Post on 12-Jul-2020
G r a n d r e o p e n i n G Y e a r
National Museum of American History
The 40 x 19-foot abstract flag is made of 960 reflective polycarbonate panels arranged in 15 ribbons.
The National Museum of American History has resumed its central role in telling the story of America and providing a critical link between the past and the present.
Through dramatic architectural changes and innovative exhibitions and programs, the Museum is shining new light on American history.
The central atrium serves as a new national public square—a crossroads for ideas, information, entertainment, commerce and face-to-face human connection—where the Museum hosts educational programs, performances and naturalization ceremonies for new citizens.
A triumph of engineering and craftsmanship, a spectacular new gallery features the flag that inspired our national anthem—the Star-Spangled Banner—preserved and presented dramatically “by the dawn’s early light.”
This two-year renovation encompassed 120,000 square feet in the central core of the Museum.
The Museum’s Transformation
The Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
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view online
Nina and Ivan Selin and family with Brent Glass and Under Secretary Richard Kurin
Albert H. Small and Secretary
Wayne Clough
Ethel LeFrak and family
John Rogers, Secretary Clough, Susan
and Elihu Rose, Brent Glass
In the past year and a half, we have marked the renovation and reopening of the National Museum of American History with ribbon-cuttings, ceremonies and public programs—celebrations certainly befitting the magnitude of the occasion and the great and tireless work of so many.
But on a deeper level, we have opened a new chapter in the rich history of this institution, which first opened its doors in 1964 with a dedication by President Lyndon B. Johnson, citing the words of William Faulkner: “…here is recorded the agony and the sweat of the human spirit, the victory of the freedom and the genius of our country.”
With this renovation of the building’s core, the Museum is, in a very real sense, a sanctum for reflection, a place for gratitude and quiet awe. The objects here and the collective stories they tell remind us that adversity doesn’t pass. It is overcome. Innovation isn’t conjured from the empty air.
It is bred of human creativity and human effort. Injustice doesn’t disappear. It is conquered. History does not just happen. People make it. We prepare the way for those generations yet to come.
The 18th-century political philosopher and parliamentarian Edmund Burke famously described society as a compact among generations. In one eloquent passage, he declared that society is “…a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primeval contract of eternal society.”
In the same way, this museum not only preserves the past, but explains the present and helps shape a future informed by the wisdom that only the recognition and appreciation of history can bring. It is, in its own right, a guarantor of that “great contract.”
And so we rededicate ourselves to this great Museum, to our nation’s rich history, to this glorious country of endless possibilities and boundless hope. But this National Museum cannot fulfill its mission alone. We depend, as we always have, upon public-spirited citizens. Citizens such as Ken Behring, Dolly Lemelson, Ralph Lauren, and the men and women of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Citizens like the thousands of others who have supported the Museum over the forty years of its existence. And citizens yet unknown, who will step forward and guide the Museum on its American journey.
In this moment of rededication, we have indeed a cause for celebration, for gratefulness and for the enduring optimism that has always been the hallmark of our great country.
John F. W. Rogers Board Chair
The heart of the National Museum of American History is Flag Hall, which serves as our public square. In this space, we connect visitors with information and ideas and with each other. In this public square, we sponsor naturalization ceremonies, musical performances, living history programs, hands-on education activities and social events.
In the first year after reopening the Museum, there have been dozens of occasions that affirmed the special role the public square plays in the civic life of the Museum. The most memorable and inspiring by far was one that was unscheduled—a performance of The Star-Spangled Banner by
There were many quieter but equally important moments of inspiration that occurred during this past year. I am personally grateful to the board members, Museum staff, docents and volunteers who have transformed the Museum and who are dedicated every day to “shining new light on American history.” The accomplishments and rewards of a remarkable first year will carry us forward as we accept new challenges and new opportunities to create an exciting future.
Our best days are still ahead of us!
Brent D. Glass The Elizabeth MacMillan Director
the Boys Choir of Kenya on the day following the inauguration of President Obama. During that week the Museum, like the rest of Washington, received visitors from across the country and around the world. Among them were the young Kenyans who saw our exhibition on the Star-Spangled Banner and asked if they could pay tribute to America by singing our National Anthem. They also sang America the Beautiful and a wonderful Kenyan folk song. By the time they finished this extraordinary, spontaneous “concert,” thousands of visitors filled our public square and erupted in a heartfelt roar of appreciation.
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Five million people have visited since the Museum’s reopening, with the three millionth visitor entering on July 4, 2009.
At the Gala Reception, 1,200 supporters celebrated the Museum’s metamorphosis.
Gala Reception Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Dedication Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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Night Gallery DC: Illuminating American History
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Quartet
President George W. Bush rededicates the Museum to the American people
President Bush congratulates new citizens
John F. W. Rogers, Board Chair
G r a n d r e o p e n i n G Y e a rNational Museum of American History
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Board Member David McCullough and
Rosalee Barnes McCullough
On the first day, 25,760 visitors came to see the Museum’s transformation.
At the Grand Reopening, Colin Powell read the Gettysburg Address.
Grand Reopening and Ribbon Cutting Friday, November 21, 2008
Brent Glass, Museum Director
General (ret.) Colin L. Powell, former Secretary of State
Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough
Kenneth E. Behring cuts the ribbon to open the Museum with Pat Behring
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Reopening the National Museum of American History
At the Museum’s reopening, 4,784 objects were on display.
Special Exhibit CasesArtifact Walls
Mobilizing Young American Minds, 1950–1970
Civil War Field Printing
Barriers to Bridges: Asian Immigration after the Exclusion
Marketing Medicine: 1880–1930
Producing for the American Table
The Civilian Conservation Corps Experience, 1933–1942
Kansas City Jazz
Stonewall 40th Anniversary
Creating Hawai’i
Scurlock Photo Studio
Cameras before Digital
Bobcat Company
November 2008•The Star-Spangled Banner: The
Flag that Inspired the National Anthem
•Picturing Words: The Power of Book Illustration in the Dibner Library Gallery
•Thanks for the Memories: Music, Sports and Entertainment History
• The Gettysburg Address in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
•Robots on the Road Gallery in Science in American Life
December 2008•The First Ladies at the
Smithsonian
January 2009•Abraham Lincoln: An
Extraordinary Life
•The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise in the National Museum of African American Culture and History Gallery
•America’s New Birth of Freedom: Documents from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
April 2009• I Do Solemnly Swear:
Photographs of the 2009 Inauguration
•Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers and their Signature Works in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
Exhibitions
During the reopening year, the Museum opened 40 permanent and temporary exhibitions.
May 2009• Jamestown, Québec, Santa
Fe: Three North American Beginnings in the International Gallery
•On the Water: Stories from Maritime America
June 2009•Stories on Money
July 2009•Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian
Trail in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
September 2009•Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero
Program 1942–1964
•National Treasures of Popular Culture (ongoing object rotations begin)
November 2009•Holidays on Display
•Keeping History: Plains Indian Ledger Drawings in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
•Gunboat Philadelphia
December 2009•The Dolls’ House
Exhibition Openings
On the Water: Stories from Maritime America
Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942–1964
The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem
The First Ladies at the Smithsonian
Gunboat Philadelphia
Two images from The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise
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G r a n d r e o p e n i n G Y e a rNational Museum of American History
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Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla cuts the ribbon for On the Water
Maritime Day Ceremony at On the Water
The Flag Day performance of Jordan Shelton, the winner of the Star-Spangled Banner Singing Contest, has been watched 9,824 times on YouTube.
The Museum held 2,500 performances of historical theater, short pieces performed by actors in period costumes, in various Museum settings.
Smithsonian’s History ExplorerThe Museum, in partnership with Verizon’s Thinkfinity, launched Smithsonian’s History Explorer in fall 2008.
By using real stories and actual objects, the web site offers an exciting new way for the Museum to connect students, teachers, parents and caregivers across the globe to American history.
Smithsonian’s History Explorer offers free, standards-based, innovative resources for teaching and learning American history.
In the first year, 1,128,000 visits were made to the site.
historyexplorer.americanhistory.si.edu
January 2009• Inauguration 2009: Renewing
America’s Promise
March 2009•Chocolate: The North American
Experience
April 2009• Jazz Appreciation Month
programs
June 2009•Flag Day Family Festival, with a
Children’s Citizenship Ceremony and a performance by the Star-Spangled Banner Singing Contest winner
September 2009•Constitution Day and Citizenship
Day Naturalization Ceremony with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
Programs, Education & Outreach
The highest visitation, 42,354 people, was on January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day.
November 2009•Day of the Dead program at
the National Museum of the American Indian
•Holiday Family Festival
Ongoing Music & Theater Programs•Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks
Orchestra
•Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
•Broad Stripes and Bright Stars (Star-Spangled Banner)
• Join the Student Sit-ins (Greensboro Lunch Counter)
Events & Programs
Online Presence•The Museum’s monthly
e-newsletter has 20,000 subscribers
•The Museum has 6,500 Twitter followers (@amhistorymuseum)
•The Museum had 5,000 fans on Facebook in the reopening year (facebook.com/americanhistory)
•The Museum’s blog has received 150,000 visits (blog.americanhistory.si.edu)
Join the Student Sit-Ins performance with actor Xavier Carnegie
Jordan Shelton sings the National Anthem
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
Chocolate: The North American Experience
Inauguration Day visitorsHands-on Activity Cart
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In the Blu-Ray package of the film Julie & Julia, three Museum curators were interviewed as part of a special feature about Julia Child’s kitchen and the more than 1,200 objects it contains.
Curator Paula Johnson installs Julia Child’s copper pots
Collections & Acquisitions
The Museum unveiled a secret message inside Abraham Lincoln’s watch, hidden since the beginning of the Civil War.
March 2009•The secret message in Abraham
Lincoln’s watch is revealed.
April 2009•Chuck Mangione’s hat donation
kicks off Jazz Appreciation Month.
•America’s Funniest Videos donates materials from its first 20 years on TV.
June 2009•Bobcat Company donates
archival materials about the invention of the loader and company papers.
•The Red Sox present Jon Lester’s jersey from Game 4 of the 2007 World Series and the third base from the 2004 World Series.
July 2009• In a special ceremony, Julia
Child’s copper pots are presented to the Museum and Columbia Pictures donates Meryl Streep’s costume from the film Julie & Julia.
September 2009•Disney Theatrical presents
materials from The Lion King stage production.
December 2009•Carol Burnett visits the Museum
and her gown from the Went with the Wind comedy sketch.
Selected Events
Nora Ephron at the donation ceremony
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia costume
Jim Gardner, Tim Wakefield, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner
Thomas Schumacher and Curator Dwight Bowers
Carol Burnett and her Went with the Wind costume
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Six landmark objects point the way to themes and stories in American history in each wing:
•Disney’s Dumbo ride car
•Clara Barton’s Red Cross 1898 ambulance
•Horatio Greenough’s statue of George Washington
• The Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth’s lunch counter from the Civil Rights era
•The 1865 Vassar Telescope used by America’s first woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell
•The 1831 John Bull, one of the nation’s earliest steam locomotives
Kenneth E. Behring
The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Susan and Elihu Rose
The Honorable and Mrs. Ivan Selin
Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak
Anonymous
Verizon Foundation
American Express Historic Preservation Fund
The Honorable Richard G. Darman
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
History Channel
The Elizabeth Carolyn Lux Foundation
Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc.
NYSE Foundation
Alice and David Rubenstein
Albert and Shirley Small
Timex Group
McCormick Foundation
Motorola Foundation
The Biography Channel
Joel and Carmen Anderson
National Association of Realtors
Pete and Linda Claussen
Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan
RoadsideAmerica.com
Thank You to Our Supporters
Peter and Rhondda Grant
Betty and Frank Wright
The Starr Foundation
Ralph and Birdie Albers
Curt and Chucki Bradbury
Larry, Shelly, L.J., and Madison Brown
Drs. Mark Graham and Laneta Dorflinger, Thomas and Anne Graham
Mr. Robert F. Hemphill, Jr. and Ms. Linda Powers
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Ambassador and Mrs. Charles T. Manatt
Pulse Electronics
Donna and Marvin Schwartz
Riley K. Temple
Lester and Linda Colbert
Doris and Donald Fisher
Thomas Bailey Hagen
Paul Peck
Charles F. Appel and Lillian F. Appel Charitable Trust
F.M. Kirby Foundation
Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation
The Anschutz Foundation
David and Karla Fields
Tom and Holly Gores
The Michelson Foundation
Polo Ralph LaurenGenerous support is provided byThe Pew Charitable Trusts
United States Congress
American Express Historic Preservation Fund
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The Smithsonian gratefully acknowledges the individuals and organizations whose leadership contributed to the transformation of the National Museum of American History through the Star-Spangled Banner Campaign.
Mrs. Dorothy Lemelson, The Lemelson Foundation
Ford Motor Company Fund
Dr. Peter Buck
Richard Lounsbery Foundation
Monaco Rare Coins
The Argus Fund
Draper Laboratory
American Numismatic Association
LEGO Children’s Fund
Numismatic Conservation Services
The Smithsonian gratefully acknowledges the donors who made possible the preservation and exhibition of the Star-Spangled Banner, the centerpiece of the Star-Spangled Banner Campaign.
The Star-Spangled Banner Campaign The Star-Spangled Banner Preservation Project
Reopening Year Projects
With special thanks toSave America’s Treasures at the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation
Warren and Barbara Winiarski
Target
CH2M Hill Companies, Ltd.
Kodak
Lutron Foundation
Macy’s
MWH Caring Foundation
Vin Di Bona Productions
Laura Watson and Paul Colucci
The Smithsonian gratefully acknowledges the individuals and organizations who made possible numerous activities during the reopening year of the National Museum of American History.
November 2008•Sporting Invention special
showcase
March 2009•March Madness for the Mind
April 2009•NanoDays 2009
August 2009•From Spark to Click: Celebrating
National Inventors’ Month in partnership with the LEGO Group
November 2009•Hot Spots of Invention
symposium and special showcase on hot spots, featuring the Draper Lab at MIT
Lemelson Center
The new Spark!Lab activity center features experiments, demonstrations and activities related to invention, science and technology.
When the Museum reopened, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation debuted the new Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Hall of Invention, a bright, open and flexible 3,500 square-foot exhibition gallery. The Hall’s inaugural exhibition is the award-winning Invention at Play, which focuses on the similarities between the ways children and adults play and the creative processes used by innovators in science and technology.
Events & Programs
Spark!Lab
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Dorothy Lemelson, her family, Brent Glass and Arthur Molella
Members of the BoardThe Honorable John F.W. Rogers Chairman of the Board
Mr. Michael Beschloss
Mr. Curt Bradbury
Ellsworth H. Brown, Ph.D.
Mrs. Kathryn C. Brown
Charles F. Bryan, Jr., Ph.D.
Mr. Victor Cabral
The Honorable Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Lesley S. Herrmann, Ph.D.
The Honorable Philip Lader
Ms. Francine LeFrak
Ambassador Charles T. Manatt
Mr. Jack L. Martin
The Honorable Doris Matsui
Mr. David McCullough
Mr. Timothy O’Neill
Ms. Abbe Raven
Mr. David M. Rubenstein
Vicki Ruiz, Ph.D.
The Honorable Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.
Ambassador Nicholas Taubman
Mr. Riley K. Temple
Mr. James Vella
Mrs. Gail Berry West
Ms. Judy C. Woodruff
Ex Officio to the BoardG. Wayne Clough Secretary Smithsonian Institution
Richard Kurin Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture Smithsonian Institution
Board & StaffAlumniMr. David E. Behring
Mr. H.P. “Pete” Claussen
Mr. David M. Fields
Ms. Irene Y. Hirano
Mrs. Dorothy Lemelson
Mrs. Elizabeth (Betty) MacMillan
Mr. James R. Mellor
Libby Haight O’Connell, Ph.D.
Elihu (Elly) Rose, Ph.D.
The Honorable Ivan Selin
The Honorable Rodney E. Slater
Mr. Marvin D. Williams
Ms. Tae Yoo
Executive StaffBrent D. Glass The Elizabeth MacMillan Director
David K. Allison Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs
Judy Gradwohl Associate Director for Public Programs
Janice G. Lilja Associate Director for Management and Museum Services
Margaret Webster Associate Director for External Affairs
Patrick Ladden Renovation Program Manager
Melinda Machado Director, Office of Public Affairs
Museum Board & Executive Staff Architectural & Construction Firms for the Renovation
Acknowledgements
This reopening report was created by:
EditorsMelinda Machado Director of Public Affairs
Valeska Hilbig Deputy Director of Public Affairs
DesignCyndi Wood & Kim Bieler Creative Project Management, Inc. Creativeprojectmgmt.com
ArchitectSkidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP New York Office
Gary Haney, AIA Design Partner and Lead Architect
General ContractorTurner Construction Company
PhotographyEduard Hueber Archphoto, Inc. archphoto.com
NMAH Photographic Services: Harold Dorwin Richard Strauss Hugh Talman
Smithsonian Images: Ken Rahaim *Image and concepts courtesy of Nancy Coppola, Occasions Caterers, Mark Chaikowski, Mark Chaikowski Designs
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