October 



Chronology 



■ Exhibition "Vanishing Amphibians" represented a 

 collaboration among the Office of Exhibits Central, 

 Natural History, and various outside conservation or- 

 ganizations. The exhibition was mounted on a 

 lightweight, durable, and inexpensive exhibit unit sys- 

 tem designed and fabricated by OEC. The OEC desig- 

 ner and the Graphics production unit produced a 

 display that was simultaneously catchy, informative, 

 and motivational. 



October 



October 



■ Research Result The first direct image of the surface 

 of a star — other than the Sun — was made with the Hub- 

 ble Space Telescope by an SAO astronomer and a col- 

 league. Their observations, directed toward the stellar 

 behemoth Betelgeuse, reveal the presence of a huge, 

 hot, unexplained bright spot on its surface, which is 

 completely different from the multitude of small, dark 

 spots seen on the Sun. 



October 



■ Exhibition For Voyages and Visions, in addition to 

 selecting a presentation style including matting, fram- 

 ing, wall colors, lighting, and more, in keeping with a 

 traditionally elegant art display, the Office of Exhibits 

 Central created another level of ambience for the Inter- 

 national Gallery. Using its intimate familiarity with the 

 space after years of service, OEC designed and built a 

 special doorway and other architectural and typographic 

 elements in the style of Western artists who depicted 

 the Middle East. 



October 



■ Visiting Fellow The Smithsonian Institution 

 Libraries welcomed Luis Oporto-Ordonez, Director of 

 the Department of Information and Scientific Documen- 

 tation at the National Museum of Ethnography and 

 Folklore in La Paz, Bolivia, for a three-month term as a 

 Library Fellow of the American Library Association. 



■ Award Presentation In partnership with the 

 American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Smithsonian 

 Magazine awarded the sixth annual AST "A/ 'Smithsonian 

 Magazine Environmental Award to Princess Cruises and 

 New Zealand's Heritage Trails Foundation. The award 

 recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions 

 by individuals, corporations and countries toward fur- 

 thering the goals of environmental conservation. 



October 



■ Watershed Research A six year, $750,000 grant was 

 received by the Smithsonian Environmental Research 

 Center from the Coastal Oceans Program of the Nation- 

 al Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to 

 conduct a study of the Patuxent River watershed in con- 

 junction with a parallel study of the tidal river, to be 

 carried out by the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. 

 The goal of the grant is to assess the relative effects of 

 variations in weather, land use, and geology on dischar- 

 ges of water, nutrients, sediments, and selected toxic 

 materials. 



October— November 



■ Curriculum Development The National Science 

 Resources Center began nationally field-testing Changes 

 (second grade), Motion and Design (fourth grade), and 

 The Technology of Paper (sixth grade), the final three units 

 in the 24-unit Science and Technology for Children 

 hands-on science curriculum. 



October— December 



■ Institute The National Science Resources Center and 

 the New York City Urban Systemic Initiative cospon- 

 sored K— 12 Science Education Leadership Institute ses- 



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