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Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 2000 



knife-edged) suggested anatomy to some, medieval appara- 

 tuses to others, science-fiction inventions to still more. Each 

 of the three exhibitions was accompanied by an artist's talk 

 and other education and public programs. 



November 19 



■ Coalition At the opening of the Miami Museum of Sci- 

 ence's exhibit "Smithsonian Expeditions: Exploring Latin 

 American and the Caribbean," Robert W. Fri, Director of 

 the National Museum of Natural History, announced the 

 formation of the Coalition for Excellence in Tropical Biol- 

 ogy (CETroB). The museum participated with the Florida 

 International University, University of Miami, Fairchild 

 Tropical Garden, Montgomery Botanical Center, and the 

 Miami Museum of Science in founding CETroB. Its pur- 

 pose is to foster collaboration among Smithsonian scientists 

 and tropical biologists of the Miami area in research, train- 

 ing, and education, and to engage foreign scientists, 

 particularly colleagues from Latin America, in education 

 and research activities in Florida and at the Smithsonian. 

 CETroB is an outgrowth of the affiliation between the mu- 

 seum and the Miami Museum of Science, which was 

 launched in November 1999, with a major exhibition in 

 Miami, "Smithsonian Expeditions: Exploring Latin Amer- 

 ica and the Caribbean," organized by museum 

 anthropologist Jane Walsh. 



November 19 



■ Exhibition The new Kenneth E. Behring Family Rotunda 

 opened in the National Museum of Natural History, display- 

 ing the museum's beloved elephant in a setting that recreates 

 the Angolan bush. The diorama introduces important ideas 

 in botany, entomology, and mineral sciences, as well as zool- 

 ogy. Overlooks above the Rotunda describe the ancestors of 

 modern-day elephants and elephants' importance in African 

 cultures. 



November 19 



■ Exhibition, special event The Miami Museum of Science 

 affiliate (Miami, Florida) implemented its affiliation with 

 the opening of "Smithsonian Expeditions: Exploring Latin 

 America and the Caribbean." Included in this exhibition 

 were nearly 40 artifacts on long-term loan from the National 

 Museum of Natural History. Attendance at the museum dur- 

 ing the period from November 1999 ro June 2000 was up 

 by 26,956 visitors, when compared to visitation during the 

 same time frame in the previous year. 



November 1 9-March 29 



■ Exhibition "Make the Dirt Fly," an exhibition at the 

 National Museum of American History, focuses on the treaty 

 period from the 1960s to 2000, emphasizing the contribu- 

 tions of the people of Panama to the operation of the canal. 

 In cooperation with STRI in Panama. 



November 20 



■ Exhibition "Make the Dirt Fly! Building the Panama 

 Canal," a Smithsonian Libtaries exhibition, opened in the 

 Libraries Gallery, located in the National Museum of Ameri- 

 can History. Panamanian Ambassador Guillermo Ford spoke 

 at the opening of the yearlong exhibit. Exhibition support 

 was provided by Bucyrus International, Inc, Dames & Moore 

 Group, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the 

 American Society for Macro Engineering as well as a number 

 of individuals. The exhibition can be seen on-line at 

 www.sil.si.edu. 



November 20 



■ Public program The National Portrait Gallery presented 

 the symposium "Augustus Washington in Context," a 

 day-long program in conjunction with the exhibition "A 

 Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington, 

 African American Daguerreotypist." Moderated by Dr. 

 Svend E. Holsoe, the symposium featured lectures by Wilson 

 J. Moses, Marie Tyler-McGraw, D. Elwood Dunn, and Ann 

 M. Shumard, on topics including the status of free blacks in 

 the antebellum North and African American immigration to 

 Liberia in the nineteenth century. Supported by The Morris 

 and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. 



November 20 



■ Public program "OurStory: Tales from the Land — Cuentos 

 de la Tierra En Familia" Family Day at the National Mu- 

 seum of American History. Renowned Mexican American 

 artist Lomas Garza shared her family's story about the 



land — from Native American hunting and gathering to 

 migrant farm labor today, working the land has been an im- 

 portant story of the American experience. An OurStory 

 production in association with ENCUENTROS. 



November 21 



■ Exhibition Two pairs of large-formar photographs, five 

 pairs of transparencies, and a slide show by contemporary 

 Iraqi artist were featured in "Constructing Identities: Recent 

 Works by Jananne al-Ani" at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. 

 Drawing on both the Sackler's permanent collection and 

 works loaned by the artist, the exhibition was the gallery's 

 first presentation of contemporary works by an artist from 

 rhe Islamic world. The images on view all sought to examine 

 and deconstruct the stereorype of "mystery and exoticism" 

 that Westerners commonly associare with the veiled women 

 of west Asia. 



November 21 



■ Exhibition "Antoin Servruguin and the Persian Image," 

 an exhibition of 50 photographs of rulers, courtiers, com- 

 moners, and daily life in Iran from the late 1870s to the 

 1930s opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The exhibi- 



