Reports of Education, Museum, and Scholarly Services 



45 



mately 167 principal investigators by submitting 258 new 

 proposals valued at $85.3 million and by negotiating and 

 accepting for the Institution 211 grant and contract awards 

 valued at $40.4 million. 



Asian Pacific American Studies Program 



Franklin Odo, Director 



The APA Program seeks to integrate Asian Pacific American 

 contributions to U.S. history, culture, art, and society 

 through Smithsonian collections, research, exhibitions, and 

 programs. It also serves as the principal portal through 

 which the extremely diverse Asian Pacific American commu- 

 nities can provide input into the Institution. During FY 

 1999, the Asian Pacific American Studies Program made 

 great strides in establishing itself in the Asian Pacific Amer- 

 ican communities in the Washington, D.C., area and 

 nationally. 



The Program's most significant achievement with the 

 local community was the mounting of the exhibition, "From 

 Bento to Mixed Plate: Americans of Japanese Ancestry in 

 Multicultural Hawai'i." The APA Studies Program part- 

 nered with the Los Angeles-based Japanese American 

 National Museum to bring this traveling exhibition to the 

 Arts and Industries Building for six months. To bring the 

 exhibition to life, the APA Studies Program worked closely 

 wirh local community groups to recruir over 100 volunteer 

 gallery guides and artists to demonstrate art forms reflecting 

 Hawaii's multicultural heritage. Gallery guides provided 

 visitors with a memorable experience by sharing their per- 

 sonal stories about multicultural Hawaii. On Saturdays, 

 visitors participated in crafts such as raku pottery, origami, 

 and lauhala leaf weaving. 



This exhibition made an impressive impact on the Wash- 

 ington, D.C., Asian Pacific American community and 

 greatly benefited visitors. Between May 23 and August 15, 

 Bento gallery guides logged more than 1,400 volunteer 

 hours. During the summer months (June, July, and Au- 

 gust), more than 700 visitors participated in weekend arts 

 demonstrations. 



On the national front, the APA Studies Program worked 

 with Asian Pacific American leaders around the country to 

 identify priorities for a strategic plan. More than 45 scholars, 

 directors of arts organizations, and civic leaders participated 

 in the process. Inviting these opinion leaders into our strate- 

 gic planning process not only familiatized them with the 

 breadrh of Smithsonian's activities, but also helped make 

 Smithsonian more relevant to their communities around the 

 country. 



APA Director, Franklin Odo, made regular site visits to 

 centers of APA communities including Seattle, Washington, 

 northern and southern California, New York City, and 

 Hawaii in order to inform leaders, groups, and potential 

 donors of rhe opportunities unfolding for partnerships and 

 affiliations. 



Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center 



Sharon Shaffer, Executive Director 



The Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) is a 

 unique museum-based child development center, preschool, 

 and kindergarten that takes advantage of the Smithsonian's 

 invaluable resources. SEEC provides a model, high-quality 

 educational program for young children in Smithsonian 

 facilities and advances educational oppottunities for all chil- 

 dren by sharing its expertise on a national level, furthering 

 the Smithsonian's educational mandate. The program serves 

 125 children at three Smithsonian sites and has more than 

 30 staff members. 



This year, SEEC reached a new five-year agreement out- 

 lining its relarionship wirh the Smithsonian. SEEC's board 

 of directors issued a new strategic plan, A Design for Our 

 Future, which outlines growth in financial planning, diver- 

 sity, educational outreach, curriculum, and the SEEC- 

 Smithsonian partnership. 



SEEC advances its outreach mission through twice-yearly 

 seminars for teachers and museum professionals from around 

 the country and through partnerships with museums and 

 educational institutions. Several schools and federal agency 

 child-care centers currently license the SEEC curriculum, 

 including a cluster of five preschools and several cultural 

 institutions in Cleveland. 



This year, Secretary I. Michael Heyman presented SEEC's 

 founding executive director, Sharon Shaffer, with the Secre- 

 tary's Gold Medal for Exceptional Service to the Institution, 

 the fitst such award ever given to a Smithsonian educator. 



Smithsonian Affiliations 



/. Michael Carrigan, Director 



The Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program is an inno- 

 vative, collections-based outreach initiative that shares 

 Smithsonian collections, staff expertise, and programmaric 

 resources with communities nationwide. Affiliations offer 

 museums an opportunity for long-term artifact loans and 

 stimulate strong collaborations that can sustain other pro- 

 grams. More than 20 organizations currently participate in 

 the program. 



At the first annual Affiliations Program Roundtable, di- 

 rectors and staff members of affiliating museums learned 

 more abour the Smithsonian and addressed issues specific ro 

 their ongoing projects. This well-attended two-day confer- 

 ence was a posirive forum for assessing projects, exchanging 

 experiences, providing feedback, and generating networks 

 among the affiliates. 



In the past year, seven organizations have fully imple- 

 mented their affiliations with the long-tetm loans of objects 

 from the national collections: B&O Railroad Museum (Balti- 

 more, Maryland), Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum 

 (Bisbee, Arizona), Kansas Cosmosphere (Hurchinson, 



