January 15 



Exhibition: Sharing Traditions: Five Black Artists in Nineteenth-Century 

 America opened at the Museum of American Art on the anniversary of Martin Luther 

 King Jr's birth. A month- long series of related public programs, "A Festival of 

 Afro-American Arts," included lectures, a musical revue, films, readings, a dance 

 performance and conversations with contemporary artists. Among these events, 

 "Forum '85: A Question of Place," documenting the status of the Afro-American 

 visual artist in the contemporary marketplace, was made possible by a grant from 

 the Metropolitan Life Foundation. 



January 16 



New Series: A series of orientation gatherings was initiated by the Staff, 

 Volunteer and Intern Services Unit of the Visitor Information and Associates' 

 Reception Center to provide Smithsonian interns with an opportunity to meet 

 their peers and to learn about the Institution as a whole. 



January 18 



Exhibition: Peace and Friendship: Indian Peace Medals in the United States 

 opened at the National Portrait Gallery. 



January 18-21 



Inaugural Events: Seven Smithsonian museums remained open until 9 p.m. for four 

 days during the week of the Presidental inaugural. Special concerts were offered 

 in the Air and Space Museum and in the Museum of American History. One of the 

 official Inaugural Balls was held in the Air and Space Museum. 



January 29-30 



Seminar: Dr. Reuven Feuerstein, Israeli psychologist, in collaboration with the 

 Smithsonian Kellogg Project and the Capital Children's Museum in Washington, 

 D.C., presented a two-day seminar at the Smithsonian entitled "The Mediated 

 Learning Experience" for about 70 selected participants. 



January 30 -February 1 



Special Project: A team of 15 conservators and scientists from the Conservation 

 Analytical Laboratory made an extensive study of the condition of the various 

 parts of the Wright Brothers Flyer in preparation for restoration by the staff of 

 the Air and Space Museum. 



February 



Awards: The Torch, the Smithsonian's staff newspaper produced by the Office of 

 Public Affairs, received an Award of Excellence (second place) in the annual 

 writing competition of the Washington Chapter of the Society of Technical 

 Communication and subsequently a first prize in the Society's international 

 competition. Society awards also went to Smithsonian Institution Research 

 Reports, the brochure Science at the Smithsonian and several individual 

 stories of the Smithsonian News Service. Research Reports also won top honors 

 for writing and design in the annual competition of the American Association of 

 Museums . 



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