistoryAir and Space

FY 2009

FY 2010

FY 2011

Report to the Regents, June 2011
Grand Challenges Highlights 

Understanding the American Experience 

Research 

In conjunction with other Smithsonian museums and external partners, the National Museum of 

American History launched a research initiative on immigration and migration that will explore the 

historical and cultural context for this timely topic. Two specific goals for the project are participation in 

the 2015 Folklife Festival and development of a major exhibition for the Museum in 2016-2017.

The Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press

published two catalogs to accompany exhibitions 

at the National Portrait Gallery: Calder’s 

Portraits: “A New Language” by Barbara Zabel, 

and Capital Portraits: Treasures from Washington 

Private Collections by Carolyn Kinder Carr and 

Ellen G. Miles. 

The Smithsonian American Art Museum

published two books to accompany exhibitions: 

To Make a World: George Ault and 1940s America

by Alexander Nemerov (Yale University Press); 

and History in the Making: Renwick Craft 

Invitational 2011 by Nicholas R. Bell of the Renwick Gallery, Ulysses Grant Dietz, and Andrew Wagner 

(with Scala Publishers). 

In conjunction with the Hide/Seek exhibition, the National Portrait Gallery hosted over 150 participants 

at a scholarly symposium, “Hide/Seek: Addressing (and Redressing) the Silence—New Scholarship in 

Sexuality and American Art.” 

Oberlin sociologist Pawan Dhingra arrived in January 2011 to curate an exhibition arising from 

the Asian Pacific American Program’s initiative to document the experiences of Indian Americans, 

HomeSpun: Smithsonian Indian American Heritage Project. 

In conjunction with the exhibition Alexis Rockman: A Fable for 

Tomorrow, the Smithsonian American Art Museum presented an Art 

and Science Lecture Series. Speakers included Rockman and a number 

of Smithsonian and external experts with an interest in the intersection 

of culture and science. 

Broadening Access

Smithsonian Folkways released JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology, 

a 6-CD compendium hailed as a “landmark achievement” by the 

Washington Post and “the best single introduction to America’s first great 

musical form” by Time. Folkways also released A Life of Song by Ella 

Jenkins, the “First Lady of Children’s Music,” featuring stories and songs 

recalling the artist’s youth.

Report to the Regents, June 2011
The exhibition To Make a World: George Ault and 

1940s America at the Smithsonian American Art 

Museum (March 11–September 5, 2011) evokes a 

nation buffeted by economic depression and global 

conflict through paintings by George Ault (1891-

1948) and other artists of the era, including Edward 

Hopper and Andrew Wyeth. 

As part of the Smithsonian’s Black History Month 

programming in February, the National Museum of 

African American History and Culture presented a 

range of offerings, including: 

A sing-along performance of songs from 

the Civil Rights era with the Washington 

Performing Arts Society Children of the 

Gospel Choir and Grammy nominated hiphop artist Christylez.

A program of readings of works by Frederick 

Douglass and others, to accompany a 

colloquium exploring relationships between 

free blacks and whites in the antebellum 

United States—the first of three colloquia 

co-sponsored by the Museum, the 

Chautauqua Institution, and Colonial Williamsburg. 

A discussion featuring collectors Bernard and Shirley Kinsey and author Douglas A. Blackmon, 

focusing on Blackmon’s groundbreaking historical study, Slavery by Another Name: The 

Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. 

The exhibition Calder: A New 

Language opened at the National 

Portrait Gallery (March 11–August 

14, 2011). Although best known 

for his abstract works, Alexander 

Calder (1898-1976) was also a 

prolific portraitist, crafting unique 

depictions of entertainment, sports, 

art-world, and other public figures 

throughout his career, including 

Josephine Baker, Jimmy Durante, 

Babe Ruth, and Charles Lindbergh.

The National Portrait Gallery also 

acquired a new portrait of baseball player Pedro Martinez. The event at which the portrait was unveiled 

was attended by a number of major-league players, and received widespread media coverage. 

The exhibition R.C. Gorman: Early Prints and Drawings, 1966-1974 (January 13–May 1, 2011) was on 

display at the National Museum of the American Indian. It featured 28 drawings and lithographs by 

internationally renowned Navajo artist R.C. Gorman.

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The art of George Ault 

The portraiture of Alexander Calder: Calvin Coolidge (left) and Babe Ruth

Report to the Regents, June 2011 
History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011 (March 25–July 31, 2011) at the Renwick Gallery

presents the work of silversmith Ubaldo Vitali, ceramic artist Cliff Lee, glass artist Judith Schaechter, and 

furniture maker Matthias Pliessnig. It is the fifth in the Gallery’s biennial series.

The National Museum of American History website Azucar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz was 

selected for inclusion on the National Endowment for the Humanities’ EDSITEment website, which 

features high-quality online resources for education in the humanities.

The National Museum of American 

History, Smithsonian Affiliations, and the 

National Museum of African American 

History and Culture partnered to present 

two programs marking the 50th anniversary 

of the 1961 Freedom Rides: 

A Youth Summit, which featured 

a panel of Freedom Rides veterans 

including U.S. Representative John 

Lewis. Over 1,500 middle- and 

high-school students participated 

onsite in Washington, D.C. or via 

webcast at five Smithsonian Affiliate 

locations, and nearly 20,000 

students from across the country 

joined via the internet. 

An advance screening of the PBS film Freedom Riders, an acclaimed documentary by awardwinning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, who participated in a panel discussion following the film.

The Anacostia Community Museum’s 26th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. program was held on 

January 14. It featured a keynote address by political commentator Juan Williams and a question-andanswer session with Essence magazine correspondent Cynthia Gordy. Over 400 people attended.

Among the programming highlights from The Smithsonian Associates 

this quarter was an interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader 

Ginsburg, conducted by NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg. The 

program received national media attention when Justice Ginsburg 

confirmed during the evening that she would not retire for at least two 

more years.

The Archives of American Art presented the exhibition SPANS: 

Photographs from the Esther McCoy Papers at the Archives of American 

Art, featuring a site-specific installation by artist Terence Gower, in the 

Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Reynolds Center (March 9–June 

5, 2011). The Archives also launched a redesigned website, featuring a 

cleaner design and improved navigation.

More than 200 people attended a screening of Junichi Suzuki’s film 

442: Live with Honor, Die with Dignity sponsored by the Asian Pacific 

American Program. The program also featured a panel discussion with 

Suzuki and World War II veteran Terry Shima. 

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Three Smithsonian units collaborated on a program to honor the 

Freedom Riders 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader 

Ginsberg was featured in a program 

from The Smithsonian Associates 

 Report to the Regents, June 2011
Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

Research: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) 

Sunspots have been observed for about four 

centuries, since they were first reported by Galileo. 

They come in 11-year cycles of activity related 

to solar storms. The most recent solar cycle was 

striking: the sun entered the quietest period it 

has had in 100 years, spending almost two years 

(2008-2010) devoid of sunspots. SAO astronomers 

are now able to explain this unusual period in 

terms of the surface flow of hot material from the 

sun’s equator towards its poles. 

CfA astronomers and their colleagues on the 

Kepler satellite mission team reported the 

discovery of five new systems of exoplanets (one of 

them with six planets), and the identification of over 1,200 new exoplanet “candidates”—objects awaiting 

confirmation. Fifty-four of these exoplanet candidates are at distances from their stars where water may 

exist in liquid form, a criterion for life. They have sizes ranging from Earth-sized to larger than Jupiter. 

Galaxy clusters are the most massive objects in the universe. 

SAO scientists and their colleagues, using the Chandra X-ray 

Observatory and the South Pole Telescope (both operated with 

SAO leadership), have discovered the largest known cluster, 

weighing in at 1.3 thousand trillion solar masses—more than 

a thousand times the Milky Way’s mass. These results help to 

confirm models of galaxy formation that suggest galaxy clusters 

began with small spatial variations in the density of matter in the 

early universe. 

Using an SAO-designed satellite, an SAO team has been 

studying water vapor in space. It previously reported that while 

water was common in the cosmos, it was much less abundant 

than predicted—a finding that was problematic for scientists 

modeling where the water on Earth originated. (Astronomers 

suspect that water came here in the form of ice via comets from 

the outer solar system.) The team has now reported that in the 

Orion Nebula, the water that researchers expected to find is 

there, but some of it is hidden—in addition to water vapor on 

the surface, water exists as ice deeper in the cloud. 

Research: National Air and Space Museum (NASM)

Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS) 

NASM hosted a three-day meeting for the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group, focused on setting 

scientific criteria for missions to return samples from Mars. CEPS scientist John Grant is playing a lead 

.... And investigating water vapor in space

SAO research includes searching for exoplanets... 

Report to the Regents, June 2011 
role in defining optimal landing site criteria, and the selection of 

NASM as the venue for this meeting reflects the prominent role 

CEPS scientists have played in the exploration of Mars. 

Broadening Access

On March 16, the National Air and Space Museum’s Moving 

Beyond Earth presentation center hosted a special one-day 

appearance by NASA’s Robonaut team to demonstrate 

Robonaut 2A, twin to the robot currently aboard the 

International Space Station. The robot, nicknamed R2, was 

demonstrated to audiences that included school groups, general 

visitors, spaceflight experts, and staff. 

Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery From Space, a work for non-specialist readers by Roger Launius of 

the National Air and Space Museum and Dennis Jenkins, has been selected by the American Institute for 

Aeronautics and Astronautics for its 2011 History Manuscript Award. 

Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

Research: National Zoological Park (NZP) 

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

Tiger reserves in Asia could support more than 

10,000 wild tigers—three times the current 

number—if they are managed as large-scale 

landscapes with habitat corridors between core 

breeding sites, according to a new paper in 

Conservation Letters by SCBI scientists and their 

colleagues. The study is the first assessment of a 

recent political commitment by 13 tiger-range 

countries to double the tiger population across Asia 

by 2022. 

The Zoo mourned the loss of JoGayle Howard. 

For more than three decades, Howard dedicated 

her life to the reproduction of endangered 

species, receiving international acclaim for her 

innovative research. She played a leadership role 

in understanding the reproductive biology of the 

American black-footed ferret, clouded leopard, 

giant panda, and other species, producing more 

than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 20 book 

chapters. A special on Howard and her work, 

Nature’s Matchmaker, debuted on March 13, 2011 

on the Smithsonian Channel.

Robotnaut (left) and friend 

Black-footed ferrets and clouded leopards are two species that owe a 

debt of gratitude to the Zoo’s JoGayle Howard 

 Report to the Regents, June 2011
Research: National Museum of Natural History 

(NMNH)

A paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of 

Sciences co-authored by NMNH’s Gary Graves 

reported that computer simulations of co-occurrence 

patterns in 197 species of Danish birds show that 

social attraction and competition among species 

may generate non-random distribution patterns 

discernable in areas 1,000 to 10,000 times larger 

than individual territories. This suggests that local 

inter-species interactions can “scale up” to produce 

patterns over areas far larger than previously 

recognized. 

Analyses of 12,000-year-old remains from three archaeological sites on California’s Northern Channel 

Islands show that early inhabitants of coastal North America relied heavily on marine resources. A paper 

in Science, co-authored by NMNH archaeologist Torben Rick, details findings of tools and animal 

remains that suggest Paleocoastal peoples captured sea birds, marine mammals, and fish. The tools also 

may provide a link to other early tool traditions in Asia, North America, and perhaps South America. 

The 3rd edition of Volcanoes of the World (University 

of California Press) by Lee Siebert, Tom Simkin, and 

Paul Kimberly of NMNH’s Global Volcanism Program 

presents up-to-date information on 10,000 years of 

volcanic activity. It stands as the most comprehensive 

resource on Earth’s volcanism, and is essential reading for 

volcanologists, public safety officials, and others with an 

interest in the subject. 

Research: Smithsonian Environmental Research 

Center (SERC) 

Citizen scientists can make important contributions to the 

research process when managed effectively. At an American 

Association for the Advancement of Science meeting on 

“Science without Borders” in Washington, D.C., SERC 

forest ecologist Jess Parker presented the Center’s program 

for engaging non-scientists in environmental science, 

focusing on a unique partnership to use HSBC bank 

personnel to assist with forest tree mapping research. 

SERC marine ecologist Greg Ruiz has received grants and contracts totaling nearly $2 million for 

research on coastal invasive species from funders including the U.S. Coast Guard (to support the 

National Ballast Information Clearinghouse), the State of Maryland Port Administration, the State of 

California, Alaska Sea Grant, and the Regional Citizen Advisory Council of Prince William Sound, 

Alaska. The range of these projects and sponsors illustrates both the wide impacts of invasive species on 

coastal ecosystems and the diversity of SERC’s external collaborations. 

An NMNH scientist’s study of population distributions of 

Danish birds yielded surprising results 

Report to the Regents, June 2011 
Research: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) 

Woody vines are overtaking trees in some tropical forests, according 

to a study by STRI research associate Stefan Schnitzer published in 

Ecology Letters. Long-term field observations, a hallmark of STRI’s 

research program, reveal that the proportion of vines in tree crowns 

has more than doubled in the past 40 years on Barro Colorado Island 

in Panama, a fundamental change in forest structure that will have a 

profound impact on animals and people. Schnitzer’s results call into 

question the reliability of models for carbon storage, climate, and water 

availability based on forests dominated by trees. 

In Panama’s Coiba National Park, scientists have discovered 45 new 

chemicals from corals, sponges, and bacteria that show great promise 

for treating cancer and tropical diseases. The origins of this work lie in 

research undertaken 20 years ago by a scientist exploring how tropical 

plants protect themselves against insects at STRI’s research station on 

Barro Colorado Island. Her important insight was that the search for 

new drugs could be made much less expensive by targeting plants with 

little insect damage. 

For centuries, jungle explorers pressed flowers and tendrils onto herbarium sheets to be stored at 

museums in North America and Europe. Today, scientists in the most biodiverse countries often lack 

easy access to these collections, which are needed to identify plants. The Global Plants Initiative aims to 

address this issue by sharing collections through an online database of high-resolution scans. Initiative 

partners met in January 2011 at STRI, which serves as a regional organizer for the project. 

Broadening Access

Smithsonian scientists, educators, 

and IT specialists from the National 

Zoological Park, Smithsonian 

Tropical Research Institute, and

National Museum of Natural 

History have collaborated to create 

Smithsonian Wild, a website featuring 

206,000 “camera-trapped” images 

of wildlife from four continents and 

eight research sites. In its first month, 

Smithsonian Wild hosted more than 

400,000 visits. 

The Smithsonian Center for 

Education and Museum Studies

presented two web conferences in the 

year-long series Shout, a global program 

focused on environmental issues. In these conferences, experts from the National Museum of Natural 

History, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and Smithsonian American Art Museum

interacted online with more than 2,000 students in 50 countries.

STRI’s Stefan Schnitzer

A giraffe “trapped” by the cameras of Smithsonian Wild

 Report to the Regents, June 2011
Orchids: A View from the East (January 29–April 24, 

2011), a collaboration with Smithsonian Gardens and 

the Freer and Sackler Galleries, was featured at the 

National Museum of Natural History. In it, visitors were 

surrounded by the sights and smells of live orchids as they 

explored Chinese reverence for this enchanting plant. 

In the past quarter, the Smithsonian Tropical Research 

Institute hosted courses from Princeton University, 

Northeastern University, Arizona State University, and the 

University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.

The construction project to widen the Panama Canal 

has provided a unique opportunity for geologists and 

paleontologists, led by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Carlos Jaramillo, to investigate the 

rise of the Isthmus of Panama. The Panama Canal Project, a collaboration among four U.S. and three 

Panamanian partners, includes a capacity-building component that trains scientists, and is also expected 

to produce a bilingual traveling exhibition with web-based supplementary resources.

Valuing World Cultures 

Research 

The National Museum of the American Indian held a two-day 

symposium, “Red, Black, and Brown: Artists and the Aesthetics 

of Race,” which focused on themes of identity and social justice 

in the works of artists of mixed Native American, African 

American, and Latin American heritage. 

Broadening Access

For the third consecutive year, Smithsonian Folkways won 

multiple Independent Music Awards. The winners were: 

Music of Central Asia Vol. 8: Rainbow, a collaboration 

among San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet, Azerbaijan’s 

Alim and Fargana Qasimov, and Afghanistan’s Homayun 

Sakhi. This release was also nominated as a finalist for a 

2011 Songlines Music Award. 

Music of Central Asia Vol. 9: In the Footsteps of Babur—

Musical Encounters from the Lands of the Mughals, a 

collection of works by leading exponents of the region’s 

musical heritage. 

Rising Sun Melodies, by Ola Belle Reed. 

Classic Appalachian Blues, featuring a distinctive regional 

blend of European and African styles born at the 

cultural crossroads of railroad camps, mines, and rural 

settlements.

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Orchids: A View from the East

Report to the Regents, June 2011
The Art Newspaper listed the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery exhibition Falnama as the 10th most popular 

international art museum exhibition of 2010. 

In February, the National Museum of the American Indian held its annual “Power of Chocolate” festival 

to celebrate one of the world’s favorite flavors. The two-day event drew over 11,000 visitors. 

The exhibition Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist 

Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (February 

26–July 31, 2011) at the Arthur M. Sackler 

Gallery combines majestic sixth-century 

Chinese Buddhist sculpture with contemporary 

3-D digital imaging to explore an important 

group of Buddhist devotional sites.

Artists in Dialogue 2: Sandile Zulu and Henrique 

Oliveira (February 2–December 4, 2011) 

opened at the National Museum of African 

Art, the second in a series of exhibitions in 

which two artists respond to each other’s work, 

resulting in site-specific works for the Museum. 

The National Museum of African Art also 

hosted a North African Film Festival that showcased the diversity of recent cinema from and about this 

region. It featured moderated discussions following each screening and a roundtable on “Perspectives of 

Algerian Cinema and Visual Culture” co-sponsored by Howard University and the Algerian Ministry of 

Culture. Over 1,100 people attended. 

Three exhibitions opened at the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American 

Indian in New York City: 

The photographs of GRAB (January 

29–July 31, 2011) chronicle Grab Day, 

a tradition in the villages of the Laguna 

Pueblo in which water and food are 

thrown from rooftops to people below. 

Small Spirits (March 5, 2011–March 

2012) features a variety of Native 

American dolls, from prehistoric 

ceramic figures to contemporary 

creations by Inuit and Pueblo artists. 

Preston Singletary: Echoes, Fire, and 

Shadows (March 19–September 

5, 2011) displays the works of 

internationally acclaimed glass artist 

Preston Singletary. 

Also at the Heye Center, the 15th Native 

American Film+Video Festival was held from 

March 31–April 3, 2011. The Festival, which this year focused on “Mother Earth in Crisis,” showcased 

nearly 100 features, short films, documentaries, and animations from 11 countries.

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Echoes of the Past at the Sackler Gallery

The art of Preston Singletary

10 Report to the Regents, June 2011
In March, the Freer and Sackler Galleries hosted 

the third Nowruz Festival, celebrating the Persian 

New Year. Over 6,500 people attended. 

The National Museum of African Art presented 

an event in its new series “Island Africa” that 

brought together scholars, artists, and performers 

to explore the history and culture of Cabo Verde. 

Over 1,200 visitors were in attendance, including 

Cabo Verde Ambassador H.E. Fátima Veiga. The 

Museum also hosted its first after-hours event, 

“Africa Underground.” Tickets sold out for the 

Afro-Brazilian themed night, which received wide 

media coverage. 

In honor of Martin Luther King, the National Museum of African Art, National Museum of the 

American Indian, and Smithsonian Latino Center presented the two-day festival “Sharing the Dream: 

A Multicultural Celebration of Love and Justice,” featuring the stories, music, and other traditions of 

African, Latino, and Native American communities. 

Crossing Boundaries 

Research 

During this period, the Museum Conservation Institute worked 

on over 100 projects with over 10 Smithsonian museums, 

research centers, and offices, as well as NASA, NIST, the 

State Department, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and other 

government agencies, conservation groups, and universities.

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ Smithsonian Research 

Online (SRO) program recently passed the mark of 10,000 

publications in its digital repository. Each year, SRO collects 

information on nearly 2,000 publications by Institution 

researchers, many of whom also contribute digital versions of 

their articles to the repository. 

Broadening Access 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum celebrated the 

opening of the exhibition Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & 

Arpels (February 18–June 5, 2011) with a black-tie gala hosted by Van Cleef & Arpels at the Museum. 

Among the attendees were Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough and luminaries from the worlds of 

design and entertainment. Since 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels’ timeless pieces have been worn by style icons 

including the Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Also at Cooper-Hewitt, Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay (March 18–June 5, 2011) 

presented works from an artist known primarily as an abstract painter and colorist, but who also applied 

her talents to graphics, interiors, theater and film, fashion, and textiles.

Wayne Clough and Cate Blanchett at 

Cooper-Hewitt

“Island Africa” at the National Museum of African Art

Report to the Regents, June 2011 11
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s annual James T. Demetrion Lecture featured 

performance art pioneer Marina Abramović. Following up on her retrospective at the Museum of 

Modern Art last year, Abramović discussed how performance art is entering the history of art. The 

program sold out immediately after reservations were opened to the public.

The Hirshhorn show Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers won first place in the category of Best 

Historical Museum Show Nationally, in an award from the International Association of Art Critics.

In a program from The Smithsonian Associates that highlighted the Hall of Human Origins at the 

National Museum of Natural History, paleoartists John Gurche and Karen Carr discussed how they 

craft ancient human likenesses and landscapes from fossils and archeological artifacts. 

The National Postal Museum launched the virtual exhibition Russian Zemstvos: The G.H. Kaestlin 

Specialized Collection. The Museum holds 14,000 Russian stamps in its collection, including some 

exceedingly rare stamps issued by Russian zemstvos—local administrations that provided postal services 

to less-accessible rural areas in pre-revolution Russia.

The National Museum of Natural History signed an MOU with the Government of Chile to produce 

an exhibition on the 2010 Chilean mine collapse and rescue. Chile will lend the Museum its nowfamous mine rescue capsule for this special exhibition. 

A family day celebrating “Women in Aviation and Space” was held at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center

of the National Air and Space Museum. Partners for the event included the Girl Scouts, the Society of 

Women Engineers, Women in Aviation, and the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Broadening Access: Outreach

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service 

(SITES) circulated 44 exhibitions to 311 venues in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Guam, 

and U.S. military bases in 10 countries. They were viewed by approximately 1.5 million visitors. 

SITES launched one new exhibition on a 

national tour: Farmers, Warriors, Builders: 

The Hidden Life of Ants premiered on January 

29, 2011 at the New York State Museum in 

Albany. Developed by the National Museum 

of Natural History, it features macro photos, 

hands-on models, and opportunities for hosts 

to set up their own ant farms.

SITES also launched a bilingual website for its 

upcoming exhibition American Sabor: Latinos 

in U.S. Popular Music, which is to debut at 

the Sacramento Public Library in Sacramento, 

California in May 2011. 

The Asbury Park, New Jersey opening of the 

SITES exhibition New Harmonies featured a concert with legendary musicians for whom the 

boardwalk town is home. Although the town’s most famous musical son, Bruce Springsteen, had 

obligations out of town, he visited later, and other luminary musicians drew a sold-out concert 

hall crowd and lots of media attention. 

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• The Hidden Life of Ants

12 Report to the Regents, June 2011
Smithsonian Affiliations offers museums, cultural institutions, and educational organizations access to 

the Institution’s collections and other resources. At the end of the past quarter, there were 168 Affiliates 

in 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, Panama, and Puerto Rico. In this quarter: 

The Smithsonian welcomed two new Affiliates: HistoryMiami in Miami, Florida, and the Tampa 

Bay History Center in Tampa, Florida. 

Twenty-seven artifacts were loaned to Affiliate organizations; there are currently 1,209 

Smithsonian artifacts on view at Affiliate organizations. 

Twenty-three Smithsonian staff participated in programs and events with Affiliates.

The National Museum of American History has launched a web initiative to engage the public with the 

development of its upcoming exhibition American Enterprise, which will examine the economic history 

of the United States and is scheduled to open in 2014. Through the site, members of the public can 

contribute comments, suggest topics and objects, and provide feedback to the exhibition team. 

In another experiment with online public engagement, the 

National Museum of American History conducted a web poll to 

choose two automobiles for temporary display in the Museum. 

Over 24,000 people voted, choosing a 1929 Miller race car and 

1948 Tucker sedan, which went on display in January.

When Smithsonian Folkways released Abayudaya: Music from 

the Jewish People in Uganda in 2003, it decided to dedicate all 

royalties from sales of the disc to support the higher education of 

students from the represented community. Nineteen students are 

now benefiting from this program, including the first four women in the community to attend college. 

Affiliate museums in Maryland, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, and California will participate in the 

Lemelson Center’s Spark!Lab Outreach Kit 

pilot project, which is designed to replicate at 

other locations the Center’s innovative handson science center activities for children. Center 

staff will travel to each Affiliate to train staff to 

use kit activities, which will be integrated into 

the hosts’ educational programs. 

The Smithsonian American Art Museum

invited the public to help select the games to 

be included in its upcoming exhibition,The Art 

of Video Games, which will open next March 

and will explore the 40-year evolution of video 

games as an artistic medium. Almost 4 million 

votes were cast in seven weeks. 

Broadening Access: Education 

The National Science Resources Center (NSRC) remained active in collaborative efforts to improve the 

teaching of science in schools across the nation and around the world: 

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The voters’ choice: 1948 Tuck

The Art of Video Games

Report to the Regents, June 2011 1
NSRC released six revised Science and Technology Concepts 

curriculum units for secondary students: Experimenting with Forces 

and Motion, Working with Motors and Simple Machines, Investigating 

Circuit Design, Discovering Electrical Systems, Exploring the Properties of 

Matter, and Experimenting with Mixtures, Compounds, and Elements. 

Seventy-eight leaders from around the country attended NSRC’s 

annual Science Educational Leadership Forum, which focused on 

developing professional learning communities. 

For its Investing in Innovation and Improvement (i3) Award from 

the Department of Education, NSRC brought together 31 education 

leaders and project staff from North Carolina, Texas, and Indiana to 

discuss how the project will be implemented in each region. 

Vanished, a new “science-mystery game” produced by the Smithsonian Center for Education and 

Museum Studies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received advance media coverage 

starting with a story in USAToday. The live game itself took place in April and May; more than 6,000 

students participated and 2,000 adults observed. 

The Hirshhorn hosted the premiere of a new PBS series, Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century. 

It profiles innovative use of digital media in classrooms, after-school programs, and museums, including 

the ArtLab Digital Media project at the Hirshhorn. 

Strengthening Collections

The National Zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation 

Association signed an agreement to extend the Zoo’s panda 

program for five years. The agreement commits both sides to 

jointly research and oversee the breeding of the Zoo’s pandas, 

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. If after two years either is found to 

be unsuitable for breeding, the two institutions may exchange 

them for other pandas from China. The pair has not produced 

a cub since 2005, when Tai Shan, a male, was born. Tai Shan 

was sent to China in 2010; both parents and offspring remain 

under the ownership of China. 

Conservation work on the Thomas Jefferson Bible is the most 

significant object preservation effort at the National Museum 

of American History since its work on the Star-Spangled 

Banner. In collaboration with the Museum Conservation 

Institute and outside experts, the Museum has investigated 

the Bible’s component materials, binding structure, and 

assemblage process, and has developed a treatment plan.

The National Air and Space Museum’s archives received a 

collection of the papers of Emory Malick, the first known 

licensed African American pilot. The collection is an 

important addition to the Museum’s archival collection on 

African American aviation history.

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• Exploring Studying Investigating Experimenting Working Discovering Understanding Researching

Working with Motors and Simple Machines

Science and Technology concepTSTM

The National Zoo’s pandas

Conservation work on Jefferson’s bible

14 Report to the Regents, June 201
Six Smithsonian units won grants from the Save America’s 

Treasures program administered by the National Park Service 

in partnership with the President’s Committee on the Arts and 

Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National 

Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum 

and Library Services. The recipients were: 

The National Museum of African American History 

and Culture, for the restoration of a Pullman-built Jim 

Crow railroad car with “white” and “colored” passenger 

compartments to accommodate segregationist practices. 

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, for 

preservation and digitization of the Moses and Frances 

Asch Collection of recordings, business records, 

correspondence, photographs, album artwork, and film 

dating to the founding of Folkways in 1948. 

The National Museum of the American Indian, for the 

preservation of a collection of archival records and films 

that document the Museum’s predecessor, the Museum 

of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (1916–1989). 

The Smithsonian Institution Archives and the National 

Museum of Natural History’s Department of Botany, 

for conserving 19th- and 20th-century field notebooks 

documenting the exploration of the American frontier.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum, for renovation 

of the Renwick Gallery, the capital’s first art gallery. 

Organizational Excellence

Information Technology

The Digitization Program Office completed two major steps in the Institution’s digitization program: 

The publication of Smithsonian Directive 610, “Digitization and Digital Asset Management,” 

which formally establishes the Digitization Program Office and sets forth the requirements for 

unit digitization plans and digital asset plans; and

Completion of an inaugural digitization count, which reports that 13 percent of the Institution’s 

object collections items and lots have been digitized. 

The Smithsonian’s EDAN system brings together disparate online collections through a common index. 

By the end of the second quarter, EDAN had indexed 7.4 million collections items and lots, with links 

to over 550,000 digital assets. All major Smithsonian collections are now indexed, with the exception of 

those at the National Museum of African Art.

In February, scientists including the Smithsonian’s Richard Vari performed a survey of fish in parts of the 

Cuyuni River, Guyana, and needed to identify over 5,000 specimens for an export permit. With little 

time and few local library resources, they posted specimen images to Facebook and turned to colleagues 

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The Renwick Gallery

Jim Crow-era railway car

Report to the Regents, June 2011 1
around the world for help. This yielded identification of 90 percent of the specimens to at least the genus 

level, and highlighted two undescribed species. Such crowd sourcing was impossible five years ago. 

Construction, Renovation, and Facilities Projects

Smithsonian Institution Libraries celebrated the re-opening 

of the National Museum of Natural History’s main library. 

New features of the renovated facility include two state-ofthe-art conference rooms, wifi access, computer workstations 

with printers, study tables with outlets, collaboration areas, 

and a coffee bar. 

The design for the Hirshhorn’s Seasonal Inflatable Structure 

by architects Diller, Scofidio, and Renfro won a 2011 

Progressive Architecture Award from the American Institute 

of Architects—one of the highest honors in the field.

All buildings in urban environments develop soiling from 

the accumulation of particulate contaminants and biological 

organisms, but the rate of staining on the National Museum 

of the American Indian building since it was last cleaned has 

been unusually rapid. The Museum Conservation Institute 

is working with the Museum and the Office of Facilities 

Engineering and Operations to understand the source of the 

soiling and develop a maintenance protocol that will reduce 

its rate.

National Zoological Park, Asia Trail II: Elephant Trails

$55.9 million estimated total project and program cost

The second phase of the Asia Trail project has a projected cost of $55.9 million—$41.05 million Federal 

(received in fiscal years 2006–2012) and $14.8 million Trust. Construction of the new elephant barn and 

two of three outdoor habitats was completed in June 2010. Work on the elephant community center is 

16 percent complete. Additional private funding is being sought for completion of the final habitat, and 

the project is now scheduled to be finished in 2013.

National Zoological Park, General Services Building and North Road Retaining Wall

$34.8 million total estimated project cost

Design is substantially complete for structural repairs, fire-protection improvements, and safety upgrades 

at the Zoo’s General Services Building. Replacement of an adjacent retaining wall supporting the North 

Road was recently incorporated into the project and was reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts and 

the National Capital Planning Commission in February and March 2011. A supplemental environmental 

assessment is required and began in May 2011. The project also includes relocation of the Institution’s 

vehicle maintenance branch to a Suitland, Maryland facility that is nearly 60 percent complete. Federal 

funding has been requested for fiscal years 2012–2014 for construction of the retaining wall and General 

Services Building.

The Museum Conservation Institute’s Robert Koestler 

at the National Museum of the American Indian

16 Report to the Regents, June 201
National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute—Smithsonian-Mason 

Global Conservation Studies Partnership 

$40.7 million total estimated project cost

In a 2008 Memorandum of Understanding, the Smithsonian and George Mason University (GMU) 

pledged to provide facilities to support a joint conservation biology program for undergraduates and 

professionals at the National Zoo’s facilities in Front Royal, Virginia. A bill authorizing construction 

was passed by the House during the 111th Congress, but has not been introduced during the 112th 

Congress. The Smithsonian is proceeding with renovating and expanding an existing building to house 

classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices. The cost of this work is $12.5 million—$7.5 million in 

Federal funds in fiscal years 2010–2013 (some of which has already been allocated) and $5 million 

in private funds. Relocation of animals from this building is underway, paid for with $1.6 million in 

raised funds. Design is complete, bidding is underway, and construction began in late spring 2011. The 

Smithsonian will also upgrade site utilities with $6.6 million in Federal funds. GMU has secured a $20 

million bond to fund its construction of residential and dining facilities. All facilities are projected to be 

complete for the start of the fall 2012 semester.

National Zoological Park, Seal / Sea Lion Exhibit

$40.0 million total estimated project cost

The Zoo’s Seal/Sea Lion exhibit is being revitalized to meet standards for animal care and to improve 

accessibility. The project also includes an upgrade of underground utilities in Beaver Valley. Construction 

is approximately 50 percent complete and is projected to be finished in mid-2012. The 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 in fiscal years 2009–2012.

Arts and Industries Building (AIB)

$52.8 million estimated cost for shell only

The AIB shell project, consisting of roof and window replacements and upgrades to the building’s 

structure, began on November 15, 2010 and should be completed by spring 2013. Construction is 

progressing on schedule. Project funding consists of $30 million from the Federal Legacy Fund, $15 

million from Federal facilities capital funds, and the rest from private donations. Scope definition is 

underway for the next phase, which will include design of an underground services building shared with 

the Castle. 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

$57.7 million total estimated project cost

The renovation of the Fox-Miller townhouses is scheduled to be complete in late summer 2011. Design 

for the Carnegie Mansion renovation was completed in April 2011, with a construction contract to 

be awarded in summer 2011 and construction itself to be completed by mid-2013. Total project costs 

include $25.2 million in Federal funds and $32.5 million in private funds. Of the required private funds, 

over $30 million (more than 94 percent) have been identified in gifts and pledges.

Report to the Regents, June 2011 1
National Museum of African American History and Culture

$500 million total estimated project cost

Updated concept submittals were 

made in March to the Commission 

of Fine Arts and the National Capital 

Planning Commission. In their 

subsequent meetings, each commission 

commented favorably on the evolution 

of the landscape and building design, 

commended the Smithsonian for 

addressing earlier comments, and 

offered new comments to guide design 

development. Regarding National 

Environmental Protection Act 

regulations, the Smithsonian expects 

to issue a Record of Decision with the 

final environmental impact statement in early summer 2011. In late summer, the Section 106 Historic 

Resources consultations will culminate with issuance of the programmatic agreement. The Museum has 

now begun the concept phase of exhibit design with Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Best-value selection 

for a construction management firm is nearing conclusion, and the successful bidder will be brought onto 

the project in June 2011. Relocation of a gas main started in May, and site preparation and utility work is 

planned to start as early as fall 2011. Total project costs are to be shared evenly, with $250 million from 

Federal capital funds and $250 million from non-Federal sources.

National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

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

The third phase of renovation at the 

National Museum of American History 

will focus on renewal of three west 

wing public spaces. Data gathering, 

field surveys on existing conditions, 

and schematic design have been 

completed. The 65 percent design 

documents are complete, with final 

construction documents expected by 

summer 2011 and construction to 

begin in early spring 2012. The Federal 

appropriation for design ($6 million) 

was received in fiscal years 2009 and 

2010. Initial construction funding of 

$5 million was received in fiscal year 

2011, with the remainder ($49 million) 

requested for fiscal years 2012–2013.

18 Report to the Regents, June 201
National Museum of Natural History, Main Building Ground Floor and Mezzanine

$24.0 million total project cost

The entire north ground floor of the main Natural History Building is under renovation. The 15,500 

square-foot west end of the floor 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, paleobiology laboratory, and consolidated facility support operations center. The 

project was awarded for construction in December 2010, with completion planned for mid-2012.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa Laboratory Facilities

$19.4 million total estimated project cost

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

is proceeding with the replacement of outdated facilities. A new terrestrial science lab on the Gamboa site 

will be funded with $15.94 million in Federal and $3.46 million in Trust funds. Programming, design, 

and selection of construction management are complete, with construction to begin in 2011.

Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture

$19.5 million total estimated project cost

The Smithsonian will complete the renovation of the Reynolds Center with the reconstruction of the F 

Street stairs and the addition of landscaping and security. Cost are estimated to be $9.5 million in Federal 

funds and $10.0 million in Trust funds.

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

$81.8 million total project cost

Phase two of the Udvar-Hazy Center adds 237,000 square feet of collections care space. Infrastructure 

construction (financed with $68.7 million in Trust funds) was completed in December 2010, and 

equipment fit-out for storage, processing, and archives spaces will be completed using Federal funds. 

National Postal Museum, New Program Space

$18.2 million total estimated project cost

The National Postal Museum, located in the historic Washington, D.C. City Post Office Building, has 

been given 12,000 square feet of additional space and use of a central hall by the U.S. Postal Service. 

Using funds from non-Federal sources, the project will transform the new space into a philatelic 

center and a visitor orientation space. Design is scheduled to be complete in mid-summer 2011, with 

construction starting in late 2011 to meet an opening in early 2013. 

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

$38.5 million total estimated project cost

Renovations have been completed on Pod 3 in Suitland, Maryland, which provides consolidated storage 

space for several types of collections. Over $15 million of shelving/racking, cases, and freezers are now 

being installed. Transfers of collections from four museums began in June 2010, and will take two years 

and cost almost $2 million to complete.

Report to the Regents, June 2011 19
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Mathias Replacement Laboratory Project

$50.66 million total estimated project cost

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is eliminating trailers that house lab space and 

offices; renovating and reconfiguring the Mathias Lab; and creating replacement labs that meet national 

standards. The 85,000 square-foot project employs sustainable technologies and building materials that 

will yield substantial reductions in energy and maintenance costs. A construction award was made in 

early April 2011, with completion expected by mid-2014.

Permanent Physical Security Barriers

$55 million total project cost

Security barriers at the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History 

are complete. The final phase of barrier construction at the National Museum of Natural History is 

underway, with completion expected by summer 2011. Construction of barriers for the Castle and 

Quadrangle will start in fiscal year 2014, and work on off-Mall barriers will follow in order of priority.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Projects

$25 million total project cost

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $25 million for repair and revitalization 

projects not covered by fiscal year 2009 funding. All project contracts were awarded by the end of fiscal 

year 2010, and final contractor payments were made by the end of January 2011. Contract closeouts and 

final reporting occured in May 2011.

Sustainability

The Smithsonian is committed to the strategic objectives and goals of Executive Order 13514, “Federal 

Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance,” which set sustainability goals 

for Federal agencies. Using the Institution’s fiscal year 2010 scorecard on sustainability and energy 

performance as a benchmark, the Smithsonian has identified and is tracking opportunities to reduce 

pollution, improve efficiency, and lower costs. 

This fiscal year, the Institution’s goals include decreasing fleet petroleum use through measures such 

as reducing fleet size, installing bio-diesel fueling equipment, piloting an idle reduction system, and 

deploying both alternative-fuel and hybrid vehicles. The Smithsonian is also fulfilling renewable energy 

goals by purchasing additional green power from wind and biomass sources. 

The Smithsonian’s first quarter 2011 recycling metric (landfill diversion) was 29 percent, compared to 19 

percent for the same period in fiscal year 2010. Recycled materials include paper, comingled containers, 

compost, steel, and wood. The Institution is continuing to investigate other recycling opportunities. 

Additionally, simple but effective efforts are being undertaken to reduce energy use, such as deploying 

“Lights Off” labels to remind employees to turn lights off when not needed. 

Other sustainability efforts will be highlighted in the fiscal year 2011 Smithsonian Strategic Sustainability 

Performance Plan, scheduled for completion in June.

20 Report to the Regents, June 2011
Prepared by 

Office of Policy and Analysis