Calendar of Events - October 2016
Editor’s Note: All programs are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Visitors should be prepared for a security check upon entrance to the museum. Program attendees should arrive 30 minutes in advance. For a complete schedule of activities check: https://americanhistory.si.edu.
Opening Displays
Everyone Plays: Sports and Disability
History Highlights
Oct. 1 – March 2017
Adaptive sports began as a method for rehabilitating veterans and those with physical disabilities, and have grown into an international movement that empowers disabled athletes with a positive sense of self-worth. An explosion of innovation and creativity has led to technological advancements in adaptive sports equipment, allowing disabled athletes to participate in a wide range of sports that they would not otherwise have had access to.
Performances
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
Jazz, Blues and Civil Rights
Saturday, Oct. 8; 7:30 pm
Ticket purchase required: http://s.si.edu/SIJazz
Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, First Floor, West
The SJMO will kick off their season by looking at jazz as a form of democracy and an expression of intrinsically American values. Concerts and programs will explore how jazz has influenced American civil rights, politics, identity and culture.
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
Masterworks of Four Centuries
Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9; at 7:30 p.m.;
Pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m.
Ticket purchase required: http://smithsonianassociates.org
Hall of Music, Third Floor, West
The Smithsonian Chamber Players — Mark Fewer and Audrey Wright (violin), Steven Dann (viola), Kenneth Slowik (violoncello) — presents Penderecki: “Leaves of an Unwritten Diary” and Schönberg: Quartet in D Minor, Op 7.
Featured Events
Archives Fair: Transitions
Wednesday, Oct. 5; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, First Floor, West
To mark American Archives Month, archivists and experts from several institutions across the region will be on hand to display selected objects from their collections, answer questions and discuss their daily work. Visitors can engage with archivists from the DC Africana Archives Project, the many Archives of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives and Records Administration. Learn what goes into protecting, preserving and sharing the records at the foundation of history. For more program details visit: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/events/archives-fair/2016/
Dollars and Sense: A Tactile Approach to the History of Money
Friday, Oct. 14; 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.
First Floor, West Wing
In observance of White Cane Day and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, this program will involve objects out of storage and a hands-on activity to examine how communities have used different kinds of objects as money. This event will be run in partnership with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is a universally accessible program.
Closing Display
Laughing Matters
Closing Oct. 3, 2016
Artifact Wall, First Floor, Center
“Laughing Matters,” looks into the stories of three comedians who changed the face of comedy. The display highlights the power of laughter in the realm of social and political discussion through the careers of Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett and Miss Piggy, a creation of Jim Henson. The case features the “charwoman” costume, donated by Burnett to the museum in 1988, along with a costume worn by Diller during Bob Hope’s USO Christmas Tour in 1967, gifted to the museum by Diller, the hand and rod puppet, Miss Piggy, donated to the museum by the family of Jim Henson in 2013 and other objects defining the power of laughter.
Food History at the National Museum of American History
Cooking Up History: The Great American Pumpkin
Saturday, Oct 15; 2 p.m.
Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, Demonstration Kitchen, First Floor, West
For more information, visit: http://s.si.edu/CookHistory
This month’s “Cooking Up History” will feature Chef Brian Patterson from L’Academie de Cuisine discussing the historical, agricultural and culinary story of the pumpkin. While preparing a recipe he will explore how it came to play a symbolic role in American life. After a 45-minute demonstration, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase a dish inspired by the demonstration in the museum’s Stars & Stripes Cafe.
Food History Weekend: Politics on Your Plate
Oct. 28 – Oct. 29
Museum-wide
The Smithsonian Food History Weekend, a cornerstone of the museum’s Smithsonian Food History Project, gathers culinary leaders and scholars every fall to inspire visitors with culinary demonstrations, hands-on learning opportunities, tastings, roundtable discussions and more. More information is available at: http://s.si.edu/FoodHistoryWknd.
Friday, October 28
The Food History Roundtables, Friday, Oct. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., will bring leading researchers, practitioners and thinkers together to address big issues around food and innovation in America. Free registration recommended. More information is available at: http://s.si.edu/FoodRoundtables.
Dine Out for Smithsonian Food History, starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area will feature a special dish inspired by Julia Child. Proceeds from this dish will support Smithsonian Food History Project. Reservations through restaurants recommended: http://s.si.edu/DineOut.
Saturday, October 29
The Food History Festival, Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will present a full day of free activities for visitors of all ages that will spark conversations about the past, present and future of food. Activities will include live cooking demonstrations, film screenings, curator-led exhibition tours, hands-on learning activities, rarely-exhibited objects on display and tours of the Victory Garden. Registration recommended for talks by chefs and food professionals.
- 10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Cookies and Kindness with chef and baker Dorie Greenspan
- 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – The President’s Kitchen with soul food scholar and former special assistant to President Bill Clinton Adrian Miller and Daily Beast columnist Ailsa Von Dobeneck
- 1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. – Cook’s Science from America’s Test Kitchen with “Cook’s Science” book editors Molly Birnbaum and Dan Souza
- 2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. – Soul Food Love with cook book authors Alice Randall and her daughter Caroline Randall Williams
- 3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. – Bring It: Potluck Politics with food preserving expert Cathy Barrow
After Hours at the Food History Weekend, Saturday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m., is a ticketed event that is part of the popular American History After Hours series. Guests may have a pint and explore the relationship between America’s craft breweries and their communities. Purchase tickets here: http://s.si.edu/BeerHistory.
Book Signings
Friday, October 28
“Soda Politics” and “Eat, Drink, Vote” by Marion Nestle
Friday, Oct. 28; 10:45 a.m.
First Floor, Center
Author Marion Nestle signs copies of “Soda Politics” which discusses how a product containing inexpensive ingredients became a multibillion dollar industry, and “Eat, Drink, Vote,” which discusses how food politics affects everyone.
“Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” by Adrian Miller
Friday, Oct. 28; 10:45 a.m.
First Floor, Center
Author Adrian Miller signs copies of “Soul Food” which looks at the influences, ingredients and innovations that make up the soul food tradition. Each chapter focuses on the culinary and social history of a particular dish.
“Defiant Braceros” by Mireya Loza
Friday, Oct. 28; 12:10 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Author and museum curator Mireya Loza signs copies of “Defiant Braceros” shedding light on the private lives of migrant men who participated in the Bracero Program (1942–1964), a binational agreement between the United States and Mexico that allowed hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers to enter the U.S. on temporary work permits.
“Every Farm a Factory: The Industrial Ideal in American Agriculture” by Deborah Fitzgerald
Friday, Oct. 28; 12:10 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Author Deborah Fitzgerald signs copies of “Every Farm a Factory” where she examines the way farms became modernized in the 1920s when they adopted new machinery in addition to the financial, cultural, and ideological apparatus of industrialism.
“Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market” by Susan Strasser
Friday, Oct. 28; 2:30 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Author Susan Strasser signs copies of “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” which examines the advertising campaigns of Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Wrigley’s, Gillette and Kodak to show how companies created both national brands and national markets to give a better understanding of America’s consumer society and devotion to brands.
“Salt, Sugar, Fat” by Michael Moss
Friday, Oct. 28; 2:30 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss signs copies of his book, “Salt, Sugar, Fat,” where he offers a thorough account of the processed-food industry’s extensive efforts to dominate the American diet and increase consumption of its products, despite health concerns.
“Food in the Civil War Era” by Helen Zoe Veit
Friday, Oct. 28; 4 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Author Helen Zoe Veit signs copies of “Food in the Civil War Era,” which looks at the way the Civil War devastated fields and food transportation networks and transformed the way Southerners ate.
“Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh Africa, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed” by Bryant Terry
Friday, Oct. 28; 4 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Chef Bryant Terry signs copies of “Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh Africa, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed,” where he presents staple recipes, ingredients and classic dishes of the African Disapora in new combinations for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores.
“Slim By Design” by Brian Wansink
Friday, Oct. 28; 4 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Behavioral economist and food psychologist, Brian Wansink signs copies of “Slim by Design,” which introduces solutions for designing most common spaces – schools, restaurants, grocery stores and home kitchens – in order to make positive changes in how people approach and manage their diets.
Saturday, October 29
“Dorie’s Cookies” by Dorie Greenspan
Saturday, Oct. 29; 11 a.m.
First Floor, West Wing
Chef and baker Dorie Greenspan signs copies of “Dorie’s Cookies,” an all-cookie cookbook that includes hundreds of recipes that incorporate years of experience, including techniques and flavors Greenspan learned from Julia Child.
“Road Food” by Jane & Michael Stern
Saturday, Oct. 29; 11:45 a.m.
First Floor, Center
Authors Jane and Michael Stern signs copies of “Road Food: The Coast-to-Coast Guide to 900 of the Best Barbecue Joints, Lobster Shacks, Ice Cream Parlors, Highway Diners, and Much, Much More,” which explores the one-of-a-kind dining destinations along America’s roadways.
“Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” by Adrian Miller
Saturday, Oct. 29; 12:15 p.m.
First Floor, West Wing
Author Adrian Miller signs copies of “Soul Food” which looks at the influences, ingredients and innovations that make up the soul food tradition. Each chapter focuses on the culinary and social history of a particular dish.
“Defiant Braceros” by Mireya Loza
Saturday, Oct. 29; 12:30 p.m.
Flag Hall
Author and museum curator Mireya Loza signs copies of “Defiant Braceros” shedding light on the private lives of migrant men who participated in the Bracero Program (1942–1964), a binational agreement between the United States and Mexico that allowed hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers to enter the U.S. on temporary work permits.
“Cook’s Science: How to Unlock Flavor” by Molly Birnbaum & Dan Souza
Saturday, Oct. 29; 1:45 p.m.
First Floor, West Wing
Editors of “Cook’s Science: How to Unlock Flavor,” Molly Birnbaum and Dan Souza sign copies of the book that takes a look at the science behind 50 well-known ingredients and uses that science to make them taste better.
“The Virgin Vote” by Jon Grinspan
Saturday, Oct. 29; 2:15 p.m.
Flag Hall
Museum curator and author Jon Grinspan signs copies of “The Virgin Vote,” which draws on diaries and letters of diverse young Americans to look at voter turnout, particularly among young people, in the second half of the 19th century.
“Soul Food Love – Healthy Recipes” by Alice Randall & Caroline R. Williams
Saturday, Oct. 29; 3 p.m.
First Floor, West Wing
Mother-daughter authors Alice Randall and Caroline R. Williams sign copies of “Soul Food Love,” a cookbook featuring 80 healthy recipes based on traditional soul food.
“Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry” by Cathy Barrow
Saturday, Oct. 29; 4 p.m.
First Floor, West Wing
Food preserving expert Cathy Barrow signs copies of “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry.” This guide to canning through the seasons presents a collection of essential preserving techniques.
“The French Chef in America” by Alex Prud’homme
Saturday, Oct. 29; 4:15 p.m.
First Floor, Center
Julia Child’s nephew Alex Prud’homme signs copies of his book, “The French Chef in America” which tells the story of her years as a TV personality and cookbook author.
About the Museum
The National Museum of American History explores the infinite richness and complexity of American history through its collections and research. The museum helps people understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. It is currently renovating its west exhibition wing, developing galleries on business, democracy and culture. For more information, visit https://americanhistory.si.edu. The museum is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). To learn more about the museum, check https://americanhistory.si.edu. Admission is free. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000.
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