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• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Smithsonian Museums in the Washington D.C.
• 1. Smithsonian Institution
• 1.1 History
• 1.1.2 Interesting facts
• 1.2 Administration
• 1.3 Smithsonian museums Washington, D.C.
• 2. Smithsonian Institution Building
• 2.1 History
• 2.2 Description
• 2.3 Current use
• 3. National Air and Space Museum
• 3.1 Collections
• 3.1.1 The Object Collection
• 3.1.2 Archival Collections
• 3.2 Architecture
• 3.3 History
• 3.3.1 Controversies
• 3.4 Directors
• 3.5 In popular media
• 4. National Museum of American History
• 4.1 History
• 4.1.1 Renovation
• 4.2 Layout
• 4.2.1 First floor
• 4.2.2 Second floor
• 4.2.3 Third floor
• 4.3 Archives
• 4.4 Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
• 4.5 Past Exhibits
• 5. National Museum of the American Indian
• 5.1 History
• 5.1.1 National Mall
• 5.1.2 George Gustav Heye Center
• 5.2 Collection
• 5.3 Museum director
• 5.4 Museum architect
• 5.5 Magazine
• 6. National Museum of Natural History
• 6.1 History
• 6.2 Features
• 6.2.1 Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
• 6.2.2 Hall of Human Origins
• 6.2.3 Dinosaurs/Hall of Paleobiology
• 6.2.4 Hall of Mammals
• 6.2.5 Insect Zoo
• 6.2.6 Ocean Hall
• 6.2.7 African Voices
• 6.2.8 Butterflies + Plants: Partners In Evolution
• 6.2.9 Western Cultures Hall
• 6.2.10 Korea Gallery
• 6.2.11 Osteology: Hall of Bones
• 6.3 In popular culture
• 7. National Gallery of Art
• 7.1 History
• 7.2 Buildings
• 7.3 Collection
• 7.4 Operations
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• 

Introduction

What is a Museum? American museums are infinitely diverse. The United States is rich in its historic places which link the present with the past. Washington D.C. is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The world famous Smithsonian Institution is also located in the District.

A museum is a stock of the world's masterpieces, it is the place, where you can enrich knowledge, you can look at the achievements of mankind, you can satisfy your aesthetic taste. Museums give the possibility to be always in touch with the past and every time discover something new for yourself.

Besides, museums play an important role in the life of any nation. A museum is just the right place to find out lots of interesting things about history, traditions and habits of different peoples. One may find in museums papers, photos, books, scripts, works of art, personal things of famous people etc.

All this helps us to better understand historical events, scientific discoveries, character and deeds of well-known personalities.

I think museums somehow effect the formation of personality, his outlook.

Every educated person is sure to understand the great significance of museums in our life, especially nowadays, when after the humdrum of everyday life you may go to your favourite museum, relax there with your body and soul and acquire inner harmony and balance.

Now I want to write about the Smithsonian museums, about their history and their collections. Our aim is to investigate these museums and analyze not only their outside features but inside too.

The results of the paper can be used in Cultural and Country studies.

This work consists of: Introduction, 1 Chapter, Conclusion and the list of literature.

national museum gallery

Chapter 1. Smithsonian Museums in the Washington D.C.

1. Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution (pronounced /sm??so?ni?n/ )is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities and magazines. While most of its 19 museums, zoo, and nine research centers facilities are located in Washington, D.C., sites are also located in New York City, Virginia, Panama, and elsewhere. It has over 136 million items in its collections [7], publishes two magazines named Smithsonian (monthly) and Air & Space (bimonthly). The Institution's current logo is a stylized sun. The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum complex in the world.

1.1 History

The Smithsonian Institution was founded for the "increase and diffusion" of knowledge from a bequest to the United States by the British scientist James Smithson (1765-1829), who never visited the new nation. In Smithson's will, he stated that should his nephew, Henry James Hungerford, die without heirs, the Smithson estate would go to the government of the United States for creating an "Establishment for the increase & diffusion of Knowledge among men". After the nephew died without heirs in 1835, President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the bequest, which amounted to 104,960 gold sovereigns, or US$500,000 ($10,100,997 in 2008 U.S. dollars after inflation). The money was invested in shaky state bonds, which quickly defaulted. After heated debate in Congress, former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued to restore the lost funds with interest [15]. Congress also debated whether the federal government had the authority to accept the gift. Congress accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. Many of the Institution's buildings are historical and architectural landmarks.

Though the Smithsonian's first Secretary, Joseph Henry, wanted the Institution to be a center for scientific research, before long it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 samples, shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from the South Pacific. These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West, including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys, which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens.

The Institution became a magnet for natural scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club. Many scientists of a variety of disciplines work at the various Smithsonian museums, which have become centers for research.

1.1.2 Interesting facts

· The asteroid 3773 Smithsonian, discovered in 1984, is named in honor of the Institution.

· The 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was the first commercial production to be given rights to use the Smithsonian Institution's name.

1.2 Administration

The Smithsonian Institution is established as a trust instrumentality by act of Congress, and it is functionally and legally a body of the federal government. More than two-thirds of the Smithsonian's workforce of some 6,300 persons are employees of the federal government. The Smithsonian is represented by attorneys from the United States Department of Justice in litigation, and any money judgments against the Smithsonian are paid from the federal treasury.

The legislation that created the Smithsonian Institution (approved by Congress August 10, 1846) called for the creation of a Board of Regents to govern and administer the organization. This 17-member board meets at least four times a year and includes as ex officio members the Chief Justice of the United States and the Vice President of the United States. The nominal head of the Institution is the Chancellor, an office which has traditionally been held by the Chief Justice. In September 2007, the Board created the position of Chair of the Board of Regents, a position held by Patricia Q. Stonesifer of Washington State.[4]

1.3 Smithsonian museums Washington, D.C.

· Anacostia Community Museum

· Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Mall Museum)

· Arts and Industries Building (Mall Museum)

· Freer Gallery of Art (Mall Museum)

· Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Mall Museum)

· National Air and Space Museum (Mall Museum)

· National Museum of African American History and Culture (not yet built)

· National Museum of African Art (Mall Museum)

· National Museum of American History (Mall Museum)

· National Museum of the American Indian (Mall Museum)

· National Museum of Natural History (Mall Museum)

· National Portrait Gallery

· National Postal Museum

· S. Dillon Ripley Center (Mall Museum)

· Smithsonian American Art Museum

· Smithsonian Folkways

· Smithsonian Institution Building

· Smithsonian National Zoological Park (National Zoo)

· The National Gallery of Art is affiliated with the Smithsonian, and is run by a separate charter.

In addition, there are 156 museums that are Smithsonian affiliates.[7]

2. Smithsonian Institution Building

The Smithsonian Castle, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. The building is constructed of red Seneca sandstone in the faux Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs) and is appropriately nicknamed The Castle. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[23] Picture 1. The Smithsonian Castle

2.1 History

The Castle was the first Smithsonian building, begun in 1847 by architect James Renwick, Jr., whose other works include St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, also in Washington D.C. Renwick was selected by a unanimous vote following a design competition in 1846. A cardboard model of Renwick's successful design survives. Renwick was assisted by Robert Mills, particularly in the internal arrangement of the building.[33]

Initially intended to be built in white marble, then in yellow sandstone,[4] the architect and committee finally settled on red Seneca sandstone from the vicinity of Seneca Creek in Montgomery County, Maryland. The sandstone was substantially less expensive than granite or marble, and while initially easy to work, was found to harden to a satisfactory degree on exposure to the elements. The East Wing was completed in 1849 and occupied by Secretary Joseph Henry and his family. The West Wing was completed later the same year. A structural collapse of partly completed work in 1850 raised questions of workmanship and resulted in a change to fireproof construction. The exterior was completed in 1851. By 1852 Renwick's work was completed and he withdrew from further participation. Gilbert Cameron took over responsibility for interior work, and all work was finally completed in 1855. [33]

Despite the upgraded construction, a fire in 1865 caused extensive damage, destroying the correspondence of James Smithson, Henry's files, two hundred oil paintings of American Indians by J.M. Stanley, and the contents of the public libraries of Alexandria, Virginia and Beaufort, South Carolina, confiscated by Union forces during the American Civil War. The ensuing renovation was undertaken by local Washington architect Adolph Cluss in 1865-67. Further fireproofing work ensued in 1883, also by Cluss, who by this time had designed the neighboring Arts and Industries Building. A third and fourth floor were added to the East Wing, and a third floor to the West Wing. Electric lighting was installed in 1895. [23]

Around 1900 the wooden floor of the Great Hall was replaced with terrazzo and a Children's Museum was installed near the south entrance. A tunnel connected to the Arts and Industries Building. A general renovation took place in 1968-70 to install modern electrical systems, elevators and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. [33]

2.2 Description

The Castle was designed by Renwick as the focal point of a picturesque landscape on the Mall, using elements from Georg Moller's Denkmaler der deutschen Baukunst. Renwick originally intended to detail the building with entirely American sculptural flora in the manner of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's work at the United States Capitol, but the final work used conventional pattern-book designs.[19]

The building is completed in the Gothic Revival style with Romanesque motifs. This style was chosen to evoke the Collegiate Gothic in England and the idea of knowledge and wisdom. The facade is built with red sandstone from Seneca, Maryland in contrast to the marble and granite from the other major buildings in Washington DC.

The building comprises a central section, two extensions or ranges, and two wings. Four towers contain occupiable space, while five smaller towers are primarily decorative, although some contain stairs. As constructed, the central section contained the main entry and museum space (now the Great Hall), with a basement beneath and a large lecture room above. Two galleries on the second floor were used to display artifacts and art. This area is now the Visitor's Information and Associates' Reception area. The East Range contained laboratory space on the first floor and research space on the second. The East Wing contained storage space on the first floor and a suite of rooms on the second as an apartment for the Secretary of the Smithsonian. This space is currently used as administrative offices and archives. The West Range was one story and used as a reading room. The West Wing, known as the chapel, was used as a library.[23] The West Wing and Range are now used as a quiet room for visitors to go.

On the exterior, the principal tower on the south side is 91 feet (28 m) high and 37 feet (11 m) square. On the north side there are two towers, the taller on 145 feet (44 m) tall. A campanile at the northeast corner is 17 feet (5.2 m) square and 117 feet (36 m) tall. [33]

2.3 Current use

The Smithsonian Castle houses all the administrative offices of the Smithsonian. The main Smithsonian visitor center is also located here, with interactive displays and maps. Computers electronically answer most common questions. A crypt just inside the north entrance houses the tomb of James Smithson.[7]

3. National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world.[6] It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history, and science of aviation and spaceflight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics.[6] Almost all space and aircraft on display are originals or backups to the originals. Picture 5. The National Air and Space Museum

It is the second-most popular [40] of the Smithsonian museums and operates an annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at Dulles International Airport. The museum currently conducts restoration of its collection at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

The National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of original, historic artifacts on display, including the Wright 1903 Flyer; the Spirit of St. Louis; the Apollo 11 command module Columbia; and a Lunar rock sample that visitors can touch.

http://www.nasm.si.edu/imagedetail.cfm?imageID=205The Museum offers 22 exhibition galleries, the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, flight simulators, a three-level Museum shop, and a food-court-style restaurant. Docent tours, daily free educational programs, and school group tours and activities are also available. http://www.nasm.si.edu/imagedetail.cfm?imageID=1065A dramatic recreation of the meteorite impact that hastened the end of the Age of Dinosaurs 65 million years ago is a highlight of the planetarium show "Cosmic Collisions." The Albert Einstein Planetarium presents two shows daily: Cosmic Collisions launches visitors on a thrilling trip through space in a spectacular immersive theater experience. The Stars Tonight offers a relaxing journey through the current night sky. A favorite gallery for children is How Things Fly - the place for hands-on action including fascinating science demonstrations; paper airplane contests; and 50 exciting interactive devices.

Experience the early history of the airplane - from some of the earliest notions of flying through the first decade of powered flight - in the Early Flight gallery. Visitors can get a close-up view of the original 1903 Wright Flyer and 170 other related artifacts in The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age. After the exhibition closes, the Flyer will be returned to its usual hanging position in the Milestones of Flight gallery.

3.1 Collections

The National Air and Space Museum is best known for its collection of rare and historically significant aircraft and spacecraft. The object collection also includes a wide variety of objects large and small, including engines, medals, trophies, instruments and equipment, models, artwork, spacesuits, uniforms and more. Altogether, the collection includes more than 30,000 aviation and 9,000 space objects. Only a small portion of these objects are on display to the public, while the remaining are in storage or on loan.

3.1.1 The Object Collection

The National Air and Space Museum holds in trust some 50,000 artifacts. Historic aircraft and space artifacts, such as the Wright 1903 Flyer and the Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia", highlight the national collection. Thousands of additional artifacts--including engines, rockets, uniforms, spacesuits, balloons, artwork, documents, manuscripts and photographs--document the richness of the history of flight, at home and around the world. A wide variety of these artifacts are on display at the National Mall building and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

3.1.2 Archival Collections

The Museum's archival collections include photographs, manuscripts, technical drawings, documents, film and oral histories spanning the history of flight from ancient times to the present day. Reference services are available. See the Archives Division for more information.

3.2 Architecture

Because of the museum's close proximity to the United States Capitol, the Smithsonian wanted a building that would be architecturally impressive but would not stand out too boldly against the Capitol building. St. Louis-based architect Gyo Obata of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum accepted the challenge and designed the museum as four simple marble-encased cubes containing the smaller and more theatrical exhibits, connected by three spacious steel-and-glass atria which house the larger exhibits such as missiles, airplanes and spacecraft. The mass of the museum echoes the National Gallery of Art across the National Mall, and uses the same pink Tennessee marble as the National Gallery. [6] Built by Gilbane Building Company, the museum was completed in 1976. The west glass wall of the building is used for the installation of airplanes, functioning as a giant door.

3.3 History

The National Air Museum (NAM) was created as a separate bureau of the Smithsonian Institution by an Act of Congress on 12 August 1946. Twenty years later, its name was changed to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) as part of a congressional act authorizing a separate building to house its collections, which opened to the public on July 1, 1976.

The National Air and Space Museum collection dates back to the closing of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia when the Smithsonian received a group of kites from the Chinese Imperial Commission. In 1889, the Stringfellow engine became the first object accessioned into the collection. After the establishment of the museum, there was no one building that could hold all the items to be displayed. Some pieces were on display in the Arts and Industries Building, some were stored in a shed in the Smithsonian's South Yard that came to be known as the Air and Space Building, and the larger missiles and rockets were displayed outdoors in Rocket Row. The combination of the large numbers of aircraft donated to the Smithsonian after World War II and the need for hangar and factory space for the Korean War drove the Smithsonian to look for its own facility to store and restore aircraft. The current Garber Facility was ceded to the Smithsonian by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1952 after the curator Paul E. Garber spotted the wooded area from the air.

Bulldozers from Fort Belvoir and prefabricated buildings from the United States Navy kept the initial costs low. The space race in the 1950s and 1960s led to the renaming of the museum to the National Air and Space Museum, and finally congressional passage of appropriations for the construction of the new exhibition hall, which opened July 1, 1976 at the height of the United States Bicentennial festivities. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opened in 2003, funded by a private donation. The museum will receive several artifacts, including a former camera, that were removed from the Hubble Space Telescope and returned to Earth after Space Shuttle mission STS-125.

The museum also holds the backup mirror for the Hubble which, unlike the one that was launched, was ground to the correct shape. There were once plans for it to receive the Hubble itself, but plans to return it to Earth were scrapped after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003; the mission was re-considered as too risky. The Smithsonian has also been promised the International Cometary Explorer, which is currently in a solar orbit that occasionally brings it back to Earth, should NASA attempt to recover it.

3.3.1 Controversies

Controversy erupted in 1994 over a proposed commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan. The centerpiece of the exhibit was the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the A-bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Veterans' groups, backed by some congressmen, argued strongly that the exhibit's inclusion of Japanese accounts and photographs of victims insulted U.S. airmen. [6] Also disputed was the predicted number of fatal US casualties that would have resulted from an invasion of Japan, had that been necessary. In the end, the museum's director, Martin O. Harwit, was forced to resign, and the exhibit was radically reduced to “the most diminished display in Smithsonian history." [40]

3.4 Directors

Carl W. Mitman was the first head of the museum, under the title of Assistant to the Secretary for the National Air Museum, heading the museum from 1946 until his retirement from the Smithsonian in 1952. [6]

3.5 In popular media

· The main National Air and Space Museum makes an appearance in the Percy Jackson novel The Titan's Curse, where the quest members are attacked by the Nemean Lion while in the museum, destroying several exhibits.

· The Air and Space Museum was used as part of the setting in the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, but the film was actually shot in Vancouver.

· The Air and Space Museum that is in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, where Sam, Mikaela, Wheelie and Agent Simmons woke up Jetfire in SR-71 Blackbird mode, is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center branch facility at Dulles International Airport.

· The Air and Space Museum is a playable level in the video game Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.

4. National Museum of American History

The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's chair. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution and located in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall.

4.1 History

The museum first opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology. The building was one of the last structures designed by renowned architectural firm McKim Mead & White. In 1980, the museum was renamed The National Museum of American History to better represent a refocused mission: the collection, care, study, and interpretation of objects that reflect the experience of the American people.

4.1.1 Renovation

The museum underwent an $85 million renovation from September 5, 2006 to November 21, 2008, [29] during which time it was closed.[2] Skidmore, Owings and Merrill provided the architecture and interior design services for the renovation. [25] Major changes made during the renovation include:

· A new, five-story sky-lit atrium that is surrounded by displays of artifacts that showcase the breadth of the museum's collection.

· A new, grand staircase that links the museum's first and second floors.

· A new welcome center, as well as the addition of six landmark objects to help orient visitors.

· New galleries such as the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Hall of Invention.

· A new home for the Star-Spangled Banner that protects the flag in an environmentally-controlled chamber.

4.2 Layout

Each wing of the museum's three exhibition floors is anchored by a landmark object--a large, significant artifact that highlights the theme of that wing. Landmark objects include the John Bull locomotive, the 1865 Vassar Telescope, the Greensboro lunch counter, George Washington Statue, a Red Cross ambulance and a Dumbo ride car.

Artifact walls consisting of 275 feet (84 m) of glass-fronted cases line the first and second floor center core. The artifact walls are organized around themes including: arts; popular culture; business, work and economy; home and family; community; land and natural resources; peopling American; politics and reform; science; medicine; technology; and America's role in the world.

4.2.1 First floor

The exhibitions in the East Wing of the first floor focus on transportation and technology and include "America on the Move" and "Lighting a Revolution." The John Bull locomotive is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

The exhibitions in the West Wing of the first floor address science and innovation. They include "Science in American Life featuring Robots on the Road" and "Bon Appetit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian" as well as the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation's newest hands-on space, "Spark!Lab." The Vassar Telescope is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

A cafe and the main museum store are also located on the first floor.

4.2.2 Second floor

The exhibitions in the east wing of the second floor consider American ideals and include the Albert Small Documents Gallery featuring rotating exhibitions. From November 21, 2008 through January 4, 2009 an original copy of the Gettysburg Address, on loan from the White House, was on display. The Greensboro lunch counter is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

Located in the center of the second floor is the original Star Spangled Banner Flag which inspired Francis Scott Key's poem. The newly conserved flag, the centerpiece of the renovated museum, is displayed in a climate-controlled room at the heart of the museum.

The exhibitions in the west wing of the second floor are focused on American lives and include "Within These Walls..." and "Communities in a Changing Nation: The Promise of 19th-century America." The George Washington statue, created in 1841 for the centennial of Washington's birthday, is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

4.2.3 Third floor

The exhibitions in the east wing on the third floor are focused on American wars and politics and include "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War" and "The Gunboat Philadelphia." The Clara Barton Red Cross ambulance is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

The center of the third floor presents "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden," an exhibition that explores the personal and public lives of the 43 different men who have held that office.

The exhibitions in the west wing of the third floor are focused on entertainment, sports and music and include "Thanks for the Memories: Music, Sports and Entertainment History," the Hall of Musical Instruments and "The Dolls' House." A Dumbo ride car is the signature artifact for this section of the museum.

4.3 Archives

In support of the museum's mission, the Archives Center identifies, acquires, and preserves significant archival records in many media and formats to document America's history and its diverse cultures. Center staff arrange, describe, preserve, and make collections accessible in support of scholarship, exhibitions, publications, and education.

The Archives Center occupies over 12,000 feet (3,700 m) of shelving in the National Museum of American History building. Subject strengths include the history of radio, television, the telegraph, computing, and other aspects of the history of technology with a special interest in the history of invention; advertising, marketing, and entrepreneurship; commercial visual ephemera (post cards, greeting cards); American music (sheet music, jazz) and musical instruments. These, and a wide range of other subjects, are documented in business records, personal papers, and extensive holdings of motion picture film, video and sound recordings, historical photographs, and oral histories.

4.4 Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation

The Lemelson Center produces educational programs, popular and academic publications, exhibitions, podcasts and symposia about invention. The mission of the Lemelson Center is to document, interpret and disseminate information about invention and innovation, encourage inventive creativity in young people and foster an appreciation for the central role of invention and innovation in the history of the United States. The Center frequently provides a multi-year focus on some aspect of how invention has influence American society, such as its 2002 "Invention and the Environment" theme. Programs include a yearly symposium, presentations and guest speakers within and outside the National Museum of American History and often the publication of a book detailing aspects of the topical focus. The Center also provides free curricular material to classrooms through the United States, organizes traveling museum exhibitions (such as "Invention at Play"), provides research opportunities and fellowships for scholars, and finds, obtains and process archival collections related to invention on behalf of the museum's Archives Center. These collections consist of the papers and materials that document the work of past and current American inventors.

4.5 Past Exhibits

· "24 Hours in Cyberspace" - unveiled on January 23, 1997, this exhibit celebrated "the largest one-day online event" (February 8, 1996) up to that date, which originally took place on the then-active website, cyber24.com (and is still online at a mirror website maintained by Georgia Tech). [21] 24 Hours in Cyberspace was headed by photographer Rick Smolan. [25]
The exhibit featured 70 photos from the project. [29]

· "Treasures of American History", the National Museum of American History's temporary display at the National Air and Space Museum, closed in April 2008.

5. National Museum of the American Indian

The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere. It has three facilities: the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which opened on September 21, 2004, on Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, Southwest; the George Gustav Heye Center, a permanent museum in New York City; and the Cultural Resources Center, a research and collections facility in Suitland, Maryland.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an international institution honoring the Native heritage and living cultures of North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Hawai'i. The Community Services department is a cornerstone of the museum's commitment to outreach, providing a vital link between our staff and collections and Native communities across the Western Hemisphere. The Community Services department works with a wide range of individuals, communities, and organizations to promote knowledge and understanding of Native arts, history, languages, and contemporary life, and to offer educational resources to audiences throughout the world, through internships and professional training, radio, and the Internet. “Community Services in Action” is designed to share the work that we do and the events that we are involved in with our constituents in the field. This type of work ranges from workshops and exhibitions to American Indian Heritage Month and other special programs and events. Please return to this page in the upcoming weeks for detailed information on these and other projects.

5.1 History

George Gustav Heye (1874-1957) started the Museum of the American Indian and his Heye Foundation in 1916. His collection became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990. It was assembled over 54 years, beginning in 1903. He traveled throughout North and South America collecting native objects. The Heye Foundation's Museum of the American Indian opened to the public in Harlem in New York City in 1922. The current name and building were established in 1989 through an Act of Congress.

5.1.1 National Mall

The site on the National Mall opened in September 2004. Fifteen years in the making, it is the first national museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans. The five-story, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2), curvilinear building is clad in a golden-colored Kasota limestone designed to evoke natural rock formations shaped by wind and water over thousands of years. The museum is set in a 4.25 acres (17,200 m2)-site and is surrounded by simulated wetlands. The museum's east-facing entrance, its prism window and its 120-foot (37 m) high space for contemporary Native performances are direct results of extensive consultations with Native peoples. Similar to the Heye Center in Lower Manhattan, the museum offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs, public programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.

The museum's architect and project designer is the Canadian Douglas Cardinal (Blackfoot); its design architects are GBQC Architects of Philadelphia and architect Johnpaul Jones (Cherokee/Choctaw). Disagreements during construction led to Cardinal's being removed from the project, but the building retains his original design intent. His continued input enabled its completion.

Indian seen from the North. Indian Museum from the US Capitol dome.

The museum's project architects are Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects Ltd. of Seattle and SmithGroup of Washington, D.C., in association with Lou Weller (Caddo), the Native American Design Collaborative, and Polshek Partnership Architects of New York City; Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi) and Donna House (Navajo/Oneida) also served as design consultants. The landscape architects are Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects Ltd. of Seattle and EDAW, Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia.

In general, American Indians have filled the leadership roles in the design and operation of the museum and have aimed at creating a different atmosphere and experience from museums of European and Euro-American culture. Donna E. House, the Navajo and Oneida botanist who supervised the landscaping, has said, "The landscape flows into the building, and the environment is who we are. We are the trees, we are the rocks, we are the water. And that had to be part of the museum." [1] This theme of organic flow is reflected by the interior of the museum, whose walls are mostly curving surfaces, with almost no sharp corners.

The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is divided into Native regional sections such as the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso-America, and the Great Plains. The only Native American groups not represented in the cafe are the south eastern tribes such as the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Seminole, many of which supported the United States through out the tribe's history.

5.1.2 George Gustav Heye Center

The Museum's George Gustav Heye Center occupies two floors of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Lower Manhattan. The Beaux Arts-style building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, was completed in 1907. It is a designated National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark. The center's exhibition and public access areas total about 20,000 square feet (2,000 m2). The Heye Center offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.

5.2 Collection

The National Museum of the American Indian is home to the collection of the former Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The collection includes more than 800,000 objects, as well as a photographic archive of 125,000 images. The collection, which became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990, was assembled by George Gustav Heye (1874-1957) during a 54-year period, beginning in 1903. He traveled throughout North and South America collecting Native objects. Heye used his collection to found New York's Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation and directed it until his death in 1957. The Heye Foundation's Museum of the American Indian opened to the public in New York City in 1922.

The collection is not subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. When the National Museum was created in 1989, a law governing repatriation was drafted specifically for the museum, upon which NAGPRA was modeled. [4]

The museum has programs in which Native American scholars and artists can view NMAI's collections to enhance their own research and artwork.

When the museum opened in October 2004, there was widespread criticism that the exhibits presented an unevaluated hodge-podge, with little or no attempt to explain the meaning of the objects, or even to label them. [13] Other museum visitors were pleased to see a focus on living Native Americans as opposed to documenting history. NMAI's unique ongoing exhibit, "Our Lives" showcases eight indigenous communities at a time, from North and South America. The museum works closely with the communities so that they are able to chose how they are represented. "Our Lives" explores Native self-identity-how the community sees themselves, how they dress, what they think, and how they see themselves within the world today. [34]

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) has one of the most extensive collections of Native American arts and artifacts in the world--approximately 266,000 catalog records (825,000 items) representing over 12,000 years of history and more than 1,200 indigenous cultures throughout the Americas. Ranging from ancient Paleo-Indian points to contemporary fine arts, the collections include works of aesthetic, religious, and historical significance as well as articles produced for everyday use. Current holdings include all major culture areas of the Western Hemisphere, representing virtually all tribes in the United States, most of those of Canada, and a significant number of cultures from Middle and South America and the Caribbean. Approximately 68 percent of the object collections originate in the United States, with 3.5 percent from Canada, 10 percent from Mexico and Central America; 11 percent from South America; and 6 percent from the Caribbean. Overall, 55 percent of the collection is archaeological, 43 percent ethnographic, and 2 percent modern and contemporary arts.

In addition to the object collections, the museum's holdings also include the Photographic Archive (approximately 324,000 images from the 1860s to the present); the Media Archive (approximately 12,000 items) including film and audiovisual collections such as wax cylinders, phonograph discs, 16mm and 35mm motion picture film, magnetic media of many varieties, and optical and digital media recorded from the late 1800s through the present; and the Paper Archive (approximately 1500 linear feet) comprised of records dating from the 1860s to the present that preserve the documentary history of the NMAI, its predecessor, the Museum of the American Indian (MAI), Heye Foundation, and their collections, as well as other documentary and archival materials. Each of these four permanent collections components is defined by its individual scope and described in detail below. NMAI also maintains unaccessioned collections, including educational teaching collections and non-Native works of art depicting American Indian subjects, as well as poorly documented materials currently being researched for their value to the overall collection or potential disposition.

Although maintained as four discrete components, the Object, Photo Archive, Media Archive, and Paper Archive collections are deeply intertwined since each contains items that relate to one another: Photo and Media Archives include images of objects in use in Native communities or excavation contexts and the Paper Archive includes fieldnotes and documentation for all aspects of the combined collections. Through implementation of its Collecting Plan, NMAI hopes to expand the scope of the collections and continue its historically significant work in documenting indigenous lives and perspectives--through objects, diverse media, and other means--while simultaneously increasing the integration of the collections with one another and making them more applicable to museum programs and accessible to external users.

5.3 Museum director

Kevin Gover is the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian as of Dec. 2, 2007. He is a former professor of law at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in Tempe, an affiliate professor in its American Indian Studies Program and co-executive director of the university's American Indian Policy Institute. Gover, 52, grew up in Oklahoma and is a member of the Pawnee and Comanche tribes. He received his bachelor's degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Princeton University in 2001. [34]

Gover succeeds W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne), who was the founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian (1990-2007). [34]

West was strongly criticized in 2007 for having spent $250,000 on travel in four years and been away from the museum frequently on overseas travel. This was official travel funded by the Smithsonian, and many within the Native American community offered defenses of West and his tenure. [36]

5.4 Museum architect

The museum was designed by Douglas Cardinal, a North American Native American architect educated at the University of British Columbia, and the University of Texas at Austin.

5.5 Magazine

The museum also publishes a quarterly magazine, called the American Indian, which focuses on a wide range of topics pertaining to Indian County. American Indian won the Native American Journalists Association's General Excellence awards in 2003 and 2002. The magazine's mission is to: "Celebrate Native Traditions and Communities." [13]

6. National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year.

The museum's collections total over 500 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. With 7.4 million visitors in 2009, it is the most visited of all of the Smithsonian museums [14] and is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists -- the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.

6.1 History

The museum, then known as the United States National Museum, opened its doors to the public on March 17, 1910 in order to provide the growing Smithsonian Institution with more space for collections and research. [21] The building, which was not fully completed until 1911, was designed by Hornblower & Marshall. [4] The building, designed in the neoclassical architectural style, was the first constructed on the north side of the National Mall, along Constitution Avenue, as part of the 1901 McMillan Commission plan. In 2000, Kenneth E. Behring donated $80 million to the museum and in 1997 donated $20 million to modernize it. [21]

In addition to exhibits, the museum maintains vast reference collections and research facilities. See the online collections at collections.nmnh.si.edu

In 2005, The "Butterfly of Peace" gem was first displayed in the U.S. [5] In 2008, an exhibit opened with 5,000 square feet (460 m2) dedicated to soil and its life-sustaining properties. [10]

6.2 Features

6.2.1 Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals

The National Gem and Mineral Collection is one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world. The collection includes some of the most famous pieces of gems and minerals including the Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia Sapphire, one of the largest sapphires in the world. There are currently over 15,000 individual gems in the collection, as well as 350,000 minerals and 300,000 samples of rock and ore specimens. [8] Additionally, the Smithsonian's National Gem and Mineral Collection houses approximately 35,000 meteorites, which is considered to be one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in the world. [5]

The collection is displayed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, one of the many galleries in the Museum of Natural History. Some of the most important donors are Washington A. Roebling, the man who built the Brooklyn Bridge, who gave 16,000 specimens to the collection, Frederick A. Canfield, who donated 9,000 specimens to the collection, and Dr. Isaac Lea, who donated the base of the museum's collection of 1312 gems and minerals.

6.2.2 Hall of Human Origins

The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins opened on March 17, 2010, marking the museum's 100th anniversary. The hall is named for David H. Koch, who contributed $15 million to the $20.7 million exhibit.

The Hall is "dedicated to the discovery and understanding of human origins," and occupies 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of exhibit space. Specimens include 75 replica skulls, an interactive human family tree that follows six million years of evolution, and a Changing the World gallery that focuses on issues surrounding climate change and humans' impact on the world. The exhibit has been criticized for downplaying the significance of human-caused global warming.

The exhibit also provides a complementary web site, humanorigins.si.edu, which provides diaries and podcasts directly from related fields of research. The exhibit was designed by Reich + Petch. [10]

6.2.3 Dinosaurs/Hall of Paleobiology

The museum has over 570,000 catalogued reptiles from around the world. The National Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles has increased 300% over the past 40 years (190,000 specimen records in 1970 to over 570,000 specimen records in 2008).[14] The Hall of Dinosaurs has fossilized skeletons and cast models, including Tyrannosaurus rex facing off with Triceratops, and the "Triceratops exhibit shows the first accurate dinosaur skeleton in virtual motion, achieved through the use of scanning and digital technology."[10] The collection consists of 46 "complete and important specimens" of dinosaurs. The website has a "virtual tour" of the collection.[14]

6.2.4 Hall of Mammals

The Behring Hall of Mammals designed by Reich + Petch is a multi-award winning gallery. The design is innovative and welcoming. The mammal specimens are presented as works of modern art within strikingly minimal environmentals. Visitors discover mammal's evolutionary adaptions to hugely diverse contexts, and ultimately discover that they too are mammals.

The museum has the largest collection of vertebrate specimens in the world, nearly twice the size of the next largest mammal collections, including historically important collections from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its collection was initiated by C. Hart Merriam and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (later the Department of Interior), which expanded it in the 1890s-1930s. [21]

6.2.5 Insect Zoo

The O. Orkin Insect Zoo features live insects and exhibits about insects and entomologists. Different habitats have been created to show the type of insects that live in different environments and how they have adapted to a freshwater pond, house, mangrove swamp, desert, and rain forest. The zoo is sponsored by Orkin, a pest control company.