‘Night at the Smithsonian’ Gives In Insider’s Look At America’s Treasures

In the movie Night at the Museum, exhibits come to life. In “Night at the Smithsonian,” a program at 7 p.m., Monday, March 15, sponsored by the Southlake Historical Society, Marvin Williams, a Southlake resident who is on the board of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will breathe life into some of our most beloved national treasures by revealing little-known, behind-the-scenes facts about them.

The program will be in the third floor meeting room of Southlake City Hall. It’s free, and everyone is invited.

Fun facts, paired with lots of photographs, will include: A few copies of the original Constitution are still missing – maybe one will turn up at a swap meet near you. The last Huey helicopter to leave Saigon at the close of the Vietnam War was found in an American Airlines hanger in Fort Worth; it’s now part of the “Price of Freedom” exhibit at the museum. The Star Spangled Banner cost $14 million to restore. What man contributed the most to stitch it back together?

The National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., houses 3 million artifacts -- everything from the original Star-Spangled Banner and Abraham Lincoln’s top hat to Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.” It is the greatest single collection of American treasures.

Williams will tell how the Smithsonian Institution was born of a mysterious bequest, and about the Smithsonian’s many museums. He is especially excited about the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibits. In April, Southlake will be the first in the nation to debut “Rock the Green Revolution,” created by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, and made available by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. (See www.bjnc.org for more information.)

Williams served three three-year terms on the board of the National Museum of American History before becoming an emeritus member of the board. He and his wife, Fay, are the parents of Harold Williams, captain of the 2002 Dragon football team, and John Williams, who attended Covenant Christian School in Colleyville.

On sale at the program will be the Southlake Historical Society’s new book, Images of America: Southlake by Connie Cooley. The cost is $21.99 plus $1.80 tax, cash or check only. Packed with 175 photographs and maps, Southlake tells the story of our area from 1840-1970. To read more about the book or the Southlake Historical Society, see www.southlakehistory.org.

Find out more about the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History at http://americanhistory.si.edu/. On March 10, Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown will be added to the most popular exhibit, the First Ladies Collection.