museum

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. ”

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”

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…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mark Andre

On Monday we learned that the Renwick Gallery would be reopening after a two year renovation on Friday. Check out a sneak peek of one of the opening exhibits – WONDER:

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mark Andre

Photo by PoPville flickr user Victoria Pickering

Photo by PoPville flickr user Victoria Pickering

Photo courtesy Renwick by Joshua Yetman

From a press release:

“The Renwick Gallery, home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s craft and decorative arts program, will open to the public Friday, Nov. 13, following a comprehensive two-year renovation. The museum, located across from the White House at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., in downtown Washington, D.C., will open with an updated interior aesthetic, carefully restored historic features and significantly upgraded, state-of-the-art infrastructure. The inaugural exhibition, titled “WONDER,” will feature gallery-sized installations by nine major contemporary artists, renewing the commitment inscribed in stone above the front door, “Dedicated to Art.” The opening will be accompanied by a celebratory weekend of public programs and three special publications. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user James Jackson

A bit late on this one but it is odd – thanks to a reader for sending this August story from the Washington Post:

“The decision to hold the Hirshhorn’s 40th-anniversary gala in New York is deeply troubling and raises concern about where the museum’s new director, Melissa Chiu, is taking the organization. According to the New York Times, the Nov. 9 gala will include 400 invited guests and honor 40 living artists whom the museum considers essential to its identity. But despite Chiu’s statement in the Times story announcing the event — that she intends no snub to the Washington arts crowd — it is a snub, and a distressing indication that she doesn’t understand the purpose, the history or the identity of the museum she now leads.”

rendering of 4th and D Street, SW courtesy Museum of the Bible and SMITHGROUPJJR

From a press release:

“Museum of the Bible has inked a major new long-term alliance with the Israel Antiquities Authority to display a selection from the two million ancient artifacts in Israel’s National Treasures in a dedicated top-floor gallery, set to open with the rest of the Museum of the Bible in the fall of 2017. Through this multi-year agreement, archeological objects from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the government mandated organization in charge of all matters of archaeology in Israel, will be exhibited at the Museum of the Bible. Because the Israel Antiquities Authority currently has 39 active archeological digs around Israel, some of the artifacts that might be displayed in Museum of the Bible may not even have been discovered yet. Museum of the Bible is also dedicated to the excavation of archaeological sites in Israel and is currently beginning an archeological dig at Tel-Shimron, one of the largest and most historically significant sites in Israel. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

From the Hirshhorn:

“The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is offering Happy Hour at the Hirshhorn, in collaboration with “SMITHSONIAN at 8,” every Monday, Aug. 10–Sept. 14, 5 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Galleries will be open late, so visitors can view exhibitions such as “Shirin Neshat: Facing History” and “At the Hub of Things: New Views of the Collection.” Admission is free, and there is a cash bar, operated by Tortoise and Hare Bar and Grille. Last call to enter the galleries and to order drinks is 8 p.m.”