O Say Can You See?

Bringing new light to history--on the outside

It was in the year 1882 when Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, developed the idea for electric Christmas tree lights. Now, the fashion of the illuminated outdoor tree is a widely practiced tradition for many around the holidays. It’s a great way to express ourselves, get creative, and add color and light to these cold and barren winter days.

In the effort to go green and reduce our carbon footprint, the Smithsonian’s Horticulture Division is phasing out conventional incandescent lights and illuminating our trees with LEDs. What are LEDs you ask? Light-Emitting Diodes—and they are great! Although the initial cost is more, these lights will last longer, glow brighter, and can save up to 80% on your energy bill. They do not produce any heat and stay cool to the touch. This is great for safety reasons indoors and out.

The Horticulture team started using LED lights on the National Mall side of the National Museum of American History last season to highlight the branching structure of the 16 ‘Prairie Fire’ Crabapple trees. 10 to 12 strands per 12-foot tree were used to wrap the trunks and main branches to the tips. We chose amber-colored lights because of the soft glow they emit. The effect is stunning. The intention was to draw the public’s eye from across the Mall and give them a warm, “in the holiday spirit” feeling. We are receiving only positive feedback, so it seems to be working!

What we have on display now is just the beginning. For future holiday seasons, we have plans for a grand light show for the entire outside of the museum which includes LED light nets for the hedges, and lights for new pocket-garden trees that will be installed next spring. By designing with complementary LED colors, shapes, and sizes, we will “bring to light” the beauty of the existing landscape even on these long, chilly winter nights.

Joe Brunetti is a horticulturalist with the Smithsonian.

The First Ladies at the Smithsonian: more than dresses

Last Friday we were thrilled to open our new exhibition First Ladies at the Smithsonian. The exhibition tells the history of the First Ladies collection, and shows off 14 gowns and over 90 other objects—including china and jewelry—that have been collected by the Smithsonian over the past hundred years. The exhibition also answers some frequently asked questions about the First Ladies collection:

Whose gowns are included in the collection?
The gowns in the collection belonged to the women who acted as the official White House hostesses during presidential administrations. Usually it was the president’s wife. If a president’s wife had died or was unable to serve, he chose a family member or friend to act as his hostess.

Is a first lady required to donate her inaugural ball gown?
The Smithsonian asks each first lady to donate something to represent her in the collection. It has become tradition for that item to be the inaugural ball gown, but it is not required.

Does the Smithsonian own an inaugural ball gown for every first lady?
Each presidential administration is represented in the collection by an article of clothing that belonged to the first lady or the president’s official hostess, but not all are inaugural ball gowns.

If a first lady has two terms, does the Smithsonian collect gowns from both inaugurals’ balls?
Although Ida McKinley’s second inaugural ball gown and three gowns worn by Eleanor Roosevelt to inaugural festivities are part of the collection, the Smithsonian usually collects only the gown from the first inaugural ball. The second gown is often exhibited at the presidential library.

Why aren’t all of the gowns on exhibit?
Light, climate, and gravity are all harmful to fabric. Over time, they have damaged the gowns. There are some gowns that can no longer be exhibited because they were too badly damaged by their years on display. Other dresses are rotated on and off display in order to keep them in good condition.

Are the gowns altered?
Each mannequin is custom-made to fit and support the gown. The Smithsonian does not alter the gowns.

Do you exhibit reproductions of the gowns?
The Smithsonian sometimes reproduces portions of a gown to complete it for exhibition but does not exhibit gowns that are entire reproductions.

Which is the oldest gown in the collection?
The oldest gown in the collection belonged to Martha Washington. The oldest inaugural gown in the collection belonged to Andrew Jackson’s niece, Emily Donelson, who wore it to his 1829 inaugural ball.

Megan Smith serves as educator on the First Ladies exhibition team and covets Helen Taft’s beaded gown.

The famous flying elephant

I’m lucky enough to have an office near a car from Disneyland’s Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride on display and I often hear the comments of visitors as they see him. It seems like no matter how young or old a person is, everyone who passes by Dumbo smiles. Little kids either yell out “It’s Dumbo!” or “An ELEPHANT!” depending on their familiarity with the classic Disney character, and their parents often chime in with their own personal memories.

As a child, I grew up going to Walt Disney World every few years and was an avid Dumbo fan. Each time we visited, my family would wait in line to fly the skies in an elephant. And, regardless of the number of minutes we had already waited to get on the ride, my mother would always be willing to wait one more cycle if all of the purple-accessorized Dumbo cars (my favorite) were full. As a child, this seemed like an obvious thing for a mom to do, but as an adult, I think of my mom and smile every time I walk past our Museum’s own flying elephant, accessorized with a purple hat and seat.

Jenny Wei is an education specialist at the National Museum of American History. She would love to hear your favorite Dumbo memories as comments!

Decking the halls

Winter can be a dreary time of year in Washington. The city’s trees have shed their orange, gold, and red autumn leaves and the arrival of our famous blushing pink cherry blossoms is still several months away. Here, as elsewhere in the country, many of us counteract the grayness of the season by decorating our homes with bright and cheery foliage like amaryllis, holly, mistletoe, and poinsettias. The staff of the Smithsonian Horticulture Services Division is tasked with beautifying the institution in a similar fashion using colorful plant displays, both living and artificial. Some of these plants come from one of the Smithsonian’s twelve greenhouses, where annual and perennial plants are grown and cared for, including dozens of poinsettias currently on display in the halls of the museum.

A number of these intensely red poinsettias have been used inside the new Welcome Center, providing a colorful backdrop for the information volunteers. Substantial swags of silk magnolia leaves, bedecked with “iced” pears and apples and threaded with burgundy ribbons, hang by hidden suction cups on each pillar lining the first and second floors. Garlands—54 strands in all—drape elegantly along the handrails on the second and third floors, shimmering with silver grape leaves, juniper berries, and pinecones. An evergreen tree—artificial and therefore reusable—in Flag Hall is decorated with large metallic ornaments and silk flowers. With their soft, organic shapes and bright, festive hues, these horticultural displays bring a sense of warmth and life to the building during the cold winter months.

Dana Allen-Greil is the new media project manager at the National Museum of American History. She'd like to thank horticulturalist Melanie Pyle for her insights.

That was fast!

In the few weeks since the museum reopened to the public, I’ve noticed quite a few visitors congregating around one particular piece of The American Presidency exhibition. Brett Zongker of the Associated Press noticed it too. In his article, “Renovated American history museum reopens,” he notes that “several people gathered around the small photo to take pictures with their cell phone cameras.”

Flickr image by Minneapolis Red Sox

If you haven’t guessed, the buzz is about President-elect Barack Obama, whose image appears on a timeline of presidents at the entry to the exhibition. One museum visitor quoted by Zongker exclaimed, “He’s already on here! It’s exciting,” as she took a few moments to get the perfect snapshot.

Some visitors haven’t shown as much enthusiasm about the timeliness of Obama’s inclusion on the wall and have pointed out that he is not yet president. This is true—and the date on the timeline (2009) reflects his president-elect status.

The decision to include President-elect Obama had mostly to do with wise use of limited resources. With the museum opening just a few weeks after the election and a few short weeks before the inauguration of the 44th president, the exhibition team had a decision to make about how to design and print the presidential timeline. In the end, they decided that the most prudent course was to have the exhibition designers mock up two different versions of the presidential timeline—one with Obama and one with John McCain—and wait until November 5 to print the graphic that made it into the exhibition—just in time for a November 21 opening. Interestingly, the museum confronted a similar situation when the exhibition first debuted on November 15, 2000.

The current timeline lists Obama’s presidency with an open-ended date (“2009 – “). I guess the museum will have to wait and see, along with the world at large, what the next iteration will look like.

Dana Allen-Greil is the museum’s new media project manager. She’s been keeping an eye on the photos visitors have contributed to our Flickr group depicting everything from the aforementioned presidential timeline to Dumbo the flying elephant. Have you added yours yet?