Smithsonian Affiliations

10/13/2021

An average trash truck picks up more than 20 tons of garbage! Here’s a sanitation department worker in 1973. They often faced risks like getting injured by the blades that crush the trash.

This image comes from our “The Way We Worked” exhibition, which explores how work became such a central element in American culture, by tracing the many changes that affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years. See it starting Oct. 30 at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, part of our Smithsonian Affiliations network!

10/05/2021

⚾️Love baseball? Check out our free #LearningLab educational resource that explores how Latinx American communities across the United States have celebrated their communities, made a living, and challenged prejudice through baseball!

Don’t forget to check visit our “¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues/ ¡Pleibol! En los barrios y las grandes ligas” traveling exhibition now open at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (part of our Smithsonian Affiliations network)! #Pleibol #HispanicHeritageMonth #LetsPlayBall

https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/pleibol-in-the-barrios-and-the-big-leagues-pleibol-en-los-barrios-y-las-grandes-ligas/bohbJm2MXuqjdHmY

09/29/2021

Have you signed up for our virtual scholars talk "Space: The Final Frontier" on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7pm? Register here: bit.ly/39BUsG4

Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, will explore connections between Westerns and spaceflight though some of her favorite objects: toys!

This talk was inspired by our Smithsonian Affiliate, the Arizona Historical Society’s exhibit, “Ready to Launch: Arizona’s Place in Space,” which documents Arizona’s unique place in the American space program. (But that’s another story!)
Come for the Buzz Lightyear and stay for the space history!

Have you signed up for our virtual scholars talk "Space: The Final Frontier" on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7pm? Register here: bit.ly/39BUsG4

Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, will explore connections between Westerns and spaceflight though some of her favorite objects: toys!

This talk was inspired by our Smithsonian Affiliate, the Arizona Historical Society’s exhibit, “Ready to Launch: Arizona’s Place in Space,” which documents Arizona’s unique place in the American space program. (But that’s another story!)
Come for the Buzz Lightyear and stay for the space history!

09/24/2021

Join us Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7pm (ET) for "Space: The Final Frontier" a virtual scholars talk with Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the Space History Department at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution! She'll explore connections between Westerns and spaceflight though some of her favorite objects: toys!

This talk was inspired by our Smithsonian Affiliate, the Arizona Historical Society’s exhibit, “Ready to Launch: Arizona’s Place in Space,” which documents Arizona’s unique place in the American space program. (But that’s another story!)
Come for the Buzz Lightyear and stay for the space history!

Register here: bit.ly/39BUsG4

Join us Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7pm (ET) for "Space: The Final Frontier" a virtual scholars talk with Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the Space History Department at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution! She'll explore connections between Westerns and spaceflight though some of her favorite objects: toys!

This talk was inspired by our Smithsonian Affiliate, the Arizona Historical Society’s exhibit, “Ready to Launch: Arizona’s Place in Space,” which documents Arizona’s unique place in the American space program. (But that’s another story!)
Come for the Buzz Lightyear and stay for the space history!

Register here: bit.ly/39BUsG4

09/19/2021

Smithsonian Affiliations updated their address.

Smithsonian Affiliations updated their address.

09/17/2021

See “Pleibol” now at our Affiliate Negro Leagues Baseball Museum! #Pleibol #NuestroBaseball

Dodger Stadium is built on land that was once the largely Mexican American working-class neighborhoods of Chavez Ravine. In the 1950s, Los Angeles officials forced residents out of their homes and off of their land using eminent domain, with the promise of building more affordable housing. Instead, the bulldozed homes became the site for a new stadium. For this baseball-loving community, the game came to represent physical displacement. Former residents of Chavez Ravine call themselves Los Desterrados, “The Uprooted.”

In the 1980s, with the skyrocketing popularity of star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and Jaime Jarrín broadcasting in Spanish, Dodger Stadium started to become a Latino space once again.

Legendary Ecuadorian broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, shown here at the L.A. Coliseum during the Dodgers' inaugural season in Los Angeles, became the Spanish-language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959.

Learn more about other Latinos and Latinas in America’s pastime in our “¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas” traveling exhibition now open at our Smithsonian Affiliations partner the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum!

#NuestroBaseball #Pleibol #LatinoHistory #HispanicHeritageMonth #Baseball #LatinosInBaseball

09/15/2021

25 Years of Smithsonian Affiliations: Jim Lovell's Apollo 13 Spacesuit

25 Years of Smithsonian Affiliations: Jim Lovell's Apollo 13 Spacesuit

09/15/2021

09/15/2021

Today we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Smithsonian Affiliations and our own affiliation with the organization! #SmithsonianAffiliations25 Discover more: https://bit.ly/3Dkrpo2

And be sure to celebrate with us on Smithsonian Museum Day, 9.18. This is a FREE event. Reserve tickets: https://bit.ly/3sQ36tp

#ConnerPrairie #ExploreCP #Smithsonian

09/15/2021

Photos from The Durham Museum's post

09/15/2021

This year, Smithsonian Affiliations is celebrating 25 years of bringing the Smithsonian to museums and cultural organizations across the nation! Today, our own Eric Stanley (Associate Director and Curator of History) reflects on the impact Smithsonian Affiliations has had on our museum and on him personally.

"MSC became a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2009 and we have made use of our status many times, borrowing objects for exhibitions, engaging in joint public programs, and tapping into the Smithsonian’s vast store of knowledge and expertise. For me, there is one memory of Affiliates that stands above the rest. In 2010, I was accepted into the Affiliates “Visiting Professionals” program that provides a limited number of lucky individuals unique access to the Smithsonian for the purposes of learning. My proposal was a challenging one: teach me about contemporary standards for historical exhibitions. A far ranging topic! Our friends at Affiliates bent over backward to give me a rich experience… and they succeeded. With a temporary office on an upper floor of the National Museum of American History (NMAH), I spent a couple weeks looking out over Constitution Avenue, toward the National Archives, feeling a bit like I worked there.

From the home base of that office, I was given a whirlwind of experiences: I attended the Director’s meeting with all the curators at American History and witnessed a lively, even intense conversation; I worked directly with project staff for two specific exhibitions Braceros: Bittersweet Harvest and the On the Water, an exhibition that was being produced by the Divisions of Work and Industry; I attended an architectural planning discussion for the Museum’s expansion; and I got special access to some of NMAH’s collection.

Most memorable may have been my time with the head of NMAH’s in-house shop that carried out numerous vital exhibition tasks. What was he working on at the time? Preparing the gallery for the imminent arrival of Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown. The Affiliates program was a remarkable, behind-the-scenes experience that has stayed with me over the years."

#SmithsonianAffiliations25

09/15/2021

Photos from The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology's post

09/15/2021

Photos from Cummings Center for the History of Psychology's post

09/15/2021

This year we are celebrating 25 years of bringing the Smithsonian to museums and cultural organizations across the nation, Panama and Puerto Rico! Joins us all day as our amazing Affiliates share some of the their favorite memories! Follow #SmithsonianAffiliations25 on Twitter and Instagram!

09/02/2021

People often ask, is it art or science? It’s okay if it’s actually both! Case and point: this snipe eel! Snipe eels live at great depths in the ocean. This Nemichthys scolopaceus specimen was collected at over 2,000 meters (more than a mile down) in the North Atlantic.

Dive into The Smithsonian’s National Collection of Fishes in our “X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out” traveling exhibition. It opens at The High Desert Museum, part of our Smithsonian Affiliations on September 18! #XrayVision

08/25/2021

Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past Forum

In the Smithsonian’s virtual #RaceAndOurSharedFuture forum, hear from Smithsonian scholars in conversation with authors, experts, and activists about racism, wealth, and wellness. On Thursday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. ET, join us and re-imagine a better future. https://oursharedfuture.si.edu/events/upcoming/our-shared-future-forum

The first Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past Forum is an opportunity to contextualize the inequities in healthcare and wealth for people of color in the U.S., exploring the “why” behind where we are today. We’ll explore everything from race science to vaccine distribution, and r...

08/10/2021

For the Smithsonian's 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Smithsonian Affiliations highlight how our collaborators across the country tell the story of the Smithsonian with "50 States/50 Stories!" In each story, our collaborators make connection, creating mutually beneficial relationships among and between the Smithsonian and museums and other organizations across the country and beyond.

Learn more here: https://affiliations.si.edu/50States-50Stories/ #Smithsonian175

For the Smithsonian's 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Smithsonian Affiliations highlight how our collaborators across the country tell the story of the Smithsonian with "50 States/50 Stories!" In each story, our collaborators make connection, creating mutually beneficial relationships among and between the Smithsonian and museums and other organizations across the country and beyond.

Learn more here: https://affiliations.si.edu/50States-50Stories/ #Smithsonian175

07/16/2021

Generations of Latinas and Latinos remember why and how baseball has been an important part of their families’ lives and how it brought them all together. We want to hear YOUR stories and see your photos! Share them with us at #Pleibol! The young fellas pictured in this photo taken in 1951 made up the Boys baseball team of Greeley Colorado. Learn more: https://americanhistory.si.edu/pleibol

Don't forget to slide into the National Museum of American History to see the "¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas" exhibition. You can also see our traveling version now on view at El Pueblo History Museum, one of our Smithsonian Affiliations partners!

07/02/2021

Don’t miss this Zoom program exploring and celebrating the presence of Latinas/os in baseball on July 7, hosted by our Affiliate El Pueblo History Museum! #Pleibol

We at El Pueblo History Museum have the incredible honor of presenting "¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los Barrios y las Grandes Ligas," a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution.

"¡Pleibol!" showcases the story of how the Latinx community's love and talent for baseball transformed not only the sport, but also American culture.

On July 7th, we will have an in-depth conversation on Zoom about the exhibition. We will be joined by special guest Dr. Margaret Salazar-Porzio, the curator of Latinx History and Culture at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and Salvadore Acuna, a local baseball organizational consultant and team coach at the Runyon Sports Complex Commission.

El Pueblo staff members will also be presenting, including Jose Ortega, Marisa Lopez, and Dianne Archuleta, the Director of El Pueblo History Museum.

It's free, so we hope to see you there!!

For more information, visit the link below :)

https://calendar.time.ly/63iq9y15/event/pleibol-pueblo-community-through-baseball-2

Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.
This exhibition received generous support from the Cordoba Corporation and Linda Alvarado, and federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
#Pleibol

📷: Boys baseball team, Greeley Colorado, 1951.
Courtesy of the Gabriel and Jody Lopez Collection and the Smithsonian Institution

06/19/2021

Do you know the history of #Juneteenth?

06/08/2021

Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past

#RaceAndOurSharedFuture

04/26/2021

Young people have been involved in activism throughout history. Join a discussion with National Civil Rights Museum Dr. Noelle Trent, Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building OnRaé Watkins, and youth activist Dylan Baca this Wed, April 28 at 2 pm Eastern Time. Register here- http://s.si.edu/youth-activism

Young people have been involved in activism throughout history. Join a discussion with National Civil Rights Museum Dr. Noelle Trent, Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building OnRaé Watkins, and youth activist Dylan Baca this Wed, April 28 at 2 pm Eastern Time. Register here- http://s.si.edu/youth-activism

03/23/2021

#StopAsianHate - Standing Together Against Hate

We stand with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the entire Asian American community, our friends and our neighbors, in coming together as one against racism, hatred, xenophobia and sexism. #StopAsianHate

The Smithsonian Institution mourns the loss of eight people—seven of them women, six of whom were of Asian descent—who were killed last week when a gunman opened fire inside three spas located in Georgia.

03/22/2021

How the Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Girl Inspired an Exhibition

A document that was lost for decades provides the basis for an exhibition about an extraordinary life of an ordinary girl. Find out about Beba Epstein in a new Smithsonian Magazine Voices story from our friends at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Center for Jewish History #BecauseOfHerStory https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-affiliations/2021/03/18/how-extraordinary-life-ordinary-girl-inspired-exhibition/

The discovery of a forgotten document leads to an online exhibition and a deep dive into a family's history that was all but lost.

03/16/2021

We’re over the moon for our upcoming Virtual Scholar Talk with National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution curator Margaret Weitekamp on March 17 at 5 pm EST! There’s still time to register for this FREE discussion. Dr. Weitekamp will share stories of women in aviation using examples from Smithsonian collections. Register here- http://s.si.edu/awhi-march17 #BecauseOfHerStory

We’re over the moon for our upcoming Virtual Scholar Talk with National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution curator Margaret Weitekamp on March 17 at 5 pm EST! There’s still time to register for this FREE discussion. Dr. Weitekamp will share stories of women in aviation using examples from Smithsonian collections. Register here- http://s.si.edu/awhi-march17 #BecauseOfHerStory

03/09/2021

Jessica Cox Flies in the Face of Challenges

“Handicaps are mindsets. Whatever it is that stands in the way of achieving something, that’s when it's a handicap. I prefer to see them as obstacles or challenges. This is how I’ve been my whole life. I don’t know any different. I just live my life through my feet.”

Read more about Jessica Cox thanks to College Park Aviation Museum (@FieldOfFirsts). #BecauseOfHerStory
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-affiliations/2021/03/04/jessica-cox-flies-face-challenges/

The world's first licensed armless pilot is an advocate for people with disabilities and motivates people around the world to overcome their differences.

03/09/2021

Food? History? Amazing Women? Yes please! Join this conversation with our Smithsonian Affiliates and scholars from National Museum of American History

#BecauseOfHerStory