present the complexity, divetsity, and interconnected- 

 ness of life on earth. Reflecting the BioPark mission, 

 two significant new exhibits, Think Tank and Pol- 

 linarium, opened in fiscal year 1996. Think Tank is the 

 only 200 or museum exhibit in the nation that focuses 

 on the topic of thinking in animals. The exhibit en- 

 courages visitors to consider three facets of thinking: 

 tool use, language, and society. Visitors are challenged 

 with the question: Do the complex behaviors of dif- 

 ferent animals indicate thinking? One innovative Think 

 Tank project, the Orangutan Language Project, at- 

 tempts to teach these great apes language skills through 

 the use of interactive computers — all in view of visitors 

 who can pose questions to scientists who developed the 

 studies. Think Tank received the top Exhibit Award 

 from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association 

 (AZA) in September. 



October 13-14 



■ Public Program Local ensemble Havana Select per- 

 formed sacred and secular Afro-Cuban music and dance 

 at the National Museum of American History in the 

 first performance in the ongoing series "Different Drum- 

 mers." Later groups featured in the series included the 

 Kankouran West African Dance Company, Laura Wal- 

 lace and Pueblo Singers, the Irish- American group Cel- 

 tic Thunder, and Soh Daiko, a traditional Japanese taiko 

 drumming ensemble. 



October 15 



■ Milestone David F. Morrell assumed position of 

 Director, Office of Protection Services. 



October 18 



■ Event Dedication ceremonies were held on future 

 site of the National Museum of the American Indian's 

 Cultural Resources Center, scheduled to open in 1998. 

 The Cultural Resources center will house the museum's 

 vast one-million object collection and provide space for 

 research and community services, including support for 

 the resource centers at the Heye Center in New York 

 City and the Mall museum. 



October 18-19 



■ Special Event/Honors The James Smithson Society, 

 managed by Office of Membership and Development, 

 held a 20th Anniversary Weekend of behind-the-scenes 



tours and a formal dinner. At the dinner, Senator 

 Patrick Moynihan presented the James Smithson 

 Founder medal to Barbara H. and James A. Block for 

 their exceptional leadership of the National Campaign 

 for the National Museum of the American Indian. 



October ip 



U Exhibition and Programs "Stephan Balkenhol: Sculp- 

 tures and Drawings" opened at the Hirshhorn Museum 

 and Sculpture Garden, introducing this German wood 

 sculptor's deft renderings of everyday figures and 

 animals to North American museum audiences. The 

 show, organized by Director of Public Programs/Chief 

 Curator Neal Benezra — author of a catalog co-publish- 

 ed with Cantz Verlag in Germany — generated two 

 Young at Art workshops, a daylong sculpture festival, 

 and a 20th Century Consort performance. After closing 

 on January 15, the exhibition traveled to the Montreal 

 Museum of Fine Arts in Canada (February 15-May 26, 

 1996). 



October ip 



■ Special Event/Honors The Smithsonian Benefactors 

 Circle, managed by the Office of Membership and 

 Development, held a dinner at which Samuel Johnson 

 was paid tribute by Smithsonian Regent Wesley Wil- 

 liams and honored for his distinguished record of con- 

 tributions and volunteer leadership to the Smithsonian 

 during his lifetime. In addition, Norman Mineta 

 presented the Joseph Henry Medal to Sidney Yates for 

 his service through the years. 



October ip 



■ Event The Smithsonian Institution Libraries' 

 "Library Fair 95" welcomed 400 visitors. About 100 

 staff attended the associated noon lecture on "Intellec- 

 tual Property in the Electronic Age" which featured 

 Elizabeth Aversa, Dean of Catholic University School ot 

 Library and Information Science, and Robert E. Kahn. 

 "father" of the Internet and President, Corporation for 

 National Research Initiatives. 



October 21 



■ Symposium "The Woman Artist in the Gilded Age" 

 symposium was presented by the National Portrait Gal- 

 lery in conjunction with the "Cecilia Beaux and the Art 

 of Portraiture" exhibition. Guests speakers included 



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