December 



■ Acquisition The Frederick Matson collection of Old 

 World clays was transferred from Matson's laboratory 

 at Penn State University to the Conservation Analyti- 

 cal Laboratory. Researchers have analyzed samples of 

 these clays extensively during the past 20 years, 

 making them a valuable addition to the reference 

 materials in the CAL data bank. 



December 



■ Publication Demography and Natural History of the 

 Common Fruit Bat — on Barro Colorado, Panama (Smith- 

 sonian Contributions to Zoology, no. 511), was published 

 by the National Museum of Natural History. In this 11- 

 year field study, scientists for the first time have been 

 able to capture, mark, and monitor successfully a noctur- 

 nal and elusive population of tropical fruit bats, which 

 play an important role in tropical ecosystems. 



December 



■ Volunteers The Visitor Information and Associates' 

 Reception Center's annual appreciation event for volun- 

 teer information specialists was held in the Smithsonian 

 Castle Building. 



December 



■ Acquisition Through a generous gift of Irwin Silber 

 and Barbara Dane, the Folkways Archives and Collec- 

 tions, Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural 

 Studies, acquired Paredon Records master tapes and 

 contracts. The collection includes more than 50 titles 

 devoted to political and topical songs. 



December 



■ Publication Beginning with the January— February 

 1992 issue ofSmithsonian Runner, the bimonthly newsletter 

 for Native Americans produced by the Office of Public Af- 

 fairs, contributing members of the National Museum of 

 the American Indian began receiving a special edition of 

 Runner that includes a two-page supplement. 



December 



■ Research The Smithsonian Institution Libraries 

 opened a database searching center for CD— ROMs. 

 Funded by a $50,000 grant from the James Smithson 



Society, the center has eight databases, two local 

 workstations, and four ports for dial-in access. 



December 



■ Special Events A festival of performances, symposia, 

 and exhibitions marking the 200th anniversary of 

 Mozart's death was presented by the National Museum 

 of American History and the Woodrow Wilson Inter- 

 national Center for Scholars along with the John F. Ken- 

 nedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Library of 

 Congress, and the National Gallery of Art. 



December 2 



■ Renovation A year-long renovation of the Hirshhorn 

 Museum and Sculpture Garden's 2.7-acre outdoor plaza 

 began, to include a wheelchair entrance, grassy exhibi- 

 tion areas for sculpture, additional trees and plantings, 

 granite paving, and a pathway along the edge. The 

 design was developed in conjunction with museum staff 

 by landscape architect James Urban of Annapolis, 

 Maryland, and is being carried out by the George 

 Hyman Construction Company. 



December J 



■ Cultural Diversity The Office of Public Affairs, in 

 conjunction with the deputy assistant secretary for the 

 arts and humanities, held two focus groups to deter- 

 mine how African Americans learn about Smithsonian 

 activities and what the most efficient communication 

 channels are for reaching them. The focus groups were a 

 direct outgrowth of the OPA Ad Hoc African American 

 Media Advisory Committee. 



December 7 



■ Exhibition "Time Covers the War: Personalities from 

 World War II" opened at the National Portrait Gallery. 

 Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Japanese 

 attack on Pearl Harbor, this exhibition included 36 

 original portraits commissioned for covers of Time 

 between 1938 and 1945. 



December 7—8 



■ Seminar To complement the Smithsonian Institution 

 Traveling Exhibition Service exhibition '"Degenerate 

 Art': The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany," 

 the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, in co- 



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