Portrait of the Nation," and was regularly scheduled 

 during the run of the exhibition. This interactive play 

 on George Catlin, who chronicled Native American life 

 in the mid-nineteenth century, was presented by actor 

 and playwright Christopher Janson. 



April p and May 2 



■ Special Events The Office of Membership and Develop- 

 ment and the Office of Special Events and Conference Ser- 

 vices coordinated a fund-raising gala and a Members 

 Night to celebrate the opening of "America's Smith- 

 sonian" traveling exhibition in Kansas City, Missouri. 



April io 



■ Lecture Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell presented 

 the National Air and Space Museum's Wernher von 

 Braun Memorial Lecture, "A Successful Failure." 



April 12-August 18 



■ Exhibition "1846: Portrait of the Nation" was on 

 view at the National Portrait Gallery. In celebration of 

 the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, this major exhibition described the 

 political, cultural, and social character of America in 

 1846, a year bristling with activity, including battles 

 over slavery in Congress, the beginning of the Mexican- 

 American War, medical breakthroughs in anesthesia, 

 the Donet party tragedy, and publication of Herman 

 Melville's Typee. Representative John Quincy Adams, 

 author and protestor Henry David Thoreau, reformer 

 Dorothea Dix, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and Mormon 

 leader Brigham Young are among those depicted 

 through paintings, sculpture, prints, cartoons, silhou- 

 ettes, daguerreotypes, and memorabilia. This exhibition 

 was made possible by a grant from the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution Special Exhibition Fund. 



April 16 



■ Land Acquisition The Office of Contracting and 

 Property Management signed documents to conclude 

 the transfer of land at Ft. Pierce, FL, from the Mac- 

 Arthur Foundation to the Smithsonian, for use by the 

 Smithsonian's Marine Station research unit (NMNH). 



April 16 



■ Public Program Discovery Theater. The Smithsonian 

 Associates' live theater for young people, premiered a 

 bilingual production of Blood Wedding to a full house at 



the Maret School in Washington, D.C. The play, 

 produced in cooperation with the Gala Hispanic 

 Theatet, was Discovery Theater's first touring produc- 

 tion and was enthusiastically received by 10,000 

 children during its 20 performances at local area schools. 



April 16 



■ New site for research facility After 24 years of conduct- 

 ing research on a floating laboratory barge, the Smith- 

 sonian Marine Station acquired 8 acres of land on which 

 to build a land-based facility. The John D. And 

 Catherine T. MacArthut Foundation sold land on 

 Causeway Island near the inlet of Fort Pietce, Florida, to 

 the Smithsonian at a discounted price. In late August 

 the MacArthur Foundation signed a renewable agree- 

 ment allowing the Marine Station to use 13 acres of land 

 adjacent to the site, providing access to Indian River 

 Lagoon for ecological and environmental research. 



April ip 



■ Special opening A reception at the Suitland High 

 School Visual Arts department opened an exhibit of 

 wotks by students in the department thar culminated a 

 collaborative program between this local magnet school 

 for the arts and the Conservation Analytical Laboratory. 

 In that program, CAL staff taught a course on materials 

 science and artist materials, connecting the chemical 

 and physical properties of such materials with their 

 working behavior for the artist. The exhibit showed 

 works created by the students with materials and tech- 

 niques discussed in the course. 



April ip 



■ Exhibition Reflecting its BioPark mission, the Nation- 

 al Zoological Park opened the Pollinarium exhibit on 19 

 April, 1996. Pollinarium, a new addition to the Zoo's In- 

 vertebrates Exhibit, highlights the ecological importance 

 of animal pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds 

 and honeybees. Visitors experience an array of colorful 

 flowers that are pollinated by the resident animals. With 

 new exhibits such as Pollinarium and Think Tank, the Na- 

 tional Zoological Park, in this 150th anniversary year of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, continues its metamorphosis into 

 a Biological Park to present the complexity, diversity, and 

 interconnectedness of life on earth. 



April 22 



■ Special Event The McMillan Memorial Library of 

 Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was honored for its outstand- 



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