September 25 



Film Series: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden launched its hightly acclaimed 

 series of independent films, animated short features, and documentaries for the 1987- 

 88 season. 



September 26 



Symposium: The Smithsonian Quincentenary Program presented its first public 

 symposium, "Americans Before Columbus: Ice Age Origins." Prominent North American 

 scholars engaged in a lively debate focusing on the first human occupation of the 

 Americas and on late Ice Age extinctions. The day-long event was cosponsored by the 

 National Museum of Natural History. 



September 26 



Special Event: The annual activities for members of the James Smithson Society were 

 held. Included were a morning tour of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the National 

 Museum of African Art, followed by a luncheon at the official residence of H. E. Nobuo 

 Matsunaga, ambassador of Japan. In the evening, a formal dinner was held at the 

 National Air and Space Museum. 



September 28 



Dedication Ceremony: The new Smithsonian museum complex, including the National 

 Museum of African Art, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the S. Dillon Ripley Center, and 

 the Enid A. Haupt Garden, opened following a dedication ceremony headed by Secretary 

 Adams; Secretary Emeritus S. Dillon Ripley; architect Jean-Paul Carlhian; Regent Anne 

 L. Armstrong; and John R. Kinard, director of the Anacostia Museum. 



September 28 



Smithsonian Institution Day: A proclamation by the mayor of the District of Columbia 

 named this day as Smithsonian Institution Day in honor of the public opening of the 

 two new Smithsonian museums of art and the new international center. 



September 28 



Inaugural Exhibition: The Smithsonian's International Gallery opened its inaugural 

 exhibition, "Generations," organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling 

 Exhibition Service (SITES) and the International Center. "Generations" combined 

 three hundred artifacts from lenders worldwide with 125 award-winning photographs, 

 resulting in an unprecedented look at how families around the globe and through the 

 centuries have anticipated and welcomed newborns. SITES published a companion book, 

 Generations: A Universal Family Album, for distribution by Pantheon Books. 



September 28 



Inaugural Exhibitions: The National Museum of African Art celebrated its opening with 

 five inaugural exhibitions: "African Art in the Cycle of Life"; "Royal Benin Art in 

 the Collection of the National Museum of African Art"; "Patterns of Life: West 

 African Strip-Weaving Traditions"; "The Permanent Collection of the National Museum of 

 African Art"; and "Objects of Use." Catalogues were published for the first three 

 exhibitions. 



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