September 5 



■ Exhibition "Visual Thinking: Sketchbooks from the 

 Archives of American Art" opened in the New York 

 Regional Center. The show, which was also featured on 

 the Archives' website, featured sketchbooks from 

 prominent as well as little-known nineteenth- and twen- 

 tieth-century American artists, including William Har- 

 nett, John White Alexander, Luis Mora, Robert Henri, 

 Oscar Bluemner, and David Park. 



September 12 



■ Contract Award At a ceremony in Cambridge, MA, 

 September 12, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin 

 officially transferred responsibility for flight operations 

 and management of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics 

 Facility (AXAF) to SAO. AXAF will be the first 

 major spacecraft to be controlled in space by a non- 

 NASA center. 



September 13 



■ Accreditation Renewal The National Zoo received con- 

 tinuation of accreditation from the American Zoo and 

 Aquarium Association (AZA). For a 200 or aquarium to 

 become a member of the AZA, an extensive accredita- 

 tion process must take place. Besides a lengthy applica- 

 tion, a two-day on-site inspection by a team of zoo and 

 aquarium professionals must be conducted. The visiting 

 team observes and evaluates all aspects of a zoo's opera- 

 tions. Accreditation was made mandatory for member- 

 ship in the AZA in 1980. 



hibit in the AA/PG Library of the newly acquired papers 

 of scholar Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, chair of the Smithsonian 

 Council and of the Latino Oversight Committee. Dr. Ybarra- 

 Frausto has written and published extensively on Latin 

 American and U.S. Latino cultural issues. 



September 20 



■ Permanent Exhibition The National Museum of 

 Natural History proudly welcomed the public to see the 

 results of the most ambitious exhibition renovation ever 

 undertaken on the Mall: the Janet Annenberg Hooker 

 Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. Galleries devoted 

 to mineralogy, earth sciences, and the formation of the 

 solar system showcase the museum's extraordinary col- 

 lections of gemstones and crystals, take visitors into 

 mine dioramas, outline the theory of plate tectonics, 

 and describe how scientists use meteorites to crack the 

 secrets of the early solar system. 



September 20 



■ Public Program The National Postal Museum spon- 

 sored a special musical performance entitled Music on a 

 Block of Four: Appreciating American Songivriters. 



September 20 



■ Special Event The Smithsonian Associates' Young 

 Benefactors produced its eighth annual black-tie gala at 

 the National Air and Space Museum. This glittering 

 event raises more than $100,000 each year for the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. 



September 16-18 



■ Workshop "Preservation Management of Photograph 

 Collections — Saving Images for the Digital Age" was a 

 Conservation Analytical Laboratory RELACT course 

 and workshop that included, through lectures and 

 demonstrations, an introduction to care and manage- 

 ment of photographic materials, identification of photo 

 prints and negatives, and preservation of special media, 

 concentrating on the challenges of preserving 

 photographs through digitization as one component of 

 an overall strategy. 



September 18— October 24 



■ Exhibition In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage 

 month, the Archives of American Art presented an ex- 



September 23—25 



■ International Workshop An audience of artists, conser- 

 vators, curators, and collectors attended the workshop 

 "Preservation oilmdgenes: Hispanic American Religious 

 Images on Wood" at the Conservation Analytical 

 Laboratory. Hispanic religious artifacts, bultos, and 

 retablos were surveyed including their history, 

 materials, polychrome fabrication and decoration, and 

 preservation and restoration. The workshop included lec- 

 tures and studio exercises revolving around the examina- 

 tion of artifacts and techniques, enhanced by the 

 connoisseurship of scholars, and provided technical in- 

 formation on preservation concerns. Made possible 

 through financial support by the Office of the Provost, 

 this workshop was the first of a series of similar events, 

 planned as part of an outreach effort to the Latino com- 



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