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Why are we Around the Mall bloggers so excited about the upcoming Dreamworks 20th Century Fox film, Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian, set to be released next May? It’s all about ego. Here we have an opportunity to sit in a darkened theater and nitpick over all the inaccuracies.

So, let’s kick things off a little early by looking at some publicity photos, shall we?

Ben Stiller as Larry Daley

First up, Ben Stiller (above) striking a dramatic pose in—um, what museum is this again? Is that The Thinker? We have lots of lovely Rodin pieces, but this isn’t one of them. (You can, however, see a miniature version of this figure in Rodin’s architectural study for The Gates of Hell at the Hirshhorn.) The National Gallery of Art has a casting of The Thinker, but theirs is a little guy—only a couple feet tall, and that museum, to be really picky, isn’t a Smithsonian museum. Oh, and that big gold ball thing in the background on the left is Jack by Paul Feeley. It is owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and currently displayed on the 3rd floor.

Next up: Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart.

Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart

Adams is looking pretty darn cute here—but there’s something about that ‘do that doesn’t set well with me. It is physically impossible for bubble curls to survive the stress of a flying cap. If Adams is too good for “hat hair,” I can’t believe in the character. It’s a vision of Amelia by way of Barbie. (Hillary Swank dons a more realistic, rugged look in the upcoming biopic of the 20th-century aviatrix.) Meanwhile, the facsimile of Earhart’s Lockheed Vega, which you can find in the Air and Space Museum’s Pioneers of Flight gallery, looks spot-on.

Bill Hader and Ben Stiller

And then there’s Custer. He’s looking pretty good here, like he leaped out one of the Matthew Brady photograph in the National Portrait Gallery collections. I’m just wondering if his white buckskin coat, owned by the Museum of American History, is going to make an appearance.

There also seems to be a really Egypt-heavy story arc woven into the film. There is a very nice ancient Egyptian art collection at the Freer Gallery of Art.

There is also a sarcophagus—it houses the not-mummified remains of founder James Smithson and can be seen at the Smithsonian Castle.

But the Smithsonian does not have anything pertaining to a pharaoh by the name of the Kamunrah, the movie’s villain, mainly because the character is pure fabrication.

Hmm, for someone who enjoys movies as much as I do, you’d think I’d be able to suspend my disbelief a little better.

All well-intended nitpicking aside, we really are excited about the upcoming film and we plan on providing more coverage. What Smithsonian artifacts do you hope to see in the movie?

Turkeys at the National Museum of African Art

In honor of Thanksgiving, we pay tribute to that legendary American fowl: the turkey. Myth has it that the turkey was present at the first-ever Thanksgiving dinner between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. When you visit the Smithsonian this weekend—and you should, because the museums are open—why not take the family to see a turkey-related display?

You say you’re tired of the traditional turkey? Rest assured, there is nothing conventional about the turkeys that appear in the museum exhibits we feature below. In fact, you might discover a whole new way to bring the big bird into your feast this year.

View a gallery of turkeys at the Smithsonian.

If you visit the museums this weekend and catch a glimpse of a turkey-related display that we missed, let us know in the comments!

The observation tower at Udvar-Hazy

Last week, three major U.S. airports opened new runways—Chicago O’Hare, Seattle-Tacoma and Washington Dulles International Airport. At Dulles, the new runway reportedly will handle 100,000 more airplanes a year, which translates to an additional three million passengers—and, we hope, fewer delays this Thanksgiving weekend.

If you’re staying grounded this Thanksgiving or, dare I say, you find yourself with a delay at Dulles, you ought to check out the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Donald D. Engen Tower at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The 164-foot tower offers a 360-degree bird’s eye view of the airport’s runways and may afford a more relaxing view of the holiday bustle than you’ll get at the airport.

Udvar-Hazy Center

And while you’re there, check out the museum’s Boeing Aviation Hangar that highlights other shining moments in commercial flight. A retro brown and yellow Boeing 367-80 Jet Transport, a prototype for the 707, is in the permanent collection.

(Photographs by Chip Py)

ZooLights

Monday, November 24 Polynesian Dance Ensemble of Hawaii

If you only know the hula by way of a plastic spring-hipped lady glued to your dashboard, come on over to the American Indian museum to experience dances both traditional and modern from all over the Hawaiian islands. Can’t be here in person? The Polynesian Dance Ensemble will be performing in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so be sure to tune in! Free. National Museum of the American Indian. 12 Noon.

Tuesday, November 25 Little Red Hen and the Gingerbread Man
The age-old stories of an industrious hen and a mischievous mancake collide in this rollicking presentation by Barefoot Puppets. Tickets are required. Prices are: $6 for adults; $5 for children (ages 2-16); $4 for Resident Members. To purchase, call 202-633-8700. Repeats Nov. 26 & 28,** S. Dillon Ripley Center, 10:15 & 11:30 AM

**Ticket prices for the Nov. 28 show are $10 for adults; $9 for children (ages 2-16); $9 for Resident Members. The increased price covers a post-puppet show cookie decorating event. Show times are at 11 AM and 1 PM.

Wednesday, November 26 The Scientist is IN

Drown your thalassophobia and come on over to the Sant Ocean Hall to chat with an expert. The Scientist is in to show off some special artifacts and talk to visitors about the ins and outs of oceanography. Free. Repeats every Wednesday. National Museum of Natural History, 12 Noon-4 PM.

Thursday, November 27 Meet our Museum
Stop by and listen to a Museum of American History staffer talk about the museum’s collections and its mission to collect, protect and present our nation’s history. Just reopened after a two-year renovation, it’s like having coffee with a dear friend you haven’t seen in a while. (But without the actual coffee.) Free. Event repeats most Thursdays. Location: National Museum of American History, 12 Noon-12:15.

Friday, November 28 ZooLights Second Annual Winter Lights Celebration

Tonight kicks off the Second Annual Winter Lights Celebration at the National Zoo! Didn’t see it last year? Check out this video to see what you missed!) For kids of all ages, 50 LED light sculptures modeled after critters at the zoo will be on display. Light refreshments and entertainment will be offered throughout the evening. Tickets are required for visitors aged 2 and older and can be purchased at the Zoo’s Visitor Center between 9 AM and 4:30 PM, at the door (unless that day’s worth of tickets are sold out), or through Ticketmaster. Unless the zoo closes due to inclement weather, this event runs from Friday through Sunday until December 14; from December 18-30, this event repeats daily, except on December 24 and 25. Tickets are $12 general admission; FONZ $6, or 4 tickets for $20. Location: National Zoo, 6-8:30 PM.

Saturday, November 29 Native Storytelling with Sunny Dooley

Come celebrate American Indian Heritage Month and the Thanksgiving holiday by listening to Navajo storyteller Sunny Dooley’s Blessing Way stories that have been passed down through her matrilineal clan for generations. Free. Repeats November 30. Location: National Museum of the American Indian, 11:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:20 PM & 3:30 PM.

Sunday, November 30 Book Signing

Robert F. Door will be available to autograph his book Hell Hawks!: The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Free. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 12 Noon-4 PM.

New Atrium

10. To revel in the $85 million renovation. Peruse the 400 hand-selected artifacts from the museum’s collection of three million in its new five-story sky-lit atrium.

9. To be the first of 1,814 visitors (the year Francis Scott Key saw the flag fly over Ft. McHenry) through the doors. The lucky firsts will receive a special gift. Memorabilia fanatics, please don’t trample the kiddies.

8. To conduct an experiment with madman Steven Madewell, the new Spark!Lab’s “Resident Eccentric.”

7. To feel what it’s like to wear a corset. Really. Carts positioned throughout the museum will provide hands on learning. If corsets aren’t your thing, try using a cotton gin or copying a letter the way Jefferson did.

6. Did I mention the tchotchkes? Volunteers will be handing out mini Star-Spangled Banners.

5. To see if you have the gumption to take part in a Civil Rights era sit-in. Activist Samuel P. Leonard will be on hand to offer sit-in training sessions, based on a 1960s manual, several times a day.

4. To marvel at the four-story images from the collections—George Washington’s military uniform, Julia Child’s kitchen, the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz—that will be projected on the Mall-side of the museum after dark.

3. They are firing a War of 1812 cannon at the opening ceremony.

2. To hear Colin Powell read the Gettysburg Address.

And the Number One Reason to visit the National Museum of American History is: As if I need to say more, you’ll be one of the first to see the Star-Spangled Banner, in all its glory, presented in its new gallery. You can’t miss it. The climate-controlled gallery is marked by a 40 by 19 foot billowing flag of 960 shimmering tiles. Prepare to be amazed.

(Image courtesy of Richard Strauss/National Museum of American History)

All week long we’ve been writing about tomorrow’s grand reopening of the National Museum of American History, and now you can get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the building as it is transformed. Watch the above video to see the stark differences between the museum of old and today’s stunning transformation.

One story from a family of museum fans:

The Dubose Family

In 2006, the Dubose family from Largo, Maryland had been touring the American History museum on its last day before it was shuttered for its two-year, $85 million renovation. At closing time, the Smithsonian guards ordered the remaining stragglers to leave the building, but Mrs. Demetria Dubose had to make a quick visit to the ladies room. Thus she and her family earned an ignoble 15 minutes of fame, posing for posterity with the museum’s director Brent Glass.

“Two-years went by fast,” Demetria Dubose laughed as she told us the story at last weekend’s sneak-peek preview. The last-to-leave Duboses were invited back to be among the first to see the new museum. Looking around the place, Demetria marveled at the new atrium. “A wonderful infusion of old and new,” she declared, “very fresh and open.”

Steven Madewell’s official title is interpretive exhibits coordinator, but he prefers “Resident Eccentric,” a title he proudly points to on a badge he has pinned to his white lab coat.

When the National Museum of American History reopens on Friday, visitors are likely to find Madewell and Tricia Edwards, an education specialist and Spark!Lab’s creator and driving force, presiding over a festival of test tubes and cannon balls, slabs of wax and strings, kites and keys, and machines that whir and liquids that bubble and smoke. Their hangout is a fabulous new hands-on activity center called, Spark!Lab.

The new center is funded by the Lemelson for the Study of Invention and Innovation, dedicated to “exploring invention in history and encouraging inventive creativity in young people.”

Spark!Lab has got that nailed. A few days ago, Madman Madewell showed the ATM blog team around the lab and gave us a chemistry lesson on carbon dioxide. If this really gets you going, then check out Smithsonian.com’s new blog, Surprising Science, and head over to the Spark!Lab this weekend.

Check out the “O Say Can You See?” blog from the American History museum.

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz

For nearly 70 years the motion picture The Wizard of Oz has given faithful service to its evergreen fashion philosophy: there is nothing more important than owning the right pair of shoes.

Indeed, the ruby slippers were absolutely my “must-see” whenever I visited the Smithsonian. After a two-year vacation at the Air and Space Museum, I was among the first to see the shoes find their way home today, newly installed in the recently renovated Museum of American History, set to reopen November 21.

There they are, and there they’ll stay.

For the two people left in the world that do not know the story, Dorothy is transported to the Land of Oz by a cyclone and tries to get back home to Kansas with the help of three newfound friends and the magical powers of a pair of silver shoes.

The idea to change Dorothy’s footwear from silver to ruby for the 1939 movie came from Noel Langley, one of the three contributors to the film’s screenplay. This was most likely because red would look more striking against a yellow brick road than silver.

Adrian, head of MGM’s wardrobe department, developed several designs for the ruby slippers. The shoes were made in in the beading department, comprised of burgundy sequins (red sequins would register orange on film) applied on chiffon that was then affixed to a satin pump. After filming was completed, the shoes went into storage, lost among thousands of other costumes.

It was not until early 1970 that a pair of Garland’s ruby slippers was discovered. They were found wrapped in a towel and left in a bin in the basement of MGM’s Wardrobe Department. After some sorely needed cleaning, the shoes, used by Garland during dancing sequences, were auctioned in May of that year. They sold for $15,000 to a still-anonymous buyer who donated the shoes to the Smithsonian in 1979.

Curator Dwight Blocker Bowers says the shoes are a standout favorite for visitors because they represent fond memories of childhood and symbolize the basic mantra of Oz. “It’s the idea,” he says, “‘There’s no place like home’ and there is a warm place to cling to even if it’s a shared memory.”

Want to pump up your knowledge on these world-famous pumps? More after the jump! (More…)