Public Impact 



15 



due to research by scientists at the National Zoological 

 Park. Now the Smithsonian has received commitments to- 

 taling an impressive S18 million in private support for 

 continuing efforts to ensure the survival in the wild of this 

 highly endangered species. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, a pair 

 of young gianr pandas, arrived at the Zoo from China in 

 December 2000. 



Nearly $8 million from Fujifilm, the largest single spon- 

 sorship ever received by the National Zoo, will fund the 

 acquisition of the giant pandas, construction of a new habi- 

 tat, and extensive educational programs, including a visitor 

 guide and a Web site for teachers. Discovery Communica- 

 tions' Animal Planet network, in addition to making a 

 financial contribution, will create four hour-long specials 

 and orher educational programming. FedEx contributed air 

 transporration, ground transportation, and logistical support 

 for the pandas' journey from China, at no cost to the Smith- 

 sonian. 



Additional support was provided by Ruth S. and A. 

 William Holmberg; the Alice S. Marriott Lifetime Trust; the 

 J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; the Roger and 

 Vicki Sant Fund; the Chubb Corporation; and Friends of the 

 National Zoo. In exchange for the long-term loan of the 

 giant pandas, the Zoo will contribute $1 million a year for 

 10 years to the China Wildlife Conservation Association for 

 the expansion and improvement of giant panda reserves in 

 China. 



Dynamic Outreach 



Welcoming a cross-section of America to the 

 Smithsonian experience 



In Long Beach, California, Cynthia Vidaurri captivates mid- 

 dle school students with anecdotes from her research in 

 Mexican American folklife. Vidaurri, a U.S.-Mexico Border- 

 lands scholar from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and 

 Cultural Heritage, is spending a week in Long Beach as 

 part of The Smithsonian Associates' Scholars in the Schools 

 program. Across the country, a family visiting the Miami 

 Museum of Science enters the adventurous world of "Smith- 

 sonian Expeditions." Fascinating artifacts of past civiliza- 

 tions, gathered by Smithsonian scientists in Latin America 

 and now in the collections of the National Museum of Nat- 

 ural History, make up this exhibition organized as part of 

 the Smithsonian Affiliations Program. 



Scenes like these are repeated every day somewhere in the 

 nation, as the Smithsonian shares its unparalleled resources: 

 objects on loan to complement other museums' collections, 

 curriculum guides for teachers, traveling exhibitions, and ed- 

 ucational tours and programs. Throughout the country — and 

 in the Washington, D.C., region as well — the Smithsonian's 

 energetic outreach served countless Americans. 



The Miami Museum of Science partnership that led to 

 "Smithsonian Expeditions" is a product of the Smithsonian 

 Affiliations Program, an expanding initiative, begun in 



1987, that shares artifacts, programs, and expertise with 

 other cultural institutions. By the end of the fiscal year, rhe 

 steadily increasing number of affiliations reached 58 in 23 

 states and the District of Columbia. 



All kinds of communities benefit, including McAUen, 

 Texas, located on the Rio Grande border; Oakland, Califor- 

 nia, where there is no single ethnic majority and more than 

 120 different dialects are spoken; and Bisbee, Arizona, a ru- 

 ral community that depends on heritage tourism. 



Through these partnerships, the Smithsonian touches the 

 lives of millions. Audiences grow when museums partici- 

 pate. At the Miami Museum of Science, for example, 

 attendance is up by 37 percent since "Smithsonian Expedi- 

 tions" opened. Affiliations with 18 museums were fully 

 implemented this year. One example, the Chabot Space and 

 Science Center, opened its new facility in Oakland, Califor- 

 nia, with historical telescopes and astronomical instruments 

 from the National Museum of American History and mete- 

 orites from the National Museum of Natural History. 



Collaboration with Mount Vernon, announced this year, 

 will lead to expanded exhibitions about the life and times 

 of George Washington using objects from Smithsonian col- 

 lections. The Heinz Pittsburgh Regional Center of the 

 Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania included artifacts 

 from the American History Museum in "George Washing- 

 ton: Man Behind the Myths." The center reports significant 

 attendance increases — 150 percent for school groups and 20 

 percent for general visitors — since the exhibition opened. 



New participants in the program include a remarkable 

 variety of cultural institutions: the American Jazz Museum 

 in Kansas City, Missouri; the Storytelling Foundation Inter- 

 national in Jonesborough, Tennessee; the Museum of 

 American Financial History in New York City; the North 

 Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh; and more 

 than 30 others that are welcoming America's museum to 

 their hometowns. 



Sample the art and architecture of Italy, listen to Latin 

 rhythms, escape to adult summer camp at the Smithsonian, 

 fly a kite: Lifelong learning is the specialty of The Smithson- 

 ian Associates (TSA), which offered 1,730 programs and 342 

 study tours this year. Among them was La Bella Italia, a to- 

 tal immersion in Italian art, invention, intellectual history, 

 music, and cuisine. Four-day Summer Escapes to the worlds of 

 photography, diplomacy, and cooking got rave reviews from 

 adult campers. The 34th Annual Kite Festival, a study tour 

 and seminar on the Vikings, and the lively performance- 

 interview series Musica de las Americas brought out the best 

 in TSA programming. 



In a national outreach program, teachers, students, adults, 

 and families sampled the Smithsonian in TSAs Smithsonian 

 Week in Long Beach. Under an Affiliations agreement with 

 the Public Corporation for the Arts, TSA offered lectures, 

 workshops, and school programs by three Smithsonian ex- 

 perts. They headlined three evening events in the California 

 community and gave 28 lectures, workshops, and teacher 

 programs in middle schools and high schools as part of 

 Smithsonian Scholars in the Schools. The Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) has been 



