Smithsonian Offers Behind-The-Scenes Event

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Aug 1st 2010 at 8:00AM

A rare chance to go behind the scenes at the Smithsonian will be offered October 20-23. Smithsonian Journeys has announced the "Celebrate Smithsonian" event in which participants will meet Smithsonian curators and staff, explore Smithsonian collections not on public view, attend private demonstrations and the newest exhibitions and enjoy exclusive dinners with Smithsonian staff in museum galleries.

The program begins with a private gala reception and dinner at the Smithsonian "Castle" building. Richard Kurin, Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, will welcome participants and give an overview of the Smithsonian's colorful past and present. The next two days will focus on Smithsonian collections in storage and on display. Museum staff will lead tours through the Museum Support Center, a high-tech home to more than 54 million artifacts, where scholars work on the research and conservation of some of the nation's treasures. At the National Museum of American History, curator of musical instruments Kenneth Slowik will how priceless instruments from the collection and demonstrate their rich tones.

Other highlights include special access to the Museum of Natural History's new Human Origins exhibition, featuring state-of-the-art galleries that focus on how the environment and life have changed over the past 6 million years. Participants will remain at the museum for a private dinner in the Hall of Mammals followed by a talk by the curator of the Human Origins exhibition, Rick Potts.

Another tour features the new special exhibition "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, after which curator Virginia Mecklenburg will join the group for lunch and talk about the exhibition. A gala farewell dinner takes place at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, home to 5.9 million objects, where Director Allen Kane will speak about the plans for the museum's expansion.

More details on the Smithsonian Journeys website.

Tags: Museum of Natural History, museum tours, norman rockwell, Smithsonian, washington, washington dc