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In this piece included in the Renwick Craft Invitational 2009—closing on January 3—artist Christyl Boger pairs an inflatable pool toy with the nude figure of a woman. Photo by Gene Young

With the new year almost here, we’re rounding up a list of exhibitions that close shortly after the calendar turns. So make a New Year’s resolution to see more art, learn more history and experience more culture, and get out to these shows before they close.

Renwick Gallery
Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009
Closes: 01/03/2010
This installation of the biannual invitational includes artists who work with ceramics, glass and even yarn. Read more about the artists and their work here.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection
Closes: 01/03/2010
This first-ever retrospective of Anne Truitt’s 50-year career displays both her iconic sculptures and her lesser-known drawing. For some pre-visit background, check out this in-depth look at her career as well as an Around the Mall piece about the exhibition’s opening.

Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle
World View: Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
Closes: 01/17/2010
Need some background? Read this post about the winning photographs.

National Portrait Gallery
Presidents in Waiting
Closes: 01/03/2010
This exhibition takes a look at the lives of 14 of our nation’s vice presidents who eventually became president, from John Adams to George H.W. Bush.

Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924
Closes: 01/24/2010
Get a feel for the types of personalities included in this photographic exhibition by reading this Around the Mall round-up.

Smithsonian American Art Museum
1934: A New Deal for Artists
Closes: 01/03/2010
In this post, the Around the Mall team ponders whether this exhibition about depression-era artists is a look into the past or a look into our future.

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Closes: 01/10/2010
The second in a series, this show displays works on paper from artists from the 1920s to the 1960s including Edward Hopper, Willem de Kooning and Andrew Wyeth.

The Honor of Your Company Is Requested: President Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball
Closes: 01/18/2010
This concentrated exhibit focuses on Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball held in 1865 just six weeks before his assassination.

What’s It All Mean: William T. Wiley in Retrospect
Closes: 01/24/2010
An intriguing exhibition that keeps revealing layer after layer of information. Read about artist William Wiley’s inaugural pinball game in the new exhibition as well as a Q&A.

National Air and Space Museum
Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World
Closes: 01/13/2010
Alan Bean flew worked for NASA for 18 years and was the fourth man to walk on the moon. He creates art using moon dust, moon boots and other lunar artifacts. Read an interview with the first astronaut-turned-artist here.

National Museum of American History
Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964
Closes: 01/03/2010
Leonard Nadal was hired in 1956 to document the entire day-to-day experience of the Bracero workers. To get a taste of the powerful images by Nadal, browse through our photo gallery.

National Museum of Natural History
Dig It! The Secrets of Soil
Closes: 01/03/2010
This long-running exhibition gets down and dirty with soil—which scientists say is a much-misunderstood but essential resource. Read about the exhibition’s opening here.

National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York City
Annie Pootoogook
Closes: 01/10/2010
This exhibition of Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook features 39 drawings that depict social, economic and cultural realities of northern Canada.

Andrea Carlson
Closes: 01/10/2010
This Minnesota-based artist’s work analyzes the meaning behind museums and their collections.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Falnama: The Book of Omens
Closes: 01/24/2010
The Falnama is a collection of illustrated manuscripts that sultans consulted for omens. Read a primer on the ancient book of secrets here.

S. Dillon Ripley Center, International Gallery
Accelerate: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25
Closes: 01/06/2010
This show displays works from 15 award-winning artists with disabilities—ranging in age from 16 to 25.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Design for a Living World
Closes: 01/04/2010
For this show, leading designers were given a natural material from a Nature Conservancy site. Isaac Mizrahi fashioned a dress out of Alaskan salmon skin. Check out Joseph Caputo’s magazine interview with Mizrahi.

Rob Plagmann and Naomi Walski embrace after Plagman proposes in the forensic lab at the National Museum of Natural History. Photo courtesy of the museum

The forensics lab at the National Museum of Natural History was the scene of an event that I suspect hasn’t happened in its history—a marriage proposal. Capt. Rob Plagmann, 30, a marine stationed in Quantico, Virginia, took his girlfriend of nine months Naomi Walski, 29, to the museum’s “Written in Bone” exhibit last Monday. Walski, whose background is in forensic biology, was visiting Plagmann for the holidays; she’s been living in Utsfunomiya, Japan, where she teaches English at a Japanese elementary school.

After viewing the exhibit, the two went to the anthropology department’s forensic lab—a visit prearranged by Plagmann. There, while Walski was being distracted by an intern, Plagmann slipped a custom-made slide under a microscope. He beckoned his girlfriend over to the microscope, and she peered in to read, “Naomi, I will love you forever. Will you marry me?” Plagmann got down on one knee, and Walski said “YES!”

“She was paralyzed with shock at first and then just ecstatic,” Plagmann says a day later.

In the microscope, a slide bears the question. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History

He had started planning the behind-the-scenes proposal in October, having to special order the laser-engraved microscope slide from a scientific device company in Illinois. But the tough part, says Plagmann, was tearing Walski away from the exhibit.

Afterwards, Douglas Owsley, head of the museum’s division of physical anthropology, gave the two a special tour of the museum’s mummy room, chock full of sarcophagi and Egyptian and North American mummies, and showed them forensic cases he is working on but hasn’t yet solved. (How romantic?)

“I just couldn’t believe how willing everyone at the Smithsonian was to jump on board and help,” says Plagmann. “It was unreal.”

Plagmann and Walski have not set a date for the wedding but say it has been the subject of much holiday discussion.

New Year's Eve (c. 1876). Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Monday, December 28: Kwanzaa Workshop Series: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

In this continuing series, come learn about the Kwanzaa principle of Ujima—collective work and responsibility—through an arts and crafts workshop. Free, but space is limited. To make a reservation, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Museum, 10:30 AM.

Tuesday, December 29: Dig It! Activities

Experience the Natural History Museum’s Dig It! exhibition a la carte! As you tour the show, keep an eye out for volunteers who will be stationed by carts carrying fun activities. They will be available to answer your questions as well as engage you in special, educational activities to enhance your experience of the exhibit. Free. Natural History Museum, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

Wednesday, December 30: Ask an Expert: The Hypersonic Aerodynamics of the X-15

In this mini-lecture, John Anderson from the museum’s Aeronautics Division discusses the hypersonic aerodynamics of the X-15, a rocket-powered research aircraft that bridged the gap between manned flight in the atmosphere and space flight. Free. Air and Space Museum, 12:00 PM

Thursday, December 31:

No special events today—at least none already hawked in this posting. Check out this site for a listing of regularly-scheduled fun at the museums or check out an IMAX movie. You can find IMAX listings here.

Friday, January 1: ZooLights

Happy New Year one and all! Ring in 2010 with the National Zoo’s ultimate electric light show. For children of all ages, a menagerie of LED light sculptures modeled after critters at the zoo will be on display. Tickets are required for visitors aged 2 and older and can be purchased at any National Zoo store, at the door (unless that day’s worth of tickets are sold out), or through Ticketmaster. This event runs from Friday through Sunday until December 13; between December 18 and January 2; but the Zoo occasionally closes for inclement weather. (Snow expected Saturday!) ZooLights occurs every night except December 24, 25 and 31. Tickets are $8 general admission; FONZ $5. National Zoo, 6-8:30 PM.

32 Cent Kwanzaa Single. Image courtesy of the Postal Museum.

Saturday, December 26: Kwanzaa Workshop Series: Umoja (Unity)

Today starts the first day of Kwanzaa—a six-day celebration that honors African heritage and culture—and you can observe the holiday at the Anacostia Museum. Come enjoy a hands-on musical workshop led by world renowned  music historian Brother Ah who will explore the principle of unity through musical instruments. Free, but space is limited. To make a reservation, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Museum, 10:30 AM.

Sunday, December 27: American Indian Museum Holiday Programs

Enjoy a family friendly day rife with American Indian artistry with this program of short films and musical entertainment. All events are free and take place at the American Indian Museum. Times are provided below:

11:30 AM: Film: Wapos Bay: The Hunt

In this episode of the award-winning Canadian animated television series that takes a look at modern aboriginal life in Saskatchewan, Grandfather leads a search for a wounded moose and her calf.

12:30 PM: Performance

Composer and flutist Ron Warren, vocalist Janice Torres and guitarist Lenny Stevens perform a striking mix of traditional and contemporary music.

2:30 PM: Film: Wapos Bay: All’s Fair
In this episode, T-Bear meets a new rival at school and suddenly has to compete for his spot as top athlete (Rasmuson Theater).

3:30 PM: Performance: Composer and flutist Ron Warren, vocalist Janice Torres and guitarist Lenny Stevens perform a striking mix of traditional and contemporary music.

Decked out for the holidays, the Smithsonian Castle grounds are festive . Photograph by Eric Long

Twas the Night Before Christmas

and here on the Mall,

Not a creature is stirring in the museum’s vast halls

Full of objects and trinkets selected with care

By curators hoping you’d all soon be there.

Alas and alack, one day of the year,

The Smithsonian closes. But don’t shed a tear—

The day after Christmas the doors will swing wide

To let you all in. But until then, enjoy a few slides.

(Well really, they’re photos–you know what we mean)

Of gardens and buildings that look really keen

They’re all gussied up for the holiday season.

We’re pretty darn sure you’ll find them appeasing.