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April 29, 2013
 Students from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center explore shapes in a nearby sculpture garden. In 2012, the Institute of Museum and Library Services hosted a series of meetings to inform the development of a groundbreaking report on the role of libraries and museums in early learning. Among the advisors to those meetings were representatives from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, a model school on the Smithsonian campus that combines the best practices in both early childhood and museum education.
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama declared, “Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road… I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America.”
Given the increased interest and discussion at all levels about the importance of early learning, the timing is prime for museums and libraries to articulate and advance their participation in this arena. The IMLS report, to be released this month, will make the case for decision makers at the local, state, and federal levels to fully use the capacity of libraries and museums in their early learning efforts. The role (both current and potential) that museums and libraries play in the effort to educate our youngest children is immense, powerful, and inspiring.
As the executive director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl is well-positioned to discuss how museums can take a leadership role in supporting early learning. In her keynote talk at the Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference on June 12, Dr. Kiehl will focus on collaboration ideas between the Smithsonian and the Affiliate network, and how such partnerships can change the face of early learning in our country.
Do you have ideas to share about what your organization is doing with young learners?
Do you have specific questions about integrating early learning into your museum?
Take a few minutes to let us know in this quick, 3-question poll, so we can make this session as useful and productive as possible! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5NF7PRY
The Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference is for current Affiliates only. If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee, 202.633.5304, for more information. Click here for 2013 Conference hotel information, agenda and registration.
February 28, 2013
A few weeks ago on The Affiliate Blog we introduced you to our new Mobile App Clinic (read about it here). Well, yesterday’s Mobile App Clinic was a success! Thanks to Nancy Proctor for sharing her wisdom with us all. We hope you all learned something new, were inspired by what you heard, and are ready to continue the conversation. We’ve compiled some helpful resources below for those who weren’t able to join our webinar and for those who did and want to revisit some of the information. Thanks again to everyone involved in facilitating the discussion!
 Vidyo webinar! Mobile App Clinic video
Nancy Proctor’s PowerPoint presentation
How to build the iPodTouch TAP Application – Content creation, standards, and delivery tools for museum mobile tours
Were you satisfied with the webinar? We’re hoping to build more webinars like this into our benefits for Affiliates. Please contact Elizabeth Bugbee (BugbeeE@si.edu, 202.633.5304) to let us know how we did, what you’d like to see more of, and any suggestions you may have to bring more programs like this to your neighborhood.
January 30, 2013
Do you operate an education center at your museum, or thinking about it? Join us at the Affiliations National Conference on June 10-12 to meet colleagues who are opening or running new spaces for learning on the Smithsonian campus. Through tours of these spaces, frank discussions with colleagues, exchanging resources and research, and hands-on activities, discover and share what makes an education center such a vital place in a museum.
Affiliations staff is currently working with the following museums to feature their education spaces:
- The National Museum of Natural History will be opening Q?RIUS in 2013, a new interactive 10,000 square foot programming space. Q?RIUS will have access to a 20,000 specimen collection representing all departments of the museum, innovative programming and distance learning opportunities.
- The National Museum of the American Indian’s imagiNATIONS activity center invites families to explore how Native peoples have adapted to natural environments with innovation. Visitors can explore different kinds of transportation (snowshoes and skateboards), homes (tipis, adobes, igloos), hands-on activities (basket-weaving, Native percussion), and more.
- The National Museum of American History is undergoing a major renovation that will result in new education spaces when they reopen in 2015. Affiliates can talk to the staff about their planning and prototyping process, the “Object Project” and demonstration spaces, and explore possible collaboration opportunities.
- The National Air and Space Museum’s Moving Beyond Earth gallery is an immersive space that puts visitors “in orbit.” Affiliates can enter their Shuttle mock-up to learn about life in orbit (including the space toilet), or play the interactive SpaceFlight Academy, a group quiz that tests flight readiness.
- The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s very popular ARTLAB+ is a digital media studio for
 teens. Staff will share how they provide access to professional technology and art, coupled with mentorship, to develop a community of young creators and innovators.
Come to the Affiliations National Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 10-12, and bring your own experiences with education spaces to share with Smithsonian and Affiliate colleagues in these hands-on tours. See you there!
The Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference is for current Affiliates only. If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee for more information.
January 29, 2013
Nancy Proctor, Head of Mobile Strategy & Initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution and the staff of Smithsonian Affiliations invite you to participate in a Mobile Clinic, a new opportunity as a benefit of your Affiliation that will introduce you to developing mobile tour apps. On Wednesday, February 27 (3-5 pm EST), Nancy will present two open source platforms that Affiliates and Smithsonian staff can use: one for crowdsourcing, and the other for creating museum tours. We’ll also talk about data feeds and APIs that give greater access to Smithsonian collections, exhibition, event and other data available that may be of interest. Join us and begin an online conversation about mobile possibilities.
 Photo courtesy Smithsonian EdLab. What will we discuss?
In our first Mobile Clinic, we’d like to introduce Affiliates to the available open source platform that the Smithsonian uses for developing basic museum tour apps, the supported access that will be provided, and updates to these tools and platforms as we move forward. In addition, we’d like to begin the conversation on partnership opportunities on mobile projects that may be available. Most importantly, we’d like to hear directly from Affiliates about what resources you have and those you’d like to see available.
How will we get together?
We’ll be using Vidyo. It’s a video conferencing application that installs a small component on the desktop which allows for active engagement via web camera and microphone. Click here to access the Vidyo conference room with your webcam and mic.
What if I don’t have a web cam or mic?
The Vidyo platform will allow us to provide those without a web cam or microphone with a unique URL to access the meeting. The URL will show a live stream of the event—you’ll see and hear everything—but you won’t be able to live chat. You can still participate and ask questions though! While viewing the web stream, you can email your questions to affiliates@si.edu where we’ll be monitoring them as they come in to share with the online group. Click here to access the webcast.
 The National Museum of the American Indian’s new app for the exhibit “C. Maxx Stevens House of Memory.” Is there an example of a mobile tour created with this tool?
Yes! Check out the free app from the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.
We hope the Mobile Clinic will be useful to you. We certainly look forward to hearing about Affiliate projects using mobile technology and how we might create a community of practice to discuss our ongoing challenges and successes.
January 2, 2013
Smithsonian Affiliations regularly collaborates with colleagues to engage Affiliate partners in projects throughout the Institution. Here’s a look at a few current projects, and opportunities for the future. Let us know if you are interested in learning more about any of these!
 Smithsonian Immigration/Migration Initiative (SIMI)
- In January 2012, eight Affiliate representatives served on the advisory committee for this project.
- In the summer 2012, the Affiliations office, collaborating with SIMI and central Smithsonian Education, received a grant to conduct a feasibility study of the Affiliate network. A central goal of this initiative is to engage youth in digital, self-documentary projects about their experiences with immigration and migration. The feasibility study is designed to identify those Affiliates who have both an interest in this topic and the youth target audience, as well as the capacity to collaborate in the development of digital products for possible exhibition in years to come. In addition to a survey to be sent in January 2013, the feasibility study includes support for select focus groups, and a pilot program at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
- On a parallel track, colleagues in the Smithsonian EdLab are working with teachers to design mission-based challenges that link the themes of SIMI to school curricula. Working with Affiliate educators at the International Museum of Arts and Sciences in McAllen, Texas, to test a pilot model of the program, EdLab colleagues are interested in expanding the project to work with other Affiliates. They will be leading a workshop on this topic at the Affiliations Annual Conference, June 10-12, 2013.
Young Historians, Living Histories
- This is an educational initiative to engage underserved youth in Asian Pacific American communities. Young Historians, Living Histories is funded by the Smithsonian’s Youth Access Grant program. The program is led by the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center, in partnership with Smithsonian Affiliations. The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and Smithsonian staff will prepare comprehensive instructional programs and curriculum guides that will be used to train educators to implement the youth workshops. Youth will learn a variety of 21st century skills, methods of community outreach, digital storytelling and more to explore, contextualize, and deepen their understanding of Asian Pacific American history and culture while learning new technologies. Nine Affiliate partners will be selected to participate in helping to reach the target youth audience, as well as bring together critical community partners to support the program.
 Staff from six Affiliates and their community partners kick off the Places of Invention project at a day-long workshop with the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Photo: National Museum of American History
Places of Invention (POI)
- Six Affiliates are currently serving as partners in the Places of Invention project, an initiative of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Supported by a major grant from NSF, Places of Invention Affiliate partners are conducting extensive community research, the products of which will be shared in an interactive map in a 2015 exhibition at the National Museum of American History.
- The POI team has funds to train 20 more Affiliates to document their communities, and will be sharing their work at the Affiliations Annual Conference, June 10-12, 2013.
National Youth Summits
- In collaboration with the National Museum of American History, Affiliates have hosted several Youth Summits, wherein students from across the country watch a live webast program in D.C., and then continue the discussion with experts in their home communities. The Freedom Rides National Youth Summit featured five Affiliate partners in February 2011; and the Dust Bowl National Youth Summit partnered with nine Affiliates in October 2012.
- More National Youth Summits are being planned for the future, with Affiliate participation. A program on Abolition is set to take placeon February 11, 2013; Latino history in America in fall 2013; and one commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in 2014.
Let’s Do History tour
- This is a national outreach program that brings the National Museum of American History’s resources and strategies to communities nationwide. Designed to energize and support K-12 social studies teachers, the program introduces them to exciting and effective techniques, powerful online tools, and standards-based content they can use in their classrooms. In each targeted city, Smithsonian colleagues work with Affiliate educators to highlight local resources.
- In 2012, Affiliates in Alabama, Texas, South Dakota, and Tennessee took part in presenting their own educational resources.
- In the coming years, the National Museum of American History is looking at cities in Hawaii, Louisiana, California, Washington, and Oklahoma.
 Courtesy Pinhead Institute.
Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos
- Thirteen Affiliates took part in the YCCC program, a collaboration with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The goal of the program is to teach youth participants to control robotic telescopes over the internet. Participants learned to take their own astronomy images of the universe. Images created have been displayed in astrophotography exhibitions featuring their unique images, captions, poems, and comparisons to images taken by NASA’s space-based observatories. The program promotes increased interest, awareness, and knowledge of astronomy content, understanding of technology and proficiency in real scientific research skills. Participating Affliates will be offering a second round of astrophotography workshops in 2013.
One Giant Leap
- An initiative of the National Air and Space Museum, the pending proposal to NSF is designed to create mentoring opportunities for African American students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Affiliate participation will include hosting videoconference sessions with scientists from NASA and the Smithsonian, and supporting the local mentoring partners.
November 2, 2012
Special thanks to Lindsay Bartholomew, Science Curator at the Miami Science Museum, for allowing us to repost these amazing blogs.
With 175 Smithsonian Affiliates in 40 states, Panama and Puerto Rico, there is always an opportunity for people to engage with the Smithsonian in their own communities. Here’s an example of one Affiliate’s recent collaborations with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, National Museum of American History, and Smithsonian Magazine. Are you an Affiliate interested in guest blogging or seeing your collaborations posted here? Contact Elizabeth Bugbee for more information.
Smithsonian Affiliations- Opportunities Galore!
The Smithsonian is a name recognized all over the world. Internationally, if people know one museum in the US, it’s most likely the Smithsonian. But through Smithsonian Affiliations, museums all over the country can partner in efforts to share science, art, and history with everyone. The Miami Science Museum is a proud Affiliate member, and recently has taken advantage of several unique opportunities made available by the Smithsonian. Read more…
 Students filled the Miami Science Museum theater for the town hall meeting to talk to local environmental experts for the National Youth Summit: Dust Bowl. Photo credit- Miami Science Museum. The Dust Bowl – Man and Nature, Cause and Effect
The Miami Science Museum is one of only 10 museums nationwide that was selected to participate in the Smithsonian’s National Youth Summit on October 17th. The focus of this summit was contemporary environmental issues and the legacy (as well as lessons learned) from the Dust Bowl period in the 1930s. During this time, the boom of wheat farming (sometimes called the “great plow-up”) brought on a 10 year drought, showing that human activities can cause large scale environmental effects. Students from around the country participated in the summit via video/web conferencing, and had the opportunity to view clips from Ken Burns’ recently released “The Dust Bowl” documentary. They discussed what they learned from the Dust Bowl and shared ideas on how they can be protectors of their environments. The overarching theme of the event was to explore how to better understand the complexity of environmental issues and to learn what people can do today to avoid (or lessen) other environmental crises. Read more…
Baby’s First Museum
It’s not something normally recounted in baby albums, but as you read this story, you may start to wonder … “Why not?” You always hear about baby’s first words, first steps, first laugh – but what about baby’s first museum? Recently the Museum received a lovely email from a family who brought their 3 month old son to our Museum, on a free-admission day sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live. They were not sure how much he would even react to the trip. But as it turns out, baby loved the Museum just as much as mommy did when she came here as a child. This is the kind of story that makes our work at the Museum all the more worthwhile…Read more…
Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos
We’ve all seen the amazing images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The details in the colors and swirling patterns are not just beautiful – they also tell a story about what is happening there. Is that cloud of gas and dust a nursery for newborn stars? Are these massive bubbles of gas that have exploded from a supernova? And perhaps most importantly, who creates these images, and how? Read more… And read even more in the YCCC blog series from Pinhead Institute, an Affiliate in Telluride, Colo., here.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
October 26, 2012
Special thanks to SITES’ Scheduling Department for this guest post.
SITES Quarterly Corner | November 2012 sites.si.edu
Whether you are a new or veteran Affiliate, one of the best ways to maximize your unique relationship with the world’s largest museum and research complex is to host a Smithsonian exhibition. SITES has a plethora of exciting new offerings in the works, and we’re pleased to give the Affiliate network the scoop before widely publicizing them. Contact us for more detailed information or click on the links below.
Jacob Lawrence Illustrates Aesop’s Fables
 Jacob Lawrence, 1969. The Ant and the Grasshopper from Aesop’s Fables. Image Courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York. The classic Aesop’s Fables seen through the eyes of one of most important American artists of the 20th century. In 1969, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) created a series of twenty-three lively ink drawings of Aesop’s Fables, which interpreted the ancient tales for a contemporary audience. As a socially engaged American artist who created powerful narratives of American history and historical figures, Lawrence often explored themes of social justice and ethical conduct. His drawings depict timeless stories, teaching morals in a simple, understandable way. Tour begins: 2014
Contact: Ed Liskey, liskeye@si.edu, 202.633.3142
Asian Pacific Americans
 Princess Kaiulani, the last princess of the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to annexation. Asian and Pacific Americans make up more than 5% of the U.S. population –over 17 million people—and those numbers are growing. In the first exhibition of its kind, the Smithsonian celebrates Asian Pacific American history across the multitude of incredibly diverse cultures, and explores how Asian Pacific Americans have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history. Rich with compelling, often surprising stories, the exhibition takes a sweeping look at this history, from the very first Asian immigrants to the influx of highly skilled workers many decades later.Tour begins: September 2014
Contact: Minnie Russell, russellm@si.edu, 202.633.3160
Patios, Play Sets, and the Invention of the American Back Yard
 An American family enjoys their yard. Image courtesy AAG collection. Retreats for recreation, entertainment, dining, and relaxation, the American back yard combines the comfort and convenience of living rooms with the freedom of the open air. Patios…examines the growing popularity of outdoor living since the mid-20th century with a look at fascinating social trends like the transition from the front porch to the back yard patio, the rise of the do-it-yourself homeowner, and the use of “chemical warfare” to achieve the perfect lawn. Featuring rare, vintage photographs, along with pop-culture references and period advertisements, this exhibition will be a fun stroll through America’s back yard. Learn more here.
Tour begins: April 2014
Contact: Ed Liskey, liskeye@si.edu, 202.633.3142
Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise
 Newcomb Pottery Vase, c. 1931. Low relief of stylized Pitcher plant. Aurelia Arbo, decorator; Jonathan B. Hunt, potter. Collection of the Haynie Family. This major exhibition of Newcomb pottery and crafts features 175 exceptional works of pottery, metalwork, bookbinding, and textiles from important public and private collections. Enriched by new scholarship, historical photos and archival materials, the exhibition looks beyond the beauty of the works and illuminates the philosophy of the Newcomb Art School, the women and educators who embodied it, and its place in the American Arts & Crafts movement. Learn more here.
Tour begins: June 2014
Contact: Minnie Russell, russellm@si.edu, 202.633.3160
Visit our website to search for exhibitions by subject, size, or fee. Or contact us at 202.633.3140 or sites_schedule@si.edu.
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