ICYMI: Highlights from the week that was Sept. 22 – Sept 28, 2019

The two discussed Bunch’s timely new book, “A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump.” Read more.

How to make a smash hit Black history museum: Smithsonian head Lonnie Bunch tells what it took to start the National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Chicago Tribune, September 24

Read the article: Smithsonian head Lonnie Bunch tells what it took to start NMAAHC – Chicago Tribune – 9.24.19

Art and Design

See the portraits of Jeff Bezos and Lin-Manuel Miranda that are headed to the National Portrait Gallery

CNBC, September 23

The photo of “Hamilton” creator Miranda was originally shot for a 2016 Rolling Stone magazine by Mark Seliger.

Portraits of Jeff Bezos and Lin-Manuel Miranda are heading to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15. Read more. 

History, Culture, and Education

Activist Suzan Shown Harjo is still winning her fight against Native American mascots

The Washington Post, September 23

Suzan Shown Harjo, shown in 2013, was in Washington on Friday for the one-day symposium “A Promise Kept: The Inspiring Life and Works of Suzan Shown Harjo.” (Jahi Chikwendiu/Washington Post)

The story the Smithsonian researcher told was of a little girl, a second-grader, in small-town Oklahoma in the early 1950s. The little girl was differing with her teacher one day about the facts of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, known more infamously, and oddly, by the name of its loser, Lt. Col. George Custer, rather than any of the American Indian tribes that vanquished Custer and his troops. Read more. 

Smithsonian Breaks Ground on Native American Memorial

NBC-4 Washington, September 21

A new memorial on the National Mall will honor Native American veterans. It’s designed by an acclaimed artist of Cheyenne and Arapaho descent. He’s also a marine who served in the Vietnam War. News4’s Derrick Ward reports. (Published Saturday, Sep 21, 2019 | Credit: Derrick Ward) Watch the video.

Researching Food History in the Middle School Classroom

School Library Journal, September 25

Via School Library Journal

When I was in third grade at P.S. 41 in New York’s Greenwich Village, my class held a potluck dinner. My mother, who grew up outside Chicago, brought a hot dish of spaghetti Bolognese. As we entered the cafeteria, the steam of the food thick in the air, her eyes filled with tears: “This is why I moved us to New York City, right here. Look at all these different foods!” Read more. 

Paul Simon Has 50 Ways to Charm an Audience

As the 2019 recipient of the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal, the musician divulged he still has one more song to write

Smithsonian.com, September 20

The mostly retired singer-Songwriter Paul Simon told financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein that a recent dream has prompted him to work on a new extended piece of music. (NMAH)

his week at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, a packed crowd of admirers welcomed the musician, singer, songwriter and philanthropist Paul Simon, who was on hand to receive the museum’s coveted Great Americans Medal. The award is given annually to individuals whose life’s work embody American ideas and ideals.

“As an institution that honors, collects and interprets American history, his work particularly excites us,” said the museum’s director Anthea M. Hartig, at the ceremony Wednesday evening. “Just as his music is timeless, it is simultaneously deeply rooted in very specific moments of the 20th and early 21st century. He helps us touch politics, culture, our national mood, our love and our lives.” Read more. 

How a meat truck driver helped solve one of WWII’s most enduring mysteries

Business Insider, September 23

“It’s kind of like the equivalent of dropping a soda can into canyon and putting on a blindfold and going and finding it, because you can’t just look down and see it,” diver Jeff Goodreau said of finding the wreck. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel

The USS Eagle 56 was only five miles off the coast of Maine when it exploded.

The World War I-era patrol boat split in half, then slipped beneath the surface of the North Atlantic. The Eagle 56 had been carrying a crew of 62. Rescuers pulled 13 survivors from the water that day. It was April 23, 1945, just two weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany. Read more. 

Science and Technology

Bye-Bye Birdies: Almost 3 Billion Birds Disappeared From North America’s Skies In Less Than 50 Years

A new study reports that birds living or breeding in Canada and the United States have declined by an average of 29% since 1970

Forbes, September 23

Migrating flock of red-winged blackbirds, Agelaius phoeniceus
. Red-winged blackbirds are common denizens of wetlands and marshes throughout most of North America, but they have declined by an estimated 92 million individuals.(Credit: Minette Layne / CC BY-NC 2.0) MINETTE LAYNE VIA A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

Thanks to human actions, most of North America’s bird populations are declining. A recently published study reports that North American bird populations have declined by an estimated 2.9 billion individuals (29%) since 1970. Most of the lost birds are common species, including familiar backyard birds, such as sparrows, finches and warblers, that live or breed throughout the United States and Canada. Read more. 

A passion to save gorillas makes one 11-year-old a ‘hero’

Addy Barrett wins Gloria Barron Prize for her efforts to help the endangered animals.

The Washington Post, September 23

Addy Barrett of Germantown, Maryland, watches a gorilla with her mom after a visit with Meredith Bastian, curator of primates at the National Zoo, in Washington. Addy, who’s 11, recently won the Gloria Barron Prize for her efforts to raise awareness of threats to gorillas. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

When Meredith Bastian was 8 years old, she went to the National Zoo to get help with a school project. She interviewed the curator of primates at the time and asked her about wild gorillas. Fast-forward 34 years, and Bastian is the curator of primates at the zoo. This summer she talked to a girl who shares her passion for the primates. Read more. 

‘Get Used to it’ — The Women Who Broke Through Apollo’s Glass Ceiling

They had to deal with a lot of “mosquitoes.”

Space.com, September 22

Last Thursday (Sept. 12), three women who were critical to the success of the Apollo program spoke at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum here about their experiences as scientists and engineers at NASA.

At the museum’s 2019 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History, moderator, museum director and former NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan spoke with Poppy Northcutt, an engineer and “computer” who worked as the first-ever woman in an operational support role in mission control during Apollo 8,  JoAnn Hardin Morgan, an aerospace engineer who was the only woman working in the firing room for Apollo 11, and Carolyn Leach Huntoon, who directed and conducted medical research at NASA and was the first American woman to serve as director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Read more and watch the video.

The Crisis for Birds is a Crisis for Us All (Opinion)

The mass disappearance of North American birds is a dire warning about the planet’s well-being. 

The New York Times, September 19

Read the full story: Opinion _ The Crisis for Birds Is a Crisis for Us All – The New York Times – 9.19.19

Various Subjects

Smithsonian Showed Progress, But Still Struggled on Cyber in FY2018

MeriTalk, September 25

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) made some progress in its Fiscal Year 2018 FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) audit, but still sat at around a Level 2 on the FISMA scale, according to a report released September 23 by the Smithsonian Office of Inspector General.

The audit found improvement for the institution in the Identify and Recover functions of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, rising from Level 1 in FY2017 to Level 2 in FY2018. However, SI fell well short of the Level 4 needed to be considered an effective information security program. Read more.