As a result of SITES' dedication to issues of EEO, SITES Di- 

 rector Anna R. Cohn was honored with a special award for 

 "Excellence in Equal Opportunity" in 1994. 



SITES is a high-visibility outreach arm of the Smithsonian. 

 In FY 1994, 253 exhibitions traveled to 44 states, the District 

 of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan, Canada, and 

 Japan. SITES hopes that its expanded visitor base in the com- 

 ing year will enable more Americans than ever before to expe- 

 rience the rich variety of exhibition programs available from 

 the Smithsonian. 



Education and Public Service 



and the Smithsonian. The analysis will allow the Institution 

 to suggest mutually beneficial collaborations with institutions 

 of higher education. 



David Perkins, codirector of Project Zero at Harvard Uni- 

 versity School of Education, delivered the keynote address, 

 "Learning from Things," at a forum organized with the Coun- 

 cil of Museum Education Directors. 



Center for Folklife Programs and 

 Cultural Studies 



Richard Kurin, Director 



Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

 Education and Public Service 



James Early, Assistant Secretary 



The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Public 

 Service fosters and facilitates educational activities — through- 

 out the Institution, nationwide, and in many foreign coun- 

 tries — that strengthen the Smithsonian's leadership role as a 

 national educational institution. A particular emphasis is on 

 programs that meet the needs of diverse constituencies, espe- 

 cially underrepresented and underserved communities, in the 

 arts, humanities, and sciences. The office and the units it over- 

 sees provide information about the Smithsonian to national 

 and international audiences, engage in applied research and 

 documentation of living cultures, and collaborate with ele- 

 mentary and secondary schools, museums, and educational 

 associations. 



The Educational Outreach Fund, an unrestricted trust fund 

 administered by the office, expanded its scope to include the 

 emerging needs of the Smithsonian's educational units. A 

 range of planning, implementation, and consultation grants 

 from the fund focused on education, cultural interpretation, 

 and audience development. 



Through a new category of the Educational Outreach 

 Fund — Research in Museum Education — two Smithsonian 

 educators pursued independent research and critical thinking 

 projects. Proposals were evaluated through a peer review pro- 

 cess. One research project proposed using established learning 

 patterns to measure how elementary and secondary school stu- 

 dents learn in programs cosponsored by museums and schools. 

 The second project proposed using new methods for teaching 

 museum visitors about difficult, complex contemporary art 

 exhibitions. 



The office appointed a director of college and university re- 

 lations to evaluate alliances between colleges and universities 



The Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies pro- 

 motes the understanding and continuity of diverse contempo- 

 rary grassroots cultures in the United States and throughout 

 the world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pro- 

 gramming and production of the annual Festival of American 

 Folklife. 



The 28th annual Festival of American Folklife, which took 

 place July 1-10, was very well received by the public, commu- 

 nity representatives, and the media. Life magazine called the 

 Festival a "national treasure" and quoted writer Henry Allen: 

 "The Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife 

 leaves you feeling as though you've attended a service at the 

 First Church of the Great American Idea." 



"Masters of Traditional Arts: The National Endowment for 

 the Arts National Heritage Fellows" brought together some 

 30 recipients of the prestigious award. The program offered a 

 great array of the many threads that make up our national cul- 

 tural fabric — from lei making to quilting, from blues to con- 

 junto. The program richly illustrated the community base of 

 traditional arts and the ways in which these valued traditions 

 are transmitted across generations. The program looked to the 

 multiple roles that Heritage Fellows play in their communi- 

 ties — as teachers, role models, inheritors, innovators, and ad- 

 vocates — and the significant contributions they have made to 

 the cultural life of their communities and our nation. 



"Culture and Development" examined how grassroots cul- 

 ture contributes to participatory economic and social develop- 

 ment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Sixteen self-help 

 organizations that use indigenous knowledge, skills, and val- 

 ues to produce community social and economic benefits were 

 selected, and the)' helped curators design their presentations 

 on the Mall. One goal of the presentations was to show that 

 communities define themselves through continuous negotia- 

 tion and exchange with the outside world. Demonstrations in- 

 cluded map-making, textile production, organic farming 

 techniques, and community radio broadcasting. The program 

 successfully met the challenges of going beyond researching 

 cultural activities, identifying articulate project practitioners, 

 and enabling indigenous groups to present themselves in an 



80 



