Report to the Regents

Th ird Quarter, Fiscal Year 2010

On May 22, 2010, the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center opened a new research facility and exhibition at 

the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The exhibition, Living Our Cultures, 

Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska, features hundreds of objects from the collections of the 

National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian.
Prepared by 

Offi ce of Policy and Analysis
Broadening Access: Visitation Summary

In the fi rst three quarters of fi scal year 2010, the Institution counted 20.6 million visits to its museums 

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

Center. Th is is almost identical to the number for the same period in fi scal year 2009, despite the 

paralyzing snowstorms that hit the Washington, D.C., region and shut down Smithsonian museums for 

several days in December 2009 and February 2010. 

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

Approximately 3.7 million visits to traveling exhibitions mounted by the Smithsonian Institution 

Traveling Exhibition Service. 

About 137 million visits to Smithsonian Web sites—similar to the fi gure for the fi rst three 

quarters of fi scal year 2009. 

Visits to Smithsonian Venues and Traveling Exhibitions

First Th ree Quarters of Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010 

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African Art

Air and Space

American History

American Indian

American Indian-NY

Anacostia

Cooper-Hewitt

Freer/Sackler

Hirshhorn

Natural History

Postal

Renwick

Reynolds Center

Ripley Center

SI Castle

Udvar-Hazy

National Zoo

SITES

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

Millions

Report to the Regents, September 2010 1
Grand Challenges Highlights 

Valuing World Cultures 

Research 

Th e new publication Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our 

Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska, coedited by Aron L. 

Crowell of the National Museum of Natural History and 

produced in association with the museum’s Arctic Studies 

Center, is a richly illustrated volume featuring more than 200 

objects created by 20 Alaskan Native peoples. 

Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of 

Cambodia, a publication to accompany the Sackler Gallery’s 

exhibition of the same name, was edited by the Freer and 

Sackler Galleries’ Louise Allison Cort and Paul Jett. Th e 

Freer and Sackler Galleries are also presenting a lecture series, 

“Aspects of Angkor,” in conjunction with the exhibition; the 

series will be posted on the Galleries’ YouTube page.

Th e National Museum of the American Indian’s Publications 

Offi ce released a paperback edition of the James Beard 

Award-winning book Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and 

Traditions, reintroducing the sold-out title to the international 

marketplace.

Th e Central American Ceramics Research Project, an ongoing initiative of the Smithsonian Latino 

Center, is surveying National Museum of the American Indian collections as part of its exploration of 

pre-Columbian ceramic traditions. Th is project, led by Alex Benítez of George Mason University, will 

result in an exhibition, public programs, and education and outreach activities in 2011–2012. 

Th e National Museum of the American Indian marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a 

symposium, “Honoring the Living Earth: Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Communities in Colombia.” 

Th e museum’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York hosted the symposium “Prospects for the 

United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People” in collaboration with Pace University 

Law School and the International Council of Environmental Law. 

Broadening Access

On May 22, 2010, the National Museum of Natural History’s Arctic Studies Center opened a new 

research facility and the exhibition Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of 

Alaska at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Th e exhibition showcases 

hundreds of objects from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History and the National 

Museum of the American Indian. 

Th e National Museum of African Art had a banner quarter for exhibitions, with three openings: 

Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art (June 23–November 28, 2010) traces the history 

of the coiled basket on two continents, from its origins in Africa to the American South. 

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2 Report to the Regents, September 2010
The Healing Power of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children after the Earthquake was on view in 

the concourse of the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center (June 17–October 17, 2010). 

Paul Emmanuel: Transitions (May 12–August 22, 2010) features the unique work of a critically 

acclaimed South African contemporary artist.

Th e exhibition Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum 

of Cambodia (May 15, 2010–January 23, 2011) at the Arthur M. 

Sackler Gallery is the fruit of an ongoing partnership between 

the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the National Museum of 

Cambodia. Featuring 36 exceptional works, it presents the 

fascinating story of bronze sculpture and casting in Cambodia 

through the ages.

For Asian Pacifi c American Heritage Month, the Smithsonian 

Center for Education and Museum Studies presented a concert 

featuring Indian classical musician Pandit Jasraj to an overfl ow 

crowd in the National Museum of the American Indian’s

Rasmuson Auditorium, as well as to 6,000 others around the 

world who watched it live online. 

Th e National Museum of the American Indian hosted a variety of cultural programs at its Mall facility, 

among them the following: 

Its 4th annual Celebrate Hawai‘i 

Festival, held during Asian Pacifi c 

American Heritage Month, honored the 

arts and culture of Hawai‘i. 

Th e 4th Ibero-American Guitar Festival 

featured outstanding guitarists and other 

musicians from Spain, Portugal, and 

Latin America in a series of concerts, 

discussions, and master classes. 

Th e Inter-American Foundation (IAF) 

40th Anniversary Bolivian Festival 

honored four decades of work by the 

IAF to support grassroots economies in 

Latin America.

Japan’s Minister of Foreign Aff airs, Katsuya Okada, informed the Freer and Sackler Galleries that James 

Ulak, Deputy Director and Senior Curator of Japanese Art, had been selected for induction into the 

Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to strengthening ties between Japan and the United States. 

Masterpieces of Chinese Painting (June 12–November 28, 2010), an exhibition at the Freer Gallery of Art, 

puts some of the fi nest Chinese works in the gallery’s collection on view. 

In addition to cosponsoring Local Lives, Global Ties, a program at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 

the Asian Pacific American Program sponsored a diverse range of activities, such as:

A presentation by writer Peter Bacho on his latest work; the presentation contributed to the 

Program’s ongoing eff orts to promote Asian Pacifi c American writers and literature.

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Indian classical musician Pandit Jasraj 

performed at the Smithsonian

Th e Celebrate Hawai‘i Festival at the National Museum of the 

American Indian

Report to the Regents, September 2010 3
A family event, cosponsored with the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, 

at the Renwick Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition Art of Gaman, featuring Japanese and 

Japanese American performances, arts, and crafts.

A book-signing and lecture event with Jennifer 8 Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: 

Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, in which Lee talked about how Chinese food has become 

an American institution. 

Th e exhibition Yuungnaqpiallerput: Masterworks of Yup’ik 

Science and Survival at the National Museum of Natural 

History (April 17–July 25, 2010) featured tools, weapons, 

watercraft, and clothing that the Yup’ik Eskimo have used 

for centuries to survive in the sub-arctic tundra of the Bering 

Sea coast. 

Family Fiesta: Viva México at the Anacostia Community 

Museum was a celebration of Mexico in conjunction with 

the exhibition The African Presence in México. It engaged 

a number of community and Smithsonian partners in 

conveying the sound, look, arts, and culture of Mexico. 

Also at Anacostia, radio personality Jim Byers of WPFW 

FM’s “Latin Flavor–Classic Edition,” hosted several 

programs in the Metro Mambo series, focusing on Latin jazz 

music in the Washington, D.C., area and the wider world.

Understanding the American Experience 

Research 

Th e book Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment serves 

as a companion to the National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibition. Edited 

by Richard Carlin and Museum Deputy Director Kinshasha Holman Conwill, it features a foreword by 

Motown legend Smokey Robinson and chapters by 26 historians, musicologists, performers, critics, and 

public fi gures, including the National Museum of American History’s John Edward Hasse. 

Th e Smithsonian American Art Museum published several books:

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the “Running Fence,” published with the University of 

California Press in conjunction with the museum’s new exhibition, includes contributions from 

Museum Director Elizabeth Broun and a foreword by Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough. 

Painting Indians and Building Empires in North America: 1710-1840, also copublished with the 

University of California Press, was written by the museum’s William H. Truettner.

Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, 

copublished with Abrams, was written by the museum’s Virginia M. Mecklenburg.

A two-volume catalogue from the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Patent Models Index: Guide 

to the Collections of the National Museum of American History by Barbara Suit Janssen, provides the fi rst 

comprehensive listing of the museum’s collection of more than 10,000 patent models from 1836–1910. 

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Viva México at the Anacostia Community Museum 

4 Report to the Regents, September 2010
Sergio Cortesini of the University of Cassino in Italy received the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s

fi rst Terra Foundation for American Art International Essay Prize for “Unseen Canvases: Italian Painters 

and Fascist Myths across the American Scene.” Th is award recognizes an outstanding scholar of 

American art history based outside the United States.

In the book Call The Lost Dream Back: Essays 

on History, Race, and Museums, National 

Museum of African American History and 

Culture Director Lonnie G. Bunch shares 

insights from his lifetime as a scholar and a 

leading voice in the museum world. 

Broadening Access

Th e Smithsonian American Art Museum 

opened Christo and Jeanne-Claude: 

Remembering the Running Fence (April 

2–September 26, 2010), an exhibition drawn 

from the Museum’s archive of 350 drawings, 

photographs, and other documentation of this 

monumental work of art. Several distinguished 

Californians were honorary patrons, including 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senators 

Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, U.S. Representatives Lynn Woolsey and Doris Matsui, California 

Attorney General Jerry Brown, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. 

An accompanying fi lm, The Running Fence Revisited, captured the memories of people who experienced 

the Running Fence. It includes interviews with the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the ranchers 

whose land was crisscrossed by the work. Th ere was a full house for the fi lm’s premiere in the McEvoy 

Auditorium, which was followed by a conversation and book signing with Christo. 

Th e National Museum of African American 

History and Culture exhibition Ain’t Nothing 

Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater 

Shaped American Entertainment (April 

23–August 29, 2010) opened at the National 

Museum of American History. Th e exhibition 

will next go on a tour organized by the 

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition 

Service, starting at Detroit’s Charles H. Wright 

Museum of African American History. 

To complement the exhibition, the museum 

presented the free concert “You Heard It First 

at the Apollo: A Mid-Century Jazz Sampler” at the National Museum of Natural History.

At the end of the quarter, the Smithsonian American Art Museum was preparing to open one of the 

most anticipated exhibitions in its recent history: Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of 

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Th e museum has produced a catalogue, a short fi lm, a podcast, and a 

wide array of educational events and public programs to accompany the exhibition. 

An exhibition and book from the Smithsonian American Art Museum 

remembered Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s famous Running Fence 

Displays of performance attire from the golden age of the Apollo Theater 

Report to the Regents, September 2010 5
Th e National Portrait Gallery exhibitions 20th 

Century Americans: 1950 to 1980 and 20th Century 

Americans: 1980 to 2000 (both August 20, 2010–June 

19, 2011) feature portraits of notable Americans 

ranging from Jonas Salk, Walter Cronkite, and J.D. 

Salinger to Michael Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, and 

Stephen King. Th ese refl ect both the variety of media 

the gallery collects and its new policy of accepting 

portraits of living subjects into its collection. 

Th e National Air and Space Museum conferred its 

2010 Current Achievement Award on the fl ight crew 

of US Airways Flight 1549. Its Lifetime Achievement 

Award went to Christopher C. Kraft Jr., NASA’s fi rst 

fl ight director for human spacefl ight. 

Th e Lemelson Center of the National Museum of American History launched a collaborative design 

project with Th e Tech Museum in California. Via online design challenges, the Center is inviting the 

public to develop design concepts for the Center’s next exhibition about “hot spots” of innovation. 

Th e National Postal Museum’s refurbished permanent exhibition Pony Express: Romance vs. Reality, which 

opened on April 3, 2010, examines both real and fi ctional stories of the legendary mail carrier service. 

Th e National Museum of American History partnered with Th e History Channel to present a live 

Webcast on invention in conjunction with the Channel series America: The Story of Us. Museum curator 

Paul F. Johnston and Richard Norton Smith of George Mason University fi elded questions from both an 

in-house audience and students at 3,500 schools across the nation who joined via the internet. 

Th e National Portrait Gallery’s Smithsonian Spotlight: Making A 

Winning Portrait won a Platinum Remi Award at the 43rd WorldFestHouston Independent International Film Festival. Th e video includes 

interviews with gallery curators and Outwin Boochever Portrait 

Competition winners and judges. 

Th e gallery also hosted former First Lady Rosalynn Carter for a talk 

on her new book, Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Care 

Crisis. 

Online access to 13 Archives of American Art collections totaling 127 

linear feet was completed, including eight collections that were fully 

digitized with funding provided by the Terra Foundation. 

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

Research: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) 

During this quarter, CfA scientists’ research appeared in 93 peer-reviewed papers and 148 non-peerreviewed articles at meetings, conferences, or other venues. 

The National Air and Space Museum honored Christopher 

Kraft, NASA’s first flight director for human spaceflight 

The papers of sculptor Claire Falkenstein 

were among those made available online 

by the Archives of American Art 

6 Report to the Regents, September 2010
CfA astronomers are members of 

the new Kepler satellite team that is 

searching for planets around other 

stars. Th e team has announced the 

discovery of 306 new potential extrasolar planets of various sizes.

SAO astronomers showed that a 

peculiar, fast-moving (“hypervelocity”) 

star in the outer reaches of our galaxy 

was probably ejected from the galaxy’s nucleus 100 million years ago 

after interacting with a black hole. 

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids whose orbits bring them 

dangerously close to Earth; they are also potential destinations 

for manned space exploration. In this quarter, SAO astronomers 

announced the fi rst results of the largest program currently under way 

to determine the sizes and characteristics of NEOs. 

SAO is a partner in 

Pan-STARRS, a new 

sky survey telescope 

that uses the world’s largest digital camera (1.4 giga-pixels). 

Th e telescope just began scanning the skies, searching for 

asteroids that threaten Earth while mapping the universe and 

investigating the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. 

Other Research 

National Museum of Natural History geologist Tim McCoy and his colleagues published three papers 

in the journals Meteoritics and Planetary Science and Icarus that reported the fi rst comprehensive 

mineralogical, mineral compositional, and spectral studies of ordinary chondrites, a type of meteorite. 

Broadening Access 

In the third quarter, the National Air and Space Museum hosted three Exploring Space lectures, all of 

which were Webcast and archived for subsequent viewing. Subjects covered included the power of the 

Martian winds, the impacts and collisions of objects in space that shaped the solar system seen today, and 

the Phoenix spacecraft’s mission to Mars.

Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

Research: National Zoological Park (NZP) 

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

NZP scientists published 32 peer-reviewed works in the third quarter. Th ese included 10 book chapters, 

one book, 20 journal articles, and one special journal issue. Of the articles, two were published in highimpact journals (the Journal of Ornithology and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). 

Size comparison of some solar and extrasolar planets 

Th e asteroid Gaspra, a Near-Earth Object 

Th e Pan-STARRS sky survey telescope 

Report to the Regents, September 2010 7
Coral reefs throughout the world are dying 

from both local and global causes. To 

address the crisis, SCBI’s Mary Hagedorn 

and her colleagues are applying human 

fertility techniques—cryopreserving coral 

embryonic cells and establishing a frozen 

repository for Hawaiian coral. 

On May 25, 2010, SCBI opened a 

new genetics lab at the NZP facility in 

Washington, D.C. Genetics research at the 

Zoo helps conservationists worldwide save 

animal species on the brink of extinction and 

manage animals in captivity. 

A scimitar-horned oryx was among the 

endangered animals born this year at SCBI. 

Th e species is extinct in the wild, but NZP has partnered with the Sahara Conservation Fund and other 

zoos to establish a plan for the reintroduction of oryx across the Saharan range, their native home. 

Research: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) 

Scientists have long hoped that plants will help 

to moderate climate change by absorbing extra 

CO2. A new paper by SERC’s Adam Langley and 

Pat Megonigal in Nature suggests things are more 

complicated than previously thought. They found that 

when rising CO2 levels are accompanied by an increase 

in nitrogen (another environmental consequence of 

human activity), the mix of marsh plants is affected 

in a way that reduces the ability of the ecosystem to 

absorb carbon—with grasses, which are comparatively 

bad at absorbing CO2, gaining relative to sedges. 

SERC’s Wayne Coats recently finished an extensive 

description of the newly discovered parasitic 

dinoflagellate Tintinnophagus acutus, and thus 

earned naming rights. Coats first spotted T. acutus in the 1980s, and in the following years he and his 

collaborators documented its life cycle, conducted DNA analysis, and unearthed scientific papers dating 

back to 1873 to investigate how it differs from previously identified species. 

Research: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

Th e American Society of Plant Taxonomists awarded NMNH botanist Harold E. Robinson its Asa Gray 

Award for career achievement. Robinson, an expert on the sunfl ower family, has published 900 papers 

and over 600 new species names in his 54-year career. 

NMNH botanist Vicki Funk, lead editor of the book Systematics, Evolution and Biogeography of 

Compositae, was awarded the Stebbins Medal of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy for “an 

outstanding publication in phylogenetic plant systematics and/or plant evolution.” 

At the opening of the new SCBI genetics lab: Jesus Maldonado, research 

geneticist; Nancy Rotzel, lab manager; Eva Pell, Under Secretary for Science; 

Dennis Kelly, NZP Director; Steve Monfort, SCBI Director; Rob Fleischer, 

head of the SCBI Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics

Adam Langley sprays plants in a test chamber with nitrogen 

8 Report to the Regents, September 2010
Research: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) 

Paleontologists from STRI and the University of Florida have surmised 

that millions of years ago the young of the biggest shark species ever 

known, Carcharolcles megalodon, frolicked in the warm waters of what is 

now Panama. Th ey based their results, which were published online in the 

journal PloS ONE, on more than 400 fossil shark teeth from Panama’s 

10 million-year-old Gatun Formation.

Blue-green orchid bees are an important part of tropical habitats, zipping 

through patches of tropical forest to pollinate fl owers. For the fi rst time, 

researchers at STRI have been able to track unique signals from tiny 

transmitters glued to individual orchid bees, yielding new insight into 

the role of bees in tropical forest ecosystems. Th eir fi ndings were also 

published by PloS ONE. 

STRI co-organized the forum “Kuna Yala: Tradition and Climate Change.” 

It sought to initiate a scientifi c dialogue between Panamanian authorities and the Kuna indigenous 

people whose autonomous territory is facing climate-change challenges such as rising sea levels. 

Broadening Access 

Th e National Museum of Natural History launched its Ocean Portal 

Web site on World Ocean Day, June 8, 2010. It features a section on the 

Smithsonian’s response to the Gulf oil spill, and introduces visitors to the 

Institution’s vast Gulf of Mexico collections. Twenty-six organizations are 

collaborating to provide content for the site. 

Th e Global Volcanism Program Web site at the National Museum of 

Natural History added videos produced from historical fi lm footage of 

eruptions. Th is follows a major eff ort to digitize valuable fi lms in the 

program’s archive that had been at risk of deterioration. 

Two National Zoo veterinarians assisted with wildlife relief eff orts in the Gulf of Mexico following the 

disastrous BP oil spill. Judilee Marrow went to the Gulf at the invitation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, and Luis Padilla assisted with a pelican release in Texas. 

To mark the fi rst-ever female brown kiwi chick birth at the National Zoo, 

New Zealand Ambassador to the United States Roy Ferguson was asked to 

name the chick. He chose the name Hiri, which means “important and 

great” in Māori. Ferguson later presented a pair of brown kiwis to the Zoo 

as a contribution to its new breeding program for kiwis. 

Th e Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), a collaborative project of the 

Smithsonian Institution Libraries and several of its peers, hit a milestone 

with the integration of BHL content (over 42,000 titles, 80,000 items, and 

30 million pages) into the Europeana digital library. 

M.G. Harasewych of the Natural Museum of Natural History and Fabio 

Moretzsohn of Texas A&M University published a lavishly illustrated 

guide to 600 shells, The Book of Shells, which has received many positive 

reviews and was highlighted in the Science section of The New York Times. 

An orchid bee

Report to the Regents, September 2010 9
Crossing Boundaries 

Research 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, produced two publications to accompany recent exhibitions:

a 12-page brochure written by Muehling and Cooper-Hewitt curator Sarah Coffi n to accompany 

Ted Muehling Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection, and

a full-length catalogue for National Design Triennial: Why Design Now? written by Cooper-Hewitt 

curators Ellen Lupton, Cara McCarty, Matilda McQuaid, and Cynthia Smith. In keeping with 

the sustainability theme of the exhibition, the catalogue is printed by Toppan, the only printer 

included in the Global 100 list of the sustainable companies. 

Th e Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s Susan Lake gave a lecture, “Th e Role of the 

Conservator in an Evolving Acquisition Process,” at the symposium Contemporary Art: Who Cares? in 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Publications by Hirshhorn scholars included an essay by exhibition cocurator Kerry Brougher in the catalogue Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers, and Willem de Kooning: 

The Artist’s Materials, also by Susan Lake.

In June 2010, the Museum Conservation Institute hosted the annual SI Conservation Conference, with 

eight presentations from fellows and advanced interns in conservation at six Smithsonian units, and 

topics ranging from the letterpress copying books of Spencer Fullerton Baird to pre-Columbian gold. 

Broadening Access 

Th e Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s 

2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (June 30–July 

4 and July 7–11) attracted around 750,000 

visitors. Its three headline programs were: 

México, celebrating the 200th anniversary 

of Mexican independence and the 100th 

anniversary of the Mexican Revolution; 

Asian Pacific Americans: Local Lives, 

Global Ties, exploring the connections 

between local American communities 

and their ancestral homes; and 

Smithsonian Inside Out, a behind-thescenes look at the Institution. 

Th e Festival also featured a special concert and craft displays that showed the resilience of Haitian artists 

in the wake of the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake. 

Th e Hirshhorn Museum exhibition Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers (May 20–September 12, 2010) 

received impressive media coverage, including pieces in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, 

The New Yorker, and The Economist, as well as many specialty art publications. Blake Gopnik, art critic 

for the Washington Post, called it “one of the most important shows in the Hirshhorn’s history.” 

Th e Freer and Sackler Galleries are organizing a series of Webinars on the global context of the Freer’s 

American collections. On May 12, 2010, “A Deeper Look at Surface Beauty: American Art and Freer’s 

Aesthetic Vision” attracted nearly 500 viewers and featured live translations in Japanese and Korean. 

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theme at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival

10 Report to the Regents, September 2010
Two new exhibitions were unveiled at Cooper-Hewitt, 

National Design Museum:

Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the 

Permanent Collection (April 23, 2010–January 

2, 2011), guest curated by New York designer 

Ted Muehling, features selections from the 

museum’s recent acquisition of glassworks from 

J. & L. Lobmeyr of Vienna, Austria. 

National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?

(May 14, 2010–January 9, 2011), the fourth 

exhibition in the Museum’s triennial series, 

explores the work of designers addressing 

human and environmental problems across many fi elds of practice. 

Also at Cooper-Hewitt, a special exhibition honoring the 40 fi nalists of Google’s “Doodle 4 Google: If I 

Could Do Anything, I Would...” design competition for K–12 students went on display in the museum’s 

Target National Design Education Center (May 27–August 15, 2010). 

Th e 2010 National Air and Space Museum John H. Glenn Lecture on April 15, 2010, marked the 40th 

Anniversary of the fl ight of Apollo 13. Introduced by Senator Glenn, the panel discussion featured the 

surviving Apollo 13 astronauts and other contributors to the mission who discussed the challenges they 

faced in bringing the crew of the damaged spacecraft safely back to Earth. 

Th e museum also premiered its new IMAX fi lm, Legends of Flight 3D, at both its Mall and Udvar-Hazy 

locations. Th e fi lm puts viewers in the cockpits of some of history’s most amazing aircraft. 

On May 29, 2010, the National Museum of Natural 

History opened a photography exhibition, Celebrating 

100 Years at the National Museum of Natural History

(on display through March 20, 2011), that explores 

a century of research, collections, expeditions, 

exhibitions, and public programming. 

Under Secretary for Science Eva Pell and Museum 

Conservation Institute Director Robert Koestler 

attended the signing in Paris of a Memorandum of 

Understanding between the Smithsonian and the 

French national synchrotron research facility SOLEIL, 

highlighting a growing relationship between French 

and Smithsonian conservation scientists. 

Th e Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL) received two awards from its peers. SIL’s Galaxy of Images

was chosen as a 2010 “Best of Reference” resource on an annual list of books, Web sites, and electronic 

resources selected by librarians. Th e Association of Research Libraries’ publication Choice: Current 

Reviews for Academic Libraries selected the SIL Web site “Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web” as 

an editor’s pick, calling it “the most comprehensive source for existing digital exhibitions.” 

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings released The Sounds of Mariachi: Lessons in Mariachi Performance, 

(with liner notes co-written by Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Director Daniel Sheehy) and 

Rappahannock Blues, a selection of live tracks featuring Appalachian bluesman John Jackson. 

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Lobmeyr glassworks from the Cooper-Hewitt collection

MCI Director Robert Koestler (far left) and Under Secretary Eva 

Pell (second from left) with French collaborators in Paris

Report to the Regents, September 2010 11
Broadening Access: Outreach

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

the Institution’s collections and other resources. As of June 2010, there were 166 Smithsonian Affi liates 

in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Panama, and Puerto Rico. In this quarter: 

the Smithsonian welcomed three new Affi liates: the Wyoming State Museum and Archives 

(Cheyenne, Wyoming), St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum (St. Augustine, Florida), and 

Colorado Historical Society (Denver, Colorado); 

the Institution loaned 104 artifacts to Affi liates; and 

Smithsonian staff participated in 13 public programs at Affi liates. 

Sixty-seven participants representing 49 Affi liates 

in 29 states attended the 2010 Affi liations National 

Conference in Washington D.C. on June 13–15, 2010. 

Attendees had the opportunity to take behind-thescenes tours, attend a roundtable session devoted to the 

Grand Challenges, and visit a resource fair featuring 

staff from 21 Smithsonian units. At a Congressional 

reception, 17 Capitol Hill attendees were present, 

including two U.S. Representatives. 

Th e Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition 

Service (SITES) continued to sustain a high level of 

outreach activity. As of the end of the fi scal year 2010 

third quarter, SITES had circulated 42 exhibitions to 

163 venues in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, where they were viewed by approximately 

3.7 million visitors. In the third quarter, SITES opened national tours of two exhibitions: 

Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Th ing: Th e Apollo Th eater and American Entertainment, a collaboration 

with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened at the 

Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and

Green Revolution opened at the Bob Jones Nature Center in Southlake, Texas. Th is is SITES’s 

fi rst-ever zero carbon-footprint exhibition—the result of a new initiative in which exhibition 

design fi les are licensed to host venues, enabling multiple venues to create their own shows. 

The Smithsonian Associates (TSA) off ers public programs relating to all four Grand Challenges for 

audiences of all ages in the D.C. region and beyond. During the third quarter, TSA presented 

37 programs connected to Understanding the American Experience, including an interview with 

former First Lady Laura Bush by political analyst Cokie Roberts; 

34 programs connected to Valuing World Cultures, including a panel discussion on “India and 

America: Looking Ahead” that featured Ambassador of India Meera Shankar;

21 programs connected to Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, including a 

Discovery Th eater presentation by naturalist Andrew Wilson on life “Under the Sea”; and

seven programs connected to Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, including a lecture by 

Paul Davies of Arizona State University on intelligent extraterrestrial life in conjunction with his 

new book, The Eerie Silence.

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Resource fair at the 2010 Affi liations National Conference

12 Report to the Regents, September 2010
In addition, TSA partnered with American 

University to host fi ve programs, including an 

interview with renowned Harvard biologist and 

sociobiologist E.O. Wilson; orchestrated the 

second annual Smithsonian Week in Riverside, 

California, in collaboration with the Riverside 

Metropolitan Museum; sponsored two Teaching 

American History workshops for teachers in Flint, 

Michigan; and created a program for students in 

Lafayette, Louisiana, featuring presentations by 

Smithsonian scholars on the solar system. 

In April 2010, the National Museum of African 

Art received a $176,215 grant from the W.H. 

Kellogg Foundation to undertake outreach to 

the local African immigrant community. Among the many intended outcomes, the museum hopes to 

provide support for immigrants’ artistic traditions and off er opportunities for immigrants to help develop 

museum programs. 

Broadening Access: Education 

Th e National Science Resources Center published four books in its Science and Technology Concepts 

series: 

Weather introduces children to the concept of weather and 

how it aff ects their lives.

Organisms introduces children to the basic characteristics of 

living things, while helping them develop an understanding 

of and sensitivity to life. 

Comparing and Measuring helps children with the 

developmental sequence of comparing, matching, and 

measuring. 

Soils introduces children to the components of soil and 

explores the relationship between soil and plant growth. 

Th e Office of Fellowships reports that 85 fellowship awards were off ered to scholars, scientists, and 

students to conduct research at the Smithsonian. Th ese included eight senior fellows, 26 postdoctoral 

fellows, 36 predoctoral fellows, 12 10-week graduate student fellows, and three postgraduate conservation 

fellows. Among the subjects being investigated with the help of the Smithsonian’s resources are the 

Llaima Volcano in Chile, nocturnal foraging bees, South Asian art, the history of photography in 

Mozambique, gender and race in cartooning, and race and commerce in Southern popular music.

Several Smithsonian fellowships and internships geared at increasing diversity made awards this summer: 

Th e Latino Studies Fellowship Program awarded three postdoctoral and two predoctoral 

fellowships to scholars with an interest in Latino history, culture, and art. 

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A banner at the Katzen Arts Center of American University announced 

the University’s partnership with the Smithsonian through TSA.

Report to the Regents, September 2010 13
Th e Native American Awards Program off ered awards to one visiting student and one community 

scholar to pursue research related to Smithsonian American Indian collections and programs. 

Th e James E. Webb Internship Program for Minority Graduate Students in Business and Public 

Administration, which promotes excellence and diversity in the management of not-for-profi t 

institutions, enabled six students to intern in Smithsonian administrative offi ces. 

Th e Minority Awards Program made 24 awards. 

Th e Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies off ered 

several digital learning opportunities, including 

“Problem Solving with Smithsonian Experts,” a four-day online 

educational conference that connected 9,000 people—from every 

U.S. state and territory, 128 countries, and 6 continents—with 

experts in fi elds ranging from folk music to extrasolar planets; and 

“Sizing Up the Universe,” an online game in which players 

estimate relative size using everyday objects and relative distance 

using online mapping tools. Th e game complements the latest 

issue of the center’s publication Smithsonian in Your Classroom. 

Th e Science Media Group of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

won the American Association for the Advancement of Science prize for 

online resources for the Web-based instructional resource “Th e Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach 

to Environmental Science”—a pan-Institutional eff ort involving contributions from the Smithsonian 

Tropical Research Institute as well as the Observatory.

Strengthening Collections

Th e National Air and Space Museum acquired 

the lifeboat used in the fi rst two attempted 

crossings of the Atlantic by airship in 1910 and 

1912. It will be displayed at the Udvar-Hazy 

Center. 

Signifi cant recent additions to the collections of 

the National Portrait Gallery include depictions 

of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John 

Marshall by Cephas Th ompson (1809–10) and of 

advice columnist Ann Landers by Roger Robles 

(1988). Th e Gallery also acquired four 1877 

photographs of the Old Patent Offi ce Building (now the Reynolds Center) and a rare ambrotype of 

Confederate military hero John Pelham by Mathew Brady—a major addition to the Civil War collection.

Th e Archives of American Art acquired the records of the Holly Solomon Gallery, which sold the work 

of important artists of the 1970s and 1980s, including William Wegman, Gordon Matta-Clark, and 

Nam Jun Paik. Th e collection also documents Holly Solomon’s alternative space, 98 Greene Street Loft, 

which provided artists like Laurie Anderson and Robert Mapplethorpe their fi rst serious exposure.

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Th e National Air and Space Museum acquired the lifeboat used in the 

fi rst attempted trans-Atlantic airship fl ight in 1910

14 Report to the Regents, September 2010
Organizational Excellence

Major Construction, Renovation, and Facilities Projects

National Museum of African American History and Culture

$500 million total estimated project cost

Th ree concept designs for the new museum 

were presented to the National Park Service 

and Commission of Fine Arts in April 2010. 

Using comments from that presentation, a 

refi ned pavilion on a rolling green landscape 

emerged as the concept that will be presented 

to the National Capital Planning Commission 

this fall. Th e design process includes monthly 

consultations with interested parties, in accord 

with the National Historic Preservation 

Act. In parallel with design activities, the 

preliminary draft environmental impact 

statement is being reviewed, and a draft will be issued to the public in late fall 2010, to be followed by a 

public hearing. Total project costs are to be shared evenly, with $250 million in Federal capital funds and 

$250 million from non-Federal sources. 

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

$33.3 million total estimated project cost

Design is substantially complete for structural repairs, fi re-protection improvements, and safety 

upgrades at the Zoo’s General Services Building, which houses vital support functions that must remain 

operational throughout construction and will be temporarily relocated to swing space. Replacement of 

an adjacent retaining wall supporting the North Road was recently incorporated into the project. Th e 

project also includes permanent relocation of the Institution’s vehicle maintenance branch to a Suitland, 

Maryland, facility currently under construction. Federal funding has been requested for fi scal years 

2012–2014 for replacement of the retaining wall and renovation of the General Services Building.

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 and work is well under way. Th e old pools 

have been demolished and foundations for new retaining walls have been installed, with construction 

completion projected for early 2012. 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 in fi scal years 2009–2012.

Report to the Regents, September 2010 15
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 the new elephant barn and two of three 

outdoor habitats are complete. Th e elephants 

began the transition to their new home in 

June 2010. Remaining work on the “elephant 

community center” has been removed from 

the original contract, and will be awarded to 

a new contractor by the end of this summer. 

Additional funding is being sought for the 

completion of the fi nal habitat. Th e project is 

now scheduled to be complete in 2012. 

Arts and Industries Building 

$64 million estimated cost for shell only

Construction documents for roof reconstruction, window replacement, and structural upgrades were 

completed on schedule and issued for bids by prequalifi ed contractors. A construction contract award is 

expected by the end of September 2010, with construction to begin shortly thereafter. Exterior masonry 

repair/cleaning and selective interior demolition and hazmat removal, funded by the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act, were substantially complete by the end of June 2010, and exploration of program 

possibilities for the building continues while funding for scope development is sought. 

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 at the National Museum of American History is renewal 

of three public space fl oors in the west wing. Data gathering, fi eld surveys on existing conditions, 

and schematic design have been completed. Th e concept design is progressing and is expected to be 

completed by fall 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, September 2010
National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute—Smithsonian-Mason 

Global Conservation Studies Partnership

$30 million total estimated project cost

A 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the 

Smithsonian and George Mason University (GMU) 

established a framework for both parties to provide 

facilities to support a conservation biology program for 

undergraduates and professionals at the Smithsonian 

Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. 

A bill authorizing construction has passed the House, 

but there has been no movement on the companion 

Senate bill. Th e Smithsonian will renovate and expand 

an existing building to house classrooms, laboratories, 

and faculty offi ces at a cost of $10 million. Federal 

funds appropriated over fi scal years 2010–12 ($5 million) and raised funds ($5 million) will support the 

project. Design development is under way and construction is expected to begin in early 2011. GMU 

has secured a $20 million bond from the Commonwealth of Virginia to construct residential and dining 

facilities on a portion of the Conservation Biology Institute’s property. All facilities are projected to be 

complete and operational for the start of the fall 2012 semester.

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.

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 the 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.

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 laboratory, and consolidated facility support operations. 

Design for this Federally funded project was completed in May 2010, and an award for construction is 

anticipated by the end of fi scal year 2010.

Report to the Regents, September 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 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 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 house 25 percent of lab 

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

replacement labs that 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 

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

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 $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 $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 also has been fi nished, and a contract 

for the fi nal phase was recently awarded. Barriers are in place on more than 80 percent of the National 

Museum of American History’s perimeter, and all construction should be completed by late summer 

2010. Construction of security barriers for the Castle and Quadrangle is slated to start in fi scal year 

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

18 Report to the Regents, September 2010
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Projects

$25 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 July 2010, all 23 project contract 

actions, totaling $24.6 million, were under contract, with the residual $0.4 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.

Sustainability

Around the Smithsonian, work continues on multiple projects 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. 

Th e Smithsonian completed a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan in June 2010, which included 

Institution-wide goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions, sustainable acquisition, and electronics 

stewardship. 

In mid-August 2010, the Smithsonian Sustainable Buildings Implementation Plan was updated 

to describe specifi c goals for energy effi ciency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, 

and reduction of the environmental impact of the building inventory. Additionally, an executive 

committee on sustainability was formed. One of the fi rst discussion topics was how to incorporate 

Smithsonian science, education, and exhibition resources into sustainability activities in areas such 

as land management, water conservation, sustainability education, and long-term stewardship of the 

environment.

Information Technology

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

Information Officer (OCIO): 

On June 4, 2010, Secretary Clough announced the release of “Creating a Digital Smithsonian,” 

a fi ve-year digitization strategic plan aimed at broadening access to Smithsonian collections, 

research, exhibitions, and outreach programs to make them available to anyone, anywhere, at any 

time. 

Th e Smithsonian Commons Prototype, a way to share Smithsonian digital assets with the world 

in a participatory manner, was made available for public comment on June 18, 2010, at http://

www.si.edu/commons/prototype. Among those who left comments were President of the New 

Media Consortium Larry Johnson, who noted that “the Smithsonian Commons . . . puts the 

nation’s museum in the palm of your hand.” 

A major upgrade to the Smithsonian On-Line Academic Appointments (SOLAA) system was 

released, which allows searches by major, school, and academic level, and the combination of 

uploaded documents with SOLAA applications into a single PDF document.

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Report to the Regents, September 2010 19
Th e Collections Search Center 

Web site has been enhanced 

with a mobile interface 

optimized for iPhone and 

Android devices. Th e new 

mobile-friendly Web site allows 

those with a desire to research 

the Institution’s holdings to do 

so on the go. 

Th e Smithsonian’s fi rst offi cial mobile 

app, MEanderthal, was spun off from 

a kiosk in the David H. Koch Hall 

of Human Origins at the National 

Museum of Natural History where visitors have their pictures taken and watch the images morph into 

early humans, such as Neanderthals. Released as an app for iPhone and Android, MEanderthal quickly 

climbed the charts and drew media attention. 

Th e Hirshhorn Museum launched two signifi cant initiatives in conjunction with its exhibition Yves 

Klein: With the Void, Full Powers that deployed state-of-the-art technologies to connect with audiences: 

In May 2010, the Museum released its fi rst mobile app, featuring quotes from Yves Klein, 

photos, audio, and video to accompany the exhibition. 

Th e Museum focused all its social media channels on the artist Yves Klein for the 20 days 

leading up to the opening of the exhibition. Quotes by Klein were posted daily on Twitter and 

Facebook, with links to accompanying images, video, and audio on Flickr and YouTube.

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20 Report to the Regents, September 2010