active tour equipment, now in use at a few of the 

 Smithsonian's museums and at the America's Smith- 

 sonian Exhibition sites, provides selectable audio and 

 video text tour information about objects in the collec- 

 tion. This popular visitor aid is compliant with the 

 Americans with Disabilities Act. 



F ebruary— March 



■ Exhibition Office of Physical Plant, Horticulture Ser- 

 vices Division produced a Bulb Show in the Arts & In- 

 dustries Building. 



February $—8 



■ Public Program and Symposium In collaboration with 

 numerous Smithsonian offices, the National Museum of 

 American History organized "La Francophonie Noire: 

 The Roots and Evolution of the Franco-Creole Diaspora 

 in the Americas," a three-day conference and public pro- 

 gram series to help the public understand the historic 

 roots of the African American experience through the 

 prism of the black, French-speaking world. Events in- 

 cluded a film festival, music and performances, lectures, 

 demonstrations, and a "cultural marketplace." 



February y—io 



■ Benefit The Detroit Chapter of the Archives of 

 American Art incorporated its legendary annual black- 

 tie gala, Lundi Gras XXXVII, into "A Splash of Sun- 

 shine," a weekend of art-related activities in Palm 

 Beach, Florida. Traditionally held on the Monday 

 preceding Mardi Gras, this was the first time that Lundi 

 Gras was held outside of the metropolitan Detroit area. 

 The event contributed nearly $74,000 to support 

 Archives' operations. 



February /—May 7 



■ Exhibition The Tropical Research Institute's exhibi- 

 tion "Our Reefs: Caribbean Connections" opened at the 

 Miami International Airport, a gateway for visitors to 

 the Caribbean. 



February 10 



■ Smithsonian Card The launch of the Smithsonian 

 Card was announced by Novus Services, Inc. and Smith- 

 sonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman. When consumers 



use these credit cards, a percentage of each purchase is 

 donated to the Institution. 



February 13 



■ Members andVisitors For the first time, museum 

 members were invited to visit places in the George 

 Gustav Heye Center that are rarely seen — the photo lab, 

 exhibition workroom, resource center stacks, and others. 

 One week after the event, the National Museum of the 

 American Indian welcomed its millionth visitor. 



February 18—28 



■ Children's Theater Production The Smithsonian 

 Associates' Discover}' Theater presented an original new 

 production, King Prempeh. based on the life of the remark- 

 able 19th-century king of the Asante nation (now called 

 Ghana). The play, presented in celebration of Black His- 

 tory Month, marked the first time Discovery Theater col- 

 laborated directly with a Smithsonian museum — the 

 National Museum of African Art in this case — to create 

 a production that highlighted an exhibition. 



February 28 



■ Endowment The Joseph F Cullman 3rd Endowment 

 for the Preservation of Natural History Rare Books was 

 established at the Smithsonian Institution Libtaries. 

 The $100,000 Endowment will support rare book 

 preservation as part of the Libraries' campaign to endow 

 the new Natural History Rare Book Library, now under 

 construction in the National Museum of Natural His- 

 tory East Court. 



February 28 



■ Special Announcement The Smithsonian announced its 

 first agreement under the Affiliates Program, which per- 

 mits museums and nonprofit organizations to borrow 

 collections from the Institution on a long-term basis 

 and to use the phrase "in association with the Smith- 

 sonian Institution." 



Spring 



■ Enron Donation The Enron Corporation donated 

 $32,400 to the National Zoo's Conservation and Re- 

 search Center in Front Royal, Virginia, to support Asian 

 elephant research. The Malaysian Elephant Satellite 

 Tracking Project, run in cooperation with at the 



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