and Remaining a Critic." "New Voices," featuring the view- 

 points of emerging art scholars on changing exhibitions, was 

 developed by Senior Educator Teresia Bush and launched in 

 the fall. A "Young Artist" program started in the spring with 

 "Sketching and Music in the Garden" for all ages. The 

 popular George Segal exhibition was enlivened by a gallery 

 presentation by Argentine performance artist Guillermo Sil- 

 veira and by a poetry workshop that artracted nearly 60 par- 

 ticipants. "First Friday" gallery talks continued monthly, and 

 the popular independent film series included a range of new 

 and unusual works culled from international festivals and rare- 

 ly, if ever, screened in commercial movie houses. A sampling 

 includes Mat'i syn (Mother and Son), 1997, Alesandr Sagoruv's 

 masterwork about a dying woman attended by her grown son 

 (in Russian with English subtitles), and Quien diablos es Juliette? 

 (Who the Hell Is Juliette?), 1997, Carlos Marcovich's offbeat Cuban 

 hit about a friendship between a teenager and a model starring in 

 a music video (in Spanish with English subtitles). 



Trustee and staff changes for the yeat included the election 

 of a new board member, businessman and collector Mitchell 

 Rales, and the appointments of longtime Assistant Registrar 

 Brian G. Kavanagh as Chief Registrar, and of Linda S. Powell, 

 Curator of Education at the Kimbell An Museum in Fort 

 Worth, as the Hitshhorn's Education Program Director. 



National Air and Space Museum 



Donald D. Engen, Director 



The National Ait and Space Museum's attendance continued 

 to climb in 199S, with over 10 million visitors. Five new 

 exhibitions were opened, and progress continued on the plan- 

 ning and fund-raising for the Dulles Center, including the 

 campaign to raise $130 million to build the centet, which is 

 due to open in late 2003. The Dulles Center will house nearly 

 200 aircraft and 100 spacecraft, most of which will be on dis- 

 play to the public fot the first time. 



The museum also embarked on a major renovation project, 

 which will be accomplished without ever completely closing 

 the building. The project will teplace all of the museum's 

 "window walls," the large exterior panes that give the 

 museum its distinctive look. All the skylights in the 

 museums will also be replaced. The first and second floor 

 ceilings will be replaced, and both the lighting and public 

 address systems will be upgraded. Each of the museum's arti- 

 facts currently on display will need to be carefully protected 

 or relocated. The project will be done in 11 phases, ending in 

 July 2001. Each area will be closed for approximately six 

 months, during which all the wotk in that area will be com- 

 pleted. Only two areas (totaling up to 30 percent) of the 

 museum will be closed at one time, and this for an overlap of 

 only 40 days. 



Collections and Research 



In fiscal year 1998, the National Air and Space Museum 

 revised its Collections Informarion System, converting to a 

 system that will allow museum staff and eventually the 

 general public access to collections information. Museum staff 

 members have begun the process of taking digital images of 

 collections objects that will be linked to the new system and 

 made available on rhe Web site. 



The Collections Division also introduced a bar-code system 

 for NASM artifacts. As building 7 at the Garber Facility is 

 being renovated, the thousands of artifacts stored in the build- 

 ing are being removed. As they are removed, all objects are 

 being bar-coded. This will facilirare moving artifacts to 

 Dulles when that move begins. Bar-code information will be 

 integrated into the new collection information system and 

 will eventually provide an accurare and immediate update of 

 location of each artifact in the museum's collection. 



Three aircraft that were on exhibit in the museum's west 

 end (gallery 104) were removed, disassembled, and moved 

 into storage at Garber. In their place, the Collections Division 

 assembled and suspended a Beechcraft Kingair and assembled 

 and positioned a Cessna Citation jet for the Business Wings 

 exhibition. The "Enola Gay" exhibition in gallery 103 was 

 taken down and the forward fuselage and orher B-29 parts 

 were srored in the gallery for the duration of the museum's 

 renovation project. 



Restoration continued on the Aichi Seiran, with the com- 

 pletion of both the aircraft's floats. Over 12,700 hours were 

 put into this project during the year and it is approximately 

 90 percent complete. Restoration continues on the Hawker 

 Hurricane with over 3,000 hours expended. Like the Seiran, it 

 is approximately 90 percenr complete. The Nieuport 28 res- 

 toration is approximately 75 percent complete, with the 

 majority of the work being done by volunreers. The Soviet 

 SA-2 Guidelines surface-to-air missile was completed during 

 fiscal year 1998 and work continues on the restoration of the 

 transportet. The restoration of the Pitts Special Little Stinker 

 also continues with volunteers and is also approximately 90 

 percent complete. 



Several other air and space artifacts were moved in and out 

 of the Garber shop during the year for preservation work. 

 These include World War II German aircraft, the Blohm & 

 Voss BV-155, and the Folke-Wulfe Ta-152, with work also 

 being done on the Dornier Do 355. 



The NASM Engine Preservation Project also continued at 

 an extremely effective pace. More than 135 separate aircraft 

 power plants have been placed on mobile stands constructed 

 within the shop and preservation of these engines proceeds. 



The new conservarion lab at the Garber Faciliry was com- 

 pleted during fiscal year 1998. The new lab gives the 

 Division's conservation unit a suitable work space to continue 

 the conservation of objects to prepare them for the move to 

 the new Dulles Center. 



In a ceremony on December 10, Museum Director Donald 

 D. Engen accepted into the collection a backup "Iridium" 



60 



