museum

Sharks of War: The U.S.S. Indianapolis Disaster of 1945 Talk July 26th in Silver Spring

By Prince Of Petworth

sharks of war
Photo by PoPville flickr user Paul Sirajuddin

“When: Tuesday, July 26, 2016, 6-7 p.m.

Where:
National Museum of Health and Medicine
2500 Linden Lane
Silver Spring, MD 20910

What:
Before World War II, experts dismissed sharks as a serious threat to service members. Then in 1942, the U.S. Navy received reports about horrific attacks on castaways adrift from sunken ships and downed airplanes. Many of these reports proved to be true. Soon after the war, diving pioneers sought out sharks, expecting the worst because of the shark attack stories. Instead, they found an animal less to be feared than understood. Join Robert Cantrell, filmmaker and shark researcher for a presentation on the history of shark attacks and how the “fear of sharks” impacted the Navy’s policy in World War II as well as present-day knowledge of sharks.

Cost:
FREE! Open to the public. No RSVP required.”

Attend the new Icebergs Exhibit at the Building Museum Free on “Ward Days”

By Prince Of Petworth

icebergs
rendering via the National Building Museum

Sweet.

From the National Building Museum:

“#WardDays at the Museum mean free #ICEBERGSDC admission for your ward on designated days”

Wards 1 and 6 is July 19th

Wards 5 and 7 is July 26th

Wards 3 and 4 is August 2nd

Wards 2 and 8 is August 9th

For those not familiar:

“Visit ICEBERGS in the Museum’s Great Hall. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, the installation opens as part of the annual Summer Block Party series, July 2 – September 5.

Visitors will:

  • Explore a fantastical glacial sea designed by landscape architects
  • Ascend to a viewing area inside the tallest berg
  • Traverse an undersea bridge or slide down an ice chute
  • Sample Japanese kakigori shaved ice provided by the restaurant Daikaya
  • Learn about how design can transform spaces and lives

ICEBERGS is built from re-usable construction materials, such as scaffolding and polycarbonate paneling, a material commonly used in building greenhouses. The 20′ high “water line” allows panoramic views from high above the ocean surface and down below among the towering bergs. The tallest “bergy bit,” at 56′, reaches to the third story balcony of the Museum. ICEBERGS occupies a total area of 12,540 square feet. (more…)

Huge Horses Ass Outside the National Geographic Museum

By Prince Of Petworth

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From National Geographic:

“This summer, National Geographic will bring an extraordinary cultural experience to Washington, D.C. THE GREEKS: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great is an exceptional journey through 5,000 years of Greek history and culture. This exhibition features more than 500 priceless treasures—many of which have never been on display outside of Greece. Washington, D.C. is the only east coast museum to host the exhibit. We expect to draw visitors from New York to Richmond for this exhibition, as it is the largest and most comprehensive survey of Greek culture in a generation.

Featuring collections from 22 national museums in Greece, THE GREEKS tells the unique story of one of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations. Visitors will encounter the early origins of Greek writing and art from the Cycladic and Minoan cultures of the Aegean, meet the Mycenaean rulers and priestesses, the warriors of Sparta, the heroes, athletes and philosophers of Classical Greece and Alexander, the king that would spread Greek culture throughout the world—giving rise to civilization as we know it. The exhibition explores pivotal moments that led to the birth of Western democracy, modern art, science, medicine, theater and sports.

In addition to this blockbuster exhibit, join National Geographic this summer as we host events celebrating all things Greek—talks, tastings, tours and toga parties, this event lineup is not-to-be-missed!

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National Geographic Museum
1145 17th Street NW

Open Daily 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
June 1 – October 10
The museum will close early at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 2.”

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“This two-day event over the Memorial Day weekend marks the first time the Arts and Industries building has been open to the public since 2004”

By Prince Of Petworth

Arts & Industries Building
Photo by PoPville flickr user J LaBerge

From a press release:

“Smithsonian Debuts “CrossLines”: A Culture Lab” May 28 & May 29

“Pop-up” Market is First Public Program in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center will debut “CrossLines”: A Culture Lab on Intersectionality” at the historic Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and May 29, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Featuring the works of more than 40 artists, scholars and performers, “CrossLines” will host an array of art installations, live performances and interactive maker spaces. Go to http://smithsonianapa.org/crosslines/.
This two-day event over the Memorial Day weekend marks the first time the Arts and Industries building has been open to the public since 2004. The building will host occasional pop-up exhibits and special programs for the public throughout the year. Beginning June 29, Arts and Industries will serve as the marketplace for the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
“CrossLines” will engage the public in a powerful experience that will illustrate the rich diversity of the Asian Pacific American story,” Jeanny Kim, acting director of the Asian Pacific American Center said. “This special ‘culture lab’ will show how these stories are threaded throughout the fabric of American life and how they intersect numerous categories of identity.”
Visitors to “CrossLines” will stroll through interconnected stalls showcasing visual and performance art, and can engage with both the art and the artists at a collective stage. Among the featured artists and performers are: (more…)

“Park Advocates Celebrate New National Park Commemorating Women’s Equality”

By Prince Of Petworth

SBH Today
144 Constitution Ave, NE. Photo Credit: Sewall-Belmont House & Museum

From an email:

“Established today, the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument tells the story of women fighting for equal rights and the right to vote. Washington, DC’s newest national park site!”

suffrage
Untitled by Nina Allender, November 1917. Originally published on the cover of “The Suffragist” on November 17, 1917, the cartoon shows a woman holding a banner with the words, “To Ask Freedom for Women is Not a Crime. Suffrage Prisoners Should Not Be Treated as Criminals.” Various crimes are represented on the “straight legal road” she walks down. Photo Credit: Sewall-Belmont House & Museum

From the National Parks Conservation Association:

“President Obama will issue a proclamation designating the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum in Washington, D.C. as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, the country’s newest national park site.

The Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument contains the most complete collection of women’s suffrage and equal rights movement documents and artifacts in America. These resources help tell the story of women in America and one that will now be told by the best storytellers in the business – the National Park Service. (more…)

Next up for the Building Museum – Icebergs!!

By Prince Of Petworth

jcfo_nbm_floating-iceberg-0301
via the National Building Museum

From a press release:

“The National Building Museum will create a new, one-of-a-kind destination this summer when it unveils ICEBERGS, designed by James Corner Field Operations. Representing a beautiful, underwater world of glacial ice fields spanning the Museum’s enormous Great Hall, the immersive installation will emphasize current themes of landscape representation, geometry, and construction. ICEBERGS will be open to the public July 2–September 5, 2016, part of the Museum’s imaginative Summer Block Party series.

ICEBERGS will feature installation elements in a variety of sizes and built of re-usable construction materials such as scaffolding and polycarbonate paneling, a material commonly used in building greenhouses. A “water line” suspended 20 feet high will bisect the vertical space, allowing panoramic views from high above the ocean surface and down below among the towering bergs. The tallest “bergy bit,” at 56 feet, will reach above the waterline to the third story balcony of the Museum. ICEBERGS will occupy a total area of 12,540 square feet. (more…)

“A New Moon Rises” Opens at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Friday

By Prince Of Petworth

moon
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University

From an email:

“The National Air and Space Museum will open its newest exhibition, “A New Moon Rises: New Views from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera,” Feb. 26, displaying dramatic landscapes of the moon captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). The images showcase everything from Apollo landing sites to majestic mountains that rise out of the darkness of the lunar poles. The exhibition will be open through December at the museum in Washington, D.C.

The 61 large prints in the exhibition reveal a celestial neighbor that is surprisingly dynamic and full of grandeur and wonder. The more than a million images from LROC are reshaping scientists’ understanding of the moon. They reveal newly formed impact craters, recent volcanic activity and a crust that is fractured by the shrinking of a still-cooling interior.

“A New Moon Rises” is divided into six themes: Global Views, Exploration Sites, Discoveries, Vistas, Topography and Craters. These themes helped to determine which of the thousands of images taken by the LROC would be chosen for display. Visitors will also see new images from LROC projected on a large screen that will be updated daily. The exhibition includes a display of spare LROC cameras and a large 3-D model of a young lunar crater.

The exhibition is made possible by the support of NASA and Arizona State University.

The National Air and Space Museum building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. ”

Get Your Peacock Room Viewing In – The Freer Gallery is closing Jan. 4th “through 2017 for long-needed upgrades to our infrastructure”

By Prince Of Petworth

freer
Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp

Easy come, easy go – just as the Renwick Gallery reopens – the awesome Freer Gallery will be closing:

“We are closing the Freer Gallery from January 4, 2016, through 2017 for long-needed upgrades to our infrastructure. The renovation also is an opportunity to re-present our collections and to improve the visitor experience throughout the museums. The Sackler Gallery will remain open and as dynamic as ever, with events held both in the museum and at venues throughout the DC area.

Don’t miss special events celebrating the Freer before its brief hiatus!

The remaining Peacock Room shutter openings
The final days to tour the Freer galleries on January 2 and 3, with tours, masks, and more

Experience artistic connections possible only between our two Galleries:

the Freer’s Rinpa exhibitions and the Sackler’s Sōtatsu: Making Waves
the Freer’s Peacock Room and the Sackler’s Peacock Room REMIX
the Freer’s ancient Egyptian art and the Sackler’s Perspectives: Lara Baladi, a contemporary take on Egypt”

SMITHSONIAN at 8 Presents “James Smithson’s Holiday Birthday Ball: Party Like It’s 1765!”

By Prince Of Petworth

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From a press release:

“WHAT:  SMITHSONIAN at 8 presents “James Smithson’s Holiday Birthday Ball: Party Like It’s 1765!”

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 4, 8 to 11 p.m. (7 to 11 p.m. for VIP ticket-holders)

WHERE: Smithsonian Castle, 1000 Independence Ave., SW (Enter from Independence Ave. or Jefferson Dr., SW)

When it came to gift-giving, James Smithson was a champ. On his death in 1829, the English chemist and mineralogist left his sizeable fortune to the United States—a place he’d never visited—to found “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge” called the Smithsonian Institution.

Now, on the 250th anniversary of his birth*, it’s time to give him a big thank-you by gathering in the original Smithsonian building, the historic Castle, for a birthday bash inspired by James, his era, and the Smithsonian itself.

It’s going to be a terrific party: (more…)

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