murucation skills. Faculty included Irene Hirano, Director, 

 and Akemi Kikumura, Curator at JANM; and Marshall 

 Wong, Art Initiative Director for the L.A. County Museum of 

 Art. Participants represented museums and cultural institu- 

 tions in California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New 

 York, and Washington. 



The Center for Museum Srudies and the Inter-University 

 Program for Latino Research hosted "Inrerpreting Latino Cul- 

 tures: Research and Museums," June 29 through July 10. This 

 annual seminar offers hands-on training in methods of re- 

 searching and interpreting museum and archival collections. 

 This year's program challenged students to develop strong re- 

 search skills while exploring issues of interpretation and repre- 

 sentation of cultural marenals and rraditions in museums. 

 Practicums in conducting object-based research and in access- 

 ing and using the collections of the Smithsonian, the Nation- 

 al Archives, and the Library of Congress were key components 

 of the program. This year's faculty included Gerald Poyo, St. 

 Mary's University; Refugio Rochin, SI Center for Latino In- 

 itiatives; and Tamas Ybarra-Frausto, Rockefeller Foundation. 

 A highlight of the program was the keynote presentation, 

 "The Culturally Specific Museum: Trap or Treasure," 

 delivered by Susana Torruella Leval, Director of El Museo del 

 Barrio in New York. 



The Cenrer for Museum Studies, in collaboration with the 

 Fundacion Antorchas and the University of Buenos Ares, 

 began a professional development training project, based in 

 Argentina, designed to ensure rhat the cultural patrimony of 

 South American museums will not disappear as a result of 

 neglect or lack of resources. A series of three conservation and 

 exhibition development workshops, using Smithsonian 

 specialists and local conservators as faculry, concluded in 

 November at the University of Buenos Aires Museo 

 Etnografico. 



The conclusion of 1998 witnessed the beginning of a 

 merger of the Center for Museum Srudies with the Smith- 

 sonian Office of Education. The new alignment will preserve 

 the center's mission to advance and enrich knowledge about 

 museum theories and practices. It will also serve to enhance 

 the capabilities of both offices to build a rich mix of con- 

 stituencies for the Smithsonian. 



stallation services for about two dozen Smithsonian clients 

 and affiliates. 



Consultation 



Consulting services are a growing and important component 

 of OEC's work. Sharing rheir expertise with Smithsonian 

 clients and a number of affiliate and outside organizations, 

 OEC staff have helped define the content, execution, and even 

 feasibility of several proposed exhibitions over the past year. 

 OEC has also been at the forefront of training programs 

 designed to benefit museum practitioners in the United 

 States and abroad. Examples of this assistance include: 



• Editorial and content development services for a written 

 proposal for How We Discover, a joint Si-National 

 Science Foundation exhibition/educational outreach 

 project. The How We Discover project aims to engage 

 "participants" in the scientific as well as creative proces- 

 ses applied by researchers in their work. The Office of 

 the Provost requested OEC's help in developing the 

 proposal and related material. 



• Conceptual design services for the National Museum of 

 Natural History on a proposed exhibition on the Vikings 

 scheduled to open in 2000. 



• Conceptual design services for Mammals on the Move, a 

 series of small-scale traveling components related to the 

 renovation of the Mammal Hall at the National Museum of 

 Natural History. 



• Design consulting services to Arizona's Bisbee Mining and 

 Historical Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, for an exhibi- 

 tion on the Bisbee coppet mines and mineralogy. 



• Development, management, and ongoing support for an 

 object handling, packing, and shipping training program 

 for members of the National Museum of Natural History's 

 MOVE team. The MOVE project involves the transfer of 

 objects and artifacts (ranging from elephant skulls to plaster 

 casts of ancient Roman bas reliefs) from the National Museum 

 of Natural History to the SI Museum Support Center in 

 Suitland, Maryland. 



• Training in graphics and fabrication procedures for three 

 museum technicians from Cape Coast, Ghana, as part of a 

 collaborative effort between the Smithsonian's Office of 

 International Relations and the nation of Ghana. 



Office of Exhibits Central 



Michael Headley, Director 



One of the Smithsonian's largest and most comprehensive 

 exhibit producers, the Office of Exhibits Central (OEC) 

 provides high-quality products and services to nearly every 

 museum, office, and research program in the Institution. In 

 1998, OEC's 40-person staff performed consulting, design, 

 editing, graphics, modelmaking, fabrication, crating, and in- 



Design, Editing, and Graphics 



Exhibit designers at OEC are responsible for all aspecrs of 

 visual presentation, from gallery configuration and case 

 design to text panels, banners, and fund-raising packages. 

 Exhibit editors collaborate with designers and curators to 

 ensure that text, design, objects, and graphics work together 

 to create a cohesive, informative presentation. Graphics staff 

 provide silk-screening, phoro mounting, archival matting and 

 framing, exhibit refurbishment, and other graphic art ser- 

 vices. Among the year's highlights were: 



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