Celebrate the start of summer with the Smithsonian! The National Museum of the American Indian will be open late until 10 PM with activities for all ages throughout the day, along with performances and gallery talks.
The imagiNATIONS Activity Center (Level 3) and Espresso Bar (Level 1) will be open until 8 PM, and the Roanoke Museum Store (Level 2) will be open until 10 PM.
Visit si.edu/solsticesaturday for more information.
SCHEDULE
Level 1, Potomac Atrium
10 AM-10 PM | Ande the Llama Photobooth
Grab a friend and get your picture taken with our large plush Ande the Llama to commemorate the solstice! Museum staff will have props on hand to add some fun to your photos.
4:30, 6:30, and 8 PM | Isaac Jesse Waipulani Ho’opi’i
Isaac was raised in Waiʻanae on the island of O'ahu, where he received the love of music from his father. The guitar is one of his favorite instruments, but he can also play the ukulele and bass. Issac loves an impromptu jam session, known as kanikapila, and plays an acoustic down-home, backyard-style Hawaiian music, a style which includes everything from the very traditional to contemporary songs and styles.
5:30 and 7:30 PM | Mary Youngblood
Native American Mary Youngblood, half Seminole, and half Aleut, is the first woman to professionally record the Native American flute, and the first woman to win not just one, but two Grammy Awards for "Best Native American Music Album". Youngblood has a lifetime of musicianship behind her, starting with piano lessons at age six and guitar at ten; she is also a renowned classically trained flutist.
Level 1, Outdoors
6 PM | Curator Tour: National Native American Veterans Memorial
Designed by Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), a Vietnam War veteran in the United States Marine Corps, this tribute to Native heroes recognizes for the first time on a national scale the enduring and distinguished service of Native Americans in every branch of the US military. Join museum specialist Rachelle B. Pablo (Diné) for a brief tour to learn how the memorial came to be and the symbolism of its design. Meet outside on the Welcome Plaza near the memorial entrance.
Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center (open 10 AM-8 PM)
10 AM-7:30 PM | Inka Sun Watercolor
The Inka, and their descendants, the Quechua, share the story of Inti, Father Sun, who sent his children Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, to bring order to the world. Inti told them to walk until their golden staff sank into the ground. There, a great city would rise. That city was Cusco, capital of the Inka Empire. Manco and Mama’s journey to Cusco was the first Inka Road. Join us in the imagiNATIONS Activity Center Craft Room to make a watercolor hands-on activity with an Inka image of Inti. *All ages welcome, children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult caregiver.
11:15-11:45 AM | Story Time: How Raven Stole the Sun
Museum Educators welcome young learners to hear the Tlingit creation story of the trickster Raven releasing the Sun, Moon, and Stars into the night sky and forever changing the world! The book How Raven Stole the Sun by Maria Williams (Tlingit) with illustrations by Felix Vigil (Jicarilla Apache/Jemez Pueblo) is also available for purchase in the Roanoke Museum Store on Level 2. Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with objects from the museum's Teaching Collection to deepen their understanding of the community represented in the story, along with a craft or other activity. *Recommended for visitors ages 3-9 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver. **Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story Room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center.
Level 3, Galleries
2 PM, and 7 PM | Close Look: Making a Statement
Curator Anya Montiel (Mestiza/Tohono O'odham descent) offers a close look at the museum’s special installation Making a Statement, featuring custom Gucci gowns worn by actor Lily Gladstone (Siksikaitsitapi [Blackfeet]/Nimiipuu [Nez Perce]) at the 96th Academy Awards. Then join Montiel and one of our museum educators to get hands-on and learn more about different types of quillwork in the museum’s Teaching Collection. Meet on Level 3, in front of the installation.
3 PM, and 5 PM | Caring for Textiles
Join the museum’s textile conservation team to learn how the 48 fiber artworks featured in Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay were prepared for display. Textile Conservator Susan Heald, and Mellon Fellow in Textile Conservation Olga Calvo Díaz, will share how they worked together and with Diné artist DY Begay. Our conservators will demonstrate conservation techniques with prop textiles and point out examples in the gallery. Audience participation is welcome, but capacity is limited. Meet inside the exhibition gallery.
Level 4
1 PM and 4 PM | Curator Tour: Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains
Curated by Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota), this exhibition juxtaposes historical hides, muslins, and ledger books with more than 50 contemporary works commissioned by the museum. Illustrating everything from war deeds and ceremonial events to family life, Native identity, and pop culture, the artworks are as diverse as the individuals who created them. Join the curator for a guided tour of an exhibition that celebrates the full expression of narrative art among Native nations of the Great Plains.
4 PM-10 PM | Speaking the Sun: Indigenous Language game
Join the museum's educators for a word matching game that uses Indigenous languages to describe celestial bodies. Words such as sun, moon, stars, and sky have been translated into various Indigenous languages, including Hawaiian, Tlingit, Diné (Navajo), Cherokee, and many more. In addition to experiencing Indigenous languages, visitors will also interact with objects that explore the importance of celestial bodies to Indigenous cultures. Meet at the Cultural Connections cart in front of the elevator bank.
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