June 30, 2011
Weekend Events July 1-3: Air and Space Museum’s 35th Birthday, Babe Ruth and Cave temples of China
To Fly, showing this weekend at the Air and Space Museum
Friday July 1 Celebration! Air and Space Turns 35!
This Friday marks the 35th Anniversary of the National Air and Space Museum. Help celebrate this birthday in style throughout the museum by coming for a visit between 10 and 7:30. Stop by the Lockheed Martin IMAX theater for a special treat. To Fly!, the IMAX movie that premiered on the opening day of Air and Space, is playing once again for the anniversary. But that’s not all, the tickets are being offered at 1976 prices, 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. The film starts at 11:20 and will be shown throughout the day until 2. Then at 2, meet the curators Michael Neufeld and Alex Spencer as they discuss the history of the Air and Space Museum and also sign copies of Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography. This book tells the story of the museum and collections from the museum’s opening days until the present time. Come by and wish the Air and Space Museum a happy birthday!
Saturday July 2 Portrait Story
Baseball is the American past time so why not spend your Saturday learning about one baseball’s greats? Swing by the Portrait Gallery‘s Education Center from 1 to 4, and listen to a story about legend Babe Ruth’s influence on American history and culture. The Great Bambino became one of the major league’s greatest hitters, helping the Yankees win seven pennants and four World Series. After you have had your fill of Babe Ruth, make your own souvenir by creating a special piece of art. This free event is on a drop-in basis and is recommended for adults and children ages five and up.
Sunday July 3 Explore the Caves of Xiangtangshan!
Spend your Sunday immersed in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery with a free tour of Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan. Meet at the Sackler information desk at 1, then journey with your guide through the cave temples of Xiangtangshan in the innovative exhibition consisting of both ancient Chinese sculpture and digital components. Take in the sixth-century Chinese Buddhist sculpture, via 3D imaging, and explore one of the most important groups of Buddhist devotional sites in medieval China. Marvel at the video installation’s kinetic re-creation of one of the largest stone temples in Chinese history, then head to research kiosks to gather more detailed information about the exhibit. After you tour, be sure to check out the other exhibits the Sackler has to offer.
For a complete listing of Smithsonian Institution events and exhibits go to the GoSmithsonian Visitors Guide.
A New Exhibition Features the Work of Smithsonian Staffers
Richmond 2010 by Molly Roberts
I went over to visit the new exhibition, “Artists at Work” while the Smithsonian Summer Camp was in session. The sound of kid’s voices rang through the gallery in the S. Dillon Ripley Center, and when I peeked into one of the rooms, the children were creating art of their own. It was the perfect backdrop for a show that features art handcrafted by the staff who work at the Smithsonian Institution—research fellows, curators, interns, security guards and docents.
The exhibition of paintings, sculpture, wearable art, photographs and prints made by 63 staffers was selected from 186 entries put before a team of jurors: Barbara Johnson, the founder and artistic director of the Art Works studio School in Mount Rainier, Maryland; Dennis B. O’Neil, a professor and head of the fine arts department at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and Walter Kravitz, a gallery director and professor of painting and drawing at George Mason University.
Much of the work is inspired by current events, like the painting Blu by intern Fulvia Ciarla, which recalls the devastation of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Others reflect on the work that is done at the Smithsonian, like Jody Mussoff, who works in the Smithsonian Libraries and whose ceramic piece entitled Woman with Bird is inspired by the “vast array of images I come across in my work.” And there are some wonderful surprises: a quilted “Homage to the Hubble: 1″ by Joan Stogis, a volunteer for the Smithsonian Associates; a diptych, “Celestial Speculations” by intern Jenna Swift, for the Folklife and Cultural Heritage Center; and an elegantly crafted cigar box guitar by volunteer Steven Noel for the Natural History Museum.
We’re please to note that an image by Smithsonian magazine photo editor Molly Roberts is among the 63 works in the exhibition.
Roberts, a photographer at the Washington Post before she joined Smithsonian, recalls that she shot the picture entitled Richmond 2010 while strolling, camera at the ready, through the Virginia capital one fall afternoon. As she rounded a corner in the arts district near Carytown, Roberts says, ”I happened upon these metallic arms akimbo, apparently drying for future use in an assemblage or art project and it made me smile. That’s the moment I’m sharing by making and exhibiting this image.”
Roberts spends her days making assignments to Smithsonian‘s award-winning team of freelance photojournalists, who travel the world for the magazine. Each year, she edits thousands of images to select the visuals that illustrate the magazine. Yet Roberts still finds time to pursue her own art. “My goal is to photograph daily. I carry a purse camera just to be prepared. My photography is an essential part of my life.”
“Artists at Work: The Smithsonian Community Art Exhibition,” is on view in the S. Dillon Ripley Center through October 2.
June 30: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival
Welcome to the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival! Each morning of the festival,
The tents go up for the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Julie Mianecki.
Around the Mall will publish a list of events to help you navigate the National Mall and get the most out of your visit. This year’s event features three themes: Colombia, the Peace Corps and rhythm and blues music. Come celebrate summer with ten days of food, music, dancing, storytelling, culture and more on June 30, July 1-4 and July 7-11. Visit the National Mall today, June 30, and get a lesson in the tango, learn about what Peace Corps volunteers do, and watch the Funk Brothers perform. At night, join in on a Soul Train dance party!
COLOMBIA
Al Son Que Me Toquen Stage:
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:30 PM Don Abundio y sus Traviesos
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Aires del Campo
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Grupo Cabrestero
2:00 PM–2:45 PM El Pueblo Canta
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Chirimía la Contundencia
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Aires del Campo
4:15 PM–5:00 PM El Pueblo Canta
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Salsa de Cali
El Rumbiadero Stage:
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:30 PM Salsa Workshop
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Carranguera Music &Dance Workshop
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Tango Workshop/Circus Wworkshop
2:00 PM–2:45 PM Carnival Workshop
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Regional Songs & Voice Workshop
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Tango Workshop
4:15 PM–5:30 PM Pacific Music Workshop: Marimba, Chírimía, Alabaos
Me Contaron Los Abuelos Stage:
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:30 PM Cowboy Stories
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Ranching & Fishing
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Ceremonial Music & Dance at Amazonian Circle
2:00 PM–2:45 PM Transportation in the Coffee Region
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Andean & Pacific Crafts
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Urban Artistic Alternatives
4:15 PM–5:00 PM Macetas: Decorating with Candy
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Regional Drinks
Sabores y Saberes Stage:
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Antioqueño Beans
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Regional Candy
2:00 PM–2:45 PM Baked Regional Beans
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Beverage Traditions
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Onces Santafereñas
4:15 PM–5:00 PM Macetas: Decorating with Candy
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Regional Drinks
THE PEACE CORPS
World Stage
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–1:00 PM Garifuna Collective featuring Umalali
1:00 PM–2:00 PM Opika Performance Group from Ukraine
2:00 PM–3:00 PM Tinikling Dancers from Philippines
3:00 PM–4:00 PM San Dancers from Botswana
4:00 PM–5:00 PM Garifuna Collective featuring Umalali
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Opika from Ukraine
Peace Porch
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:30 PM Thinking Globally, Living Locally
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Sharing the United States with the World
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Sharing the World with the United States
2:00 PM–2:45 PM What Peace Corps Volunteers Do
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Being “The American”
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Peace Corps Families
4:15 PM–5:00 PM Capturing the Peace Corps Experience
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Life After Peace Corps
Home Cooking Stage
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:30 PM Ukrainian Cooking
12:30 PM–1:15 PM Filipino Cooking
1:15 PM–2:00 PM Ghanaian Cooking
2:00 PM–2:45 PM Malian Cooking
2:45 PM–3:30 PM Jamaican Cooking
3:30 PM–4:15 PM Moroccan Cooking
4:15 PM–5:00 PM Kyrgyz Cooking
5:00 PM–5:30 PM Just Desserts
RHYTHM AND BLUES
Session Stage
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–12:45 PM Social Dance
12:45 PM–1:30 PM Keeping the Legacy Alive
1:30 PM–2:15 PM Learning through Music
2:15 PM–3:00 PM Getting the Music Heard
3:00 PM–3:45 PM R&B through the Decades
3:45 PM–4:30 PM Interview with Shirley Jones
4:30 PM–5:30 PM R&B through the Decades
Soulsville Stage
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–1:05 PM Swamp Dogg
1:05 PM–2:10 PM Shirley Jones of The Jones Girls
2:10 PM–3:15 PM Swamp Dogg
3:15 PM–4:20 PM Nat Dove
4:20 PM–5:30 PM Stax Music Academy
Motor City Stage
11:00 AM–12:00 PM Opening Ceremony
12:00 PM–1:05 PM Sonny Til’s Orioles
1:05 PM–2:10 PM The Funk Brothers
2:10 PM–3:15 PM National Hand Dance Association
3:15 PM–4:20 PM Sonny Til’s Orioles
4:20 PM–5:30 PM The Funk Brothers
EVENING CONCERTS
Motor City Stage
6:00 PM–9:00 PM An Evening with Soul Train and Dance Party
June 29, 2011
The List: Six Things You Didn’t Know About the Air and Space Museum on its 35th Anniversary
The S.S. Pussiewillow II, a kinetic sculpture by Rowland Emett. Image courtesy of Tom Crouch, National Air and Space Museum.
This Friday, the National Air and Space Museum will celebrate its 35th anniversary. Since it opened on July 1, 1976, the museum has been home home to the world’s largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft and is the Smithsonian Institution’s most-visited, having hosted a grand total of 303,674,128 visitors. At the ribbon cutting ceremony that summer day, President Gerald Ford called it “a perfect birthday present from the American people to themselves.” To commemorate the museum’s anniversary, we compiled a list of five cool things you might not have known about the much-loved Air and Space Museum.
1) In 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 722, establishing the National Air Museum, the predecessor to the Air and Space Museum. The museum’s collections were interspersed between the Arts and Industries building and various other locations until Congress appropriated the money to construct the current Air and Space Museum, which finally opened in 1976.
2) One of the most peculiar objects at Air and Space is no longer on display. An electric, moving sculpture called the S.S. Pussiewillow II, the piece was created by British artist Rowland Emett. It has been in storage for about 20 years, but people still call and ask about it, said senior curator Tom Crouch. “It was life-size, and it moved—it whirled, it clicked, it lit up. It was wonderful, it was supposed to be a whimsical kind of spaceship,” Crouch said. “We had to take it off exhibit because we had a power problem and a minor fire. It’s been in storage forever now, but people, even now, are still asking about Pussiewillow II.”
3) The 1976 ribbon-cutting began in true Air and Space fashion—with a signal from outer space. The Viking 1 spacecraft, which was in orbit around Mars at the time, sent a signal to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. That signal was then relayed to Washington, D.C., where it activated a mechanical arm that cut the ribbon in half. (But just in case it didn’t go as planned, museum officials did have a pair of scissors on hand.)
4) The Air and Space Museum is more than just a collection of exhibits and artifacts–museum scientists are involved in research and exploration both about Earth and the solar system. According to program manager Priscilla Strain, Smithsonian scientist John Grant is a part of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, the team that directed the Mars rovers “Spirit” and “Opportunity.”
Michael Collins stands in front of the steel skeleton of the new National Air and Space Museum in July 1974. Image courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum.
5) Many museum employees bring real-world—or real-space—experience to the job. Two years after piloting the Apollo 11 command module and orbiting the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took those first famous steps on the moon, in 1971, astronaut Michael Collins became the museum’s third director. Under his tenure, the museum consolidated its collections and moved into its current building on the National Mall.
6) Thirteen of the Air and Space’s original employees are still employed at the museum today, 35 years later. Among them are Priscilla Strain and Tom Crouch, the mastermind behind the June reenactment of Civil War ballooning on the National Mall.
The National Air and Space Museum will celebrate its birthday on July 1 from 10 to 7:30. You can also read and share memories of the museum and see a timeline of its history online.
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers @ the Hirshhorn
Film still from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). Courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum, SI
You want camp? You got it! But don’t delay, kids. The final film of the Hirshhorn’s “Summer Camp: Sauceriferous” film series, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, the 1956 “classic,” will be showing tomorrow night at the Ring Auditorium at 7:00. Plus they’ll be giving out the last of the glow-in-the-dark Sauceriferous Frisbees!!! And yes, I did just use three exclamation points!
So what’s this movie about? Aliens, baby. And misunderstanding. Kind of like an episode of Three’s Company, minus Jack Tripper, but with laser beams. Basically, there’s an initial alien saucer visitation that goes awry–a “meet-cute” of sorts that ends up in death rays and destruction. Then the aliens come back with a bunch of their friends and invade, attacking five of the world’s largest cities. And it’s up to Hugh Marlowe’s character to stop them.
And how did the world feel about the Earth vs. the Flying Saucers back when it was released? It seems as though the film might have been exhibiting camp tendencies back in 1956, too. “If I have to see many more of these idiotic items,” panned the Chicago Tribune movie critic upon the film’s release, “I’m going to be in the market for a handy portable disintegrator myself.” Ahhhh…Camp at first sight.
