August 



August 8 



■ Research The National Museum of American Art's 

 first Distinguished Scholar, Sidra Stich, arrived for a 

 one-year residency. 



August 



■ Acquisition The Smithsonian Institution Libraries 

 purchased a very rare book on mollusks with funds from 

 the Institution's Collections Acquisitions Fund. 



J. J.N. A. Spalowsky's Prodromus in sy sterna historicum testa- 

 ceorum (Vienna, 1795) with its hand-painted engravings 

 of striking artistic beauty, has been called "the rarest of 

 the superbly illustrated iconographies on shells." 



August 



■ Exhibition The Great Outdoor Flight exhibit re- 

 opened to the public at the National Zoo after renova- 

 tion. The exhibit, 90 feet high and 120 feet in diameter, 

 is one of the 10 largest outdoor aviaries in North Amer- 

 ica. The refurbished exhibit features North and South 

 American birds such as the scarlet ibis, roseate spoon- 

 bill, Inca tern, blue heron, and white-faced ibis. An- 

 other highlight is a collection of state birds of the 

 United States. New shrubs complement the rock faces 

 and waterfall, and a redesigned pathway ensures access 

 for visitors with disabilities. 



August 



■ Online Service The Office of Printing and Photo- 

 graphic Services' online deliveries of electronic images 

 topped 500,000 with deliveries through the Internet, 

 America Online, CompuServe, and GEnie. 



August 5—6 



■ Workshop National Science Resources Center stafT 

 presented a science education workshop to scientists and 

 engineers at a National Academy of Sciences conference 

 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 



August 7 



■ Family Program Cooper-Hewitt, National Design 

 Museum presented the second annual Design Express 

 A Kaleidoscope of Family Fun. This activity-filled fam- 

 ily program featured projects for children and adult 

 friends. 



■ Honors Five individuals were chosen as the first re- 

 cipients of the National Museum of the American 

 Indian's Art and Cultural Achievement Award in recog- 

 nition of lifelong commitment and contribution to the 

 development, maintenance, and perpetuation of Native 

 culture and community. The honorees received their 

 awards at the opening of the museum in New York City 

 in October. 



August 14 



■ Exhibition "Landscape as Culture: Photographs by 

 Lois Conner" presented 80 large-format platinum prints 

 of Asia by the American-born photographer in an exhi- 

 bition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Most of the 

 photographs were shot in China, but the exhibition also 

 included images of Hong Kong, Japan, Burma, Thai- 

 land, Nepal, Vietnam, and Cambodia. 



August 24 



■ VIP Visit Panama's new president, Dr. Ernesto Perez 

 Balladares, visited the Smithsonian Tropical Research 

 Institute to learn about current and projected activities. 



August 27 



■ Exhibition "Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on 

 Objects" emphasized the use of writing on decorative 

 objects made of clay, lacquer, metal, jade, bamboo, silk, 

 wood, and rhinoceros horn in the collection of the Freer 

 Gallery of Art. The 36 works on view ranged in date 

 from the seventh to the 19th century. 



August 2 y 



■ Research The discovery of CLOD (coralline lethal or- 

 ange disease) was reported in Science Neus and later in 

 Science. Mark and Diane Littler of the National Museum 

 of Natural History's Department of Botany found a de- 

 structive disease that has spread more than 3,600 miles 

 across Southern Pacific reefs. The highly contagious mi- 

 crobe threatens reefs by killing coralline algae, marine 

 plants that build reefs. 



August 29-September 2 



■ Workshop "Telling Your Story: Small Exhibits for 

 Tribal Museums," a workshop sponsored by the Ameri- 



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