Smithsonian.com

In celebration of the 2013 Presidential Inauguration, the Smithsonian Institution will feature exhibitions and programs from Saturday, January 19, through Tuesday, January 22. The museums and programs are free and open to the public. On Inauguration Day, January 21, Smithsonian museums on the National Mall are open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A few museums will open early - the Castle opens at 7:30 a.m., Sackler Gallery, Freer Gallery, Hirshhorn and African Art open at 8 a.m. Mall entrances on the south side will be closed. Visitors will be asked to use the Independence Ave. entrances.

The American Indian Museum and the Renwick Gallery are closed January 21.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum's Luce Foundation Center and the Lunder Conservation Center will be closed Sunday, January 20. Most streets around the National Mall-including Independence and Constitution avenues and Jefferson and Madison drives-will be closed Monday, January 21. The Archives, Smithsonian and Mt. Vernon Square stations will be closed Sunday, January 20 to Monday, January 21, midnight to 5:30 p.m. All other stations will open Monday, January 21 at 4 a.m. No Parking on the National Mall after 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 20. All museums, open to the public during designated hours, have accessible restrooms Smithsonian Castle, 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW
Castle Café and Coffee Bar, Main Hall
Castle Store, Main Hall

Start your visit here. Get up-to-the-minute times and dates for events and exhibitions in all Washington, D.C.-area Smithsonian museums. Free Wi-Fi inside and outside in the gardens, Castle Café and Coffee Bar. 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Stars and Stripes Café, Lower Level
Constitution Café, 1 West
Museum Store, First Floor

Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20, 10 a.m., 1 p.m. 4 p.m., Flag Hall.
President Lincoln's Own Band from Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln recreates the sound and appearance of the United States Marine Band during the Civil War with music from the 1860s. Saturday, January 19, 11 a.m., Flag Hall.
Renowned U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Peter Onuf, and Brian Balogh are joined by curator Harry Rubenstein for a live taping of this popular radio show exploring the history of inaugurations. Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20, 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., 2nd floor, West Stage.
Find out what democracy and jazz have in common through performances and stories drawn from Duke Ellington's 1969 White House All-Star Tribute. Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20, 12:30 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Flag Hall.
Enjoy conversation with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt as interpretive actors portray each and discuss their experiences as second-term presidents. Saturday January 19, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., and Sunday, January 20, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., Flag Hall.
One hundred and fifty years ago, the Emancipation Proclamation declared millions of enslaved people free. Join the celebration of this "momentous decree" with a live theater program featuring inspirational songs, evocative images, and passages from prominent African American leaders. Saturday, January 19, 2 p.m., Warner Brothers Theater, tickets required.
Washington Post staff writer and author Wil Haygood and Stanford University's Martin Luther King Jr. Institute visiting professor Dr. Clarence B. Jones, speechwriter and counsel to Martin Luther King Jr., discuss Jones's latest book, Behind the Dream. Book signing follows. This public program is organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden" explores the personal, public, ceremonial and executive actions of the 43 men who changed the course of history. The exhibition features more than 400 objects and videos and interactive displays, including the portable desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and Franklin Roosevelt's microphone used to deliver his "fireside chat" radio broadcasts.

"First Ladies at the Smithsonian" showcases objects from the nearly century-old collection and displays 14 gowns, including those worn by Martha Washington, Mary Todd Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. (Three are inaugural gowns worn by Helen Taft, Rosalynn Carter and Laura Bush.) The gallery's central exhibit features paintings, jewelry, china, personal possessions and other objects from the Smithsonian's unique first ladies' collection.

"Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963" In 2013 the country will commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation-the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in the grand sweep of American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals - both famous and unknown - who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal." 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Mitsitam Native Foods Café, Main Floor
Mitsitam Espresso Bar, Main Floor
Roanoke Museum Store, 2nd floor

"Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival of Music, Dance, and Story:" Friday, January 18 to Sunday, January 20, 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., featuring music, dancing and storytelling from a variety of cultural traditions including American Indian, African and African American, Asian and Asian Pacific American, Central and South American and European American. "A Century Ago: They Came as Sovereign Leaders" This photo exhibition focuses on President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade and the six great chiefs who participated in the parade arriving with their own purposes in mind and representing the needs of their people. Independence at 7th Street, SW
Museum Store, lower level Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20
"Ai Weiwei: According to What?," interpretive guides are available throughout the day for conversation and explanation, Saturday and Sunday, January 19 - 20, 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m; Docent tours at 12:30 p.m., Saturday - Monday, January 19 - 21. "Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads," "Barbara Kruger: Belief+Doubt." 1050 Independence Avenue, SW
Museum Store: sublevel 1 Saturday and Sunday, January 19 - 20: Docent's Choice tour at Sackler Gallery, 12:15 p.m.; Freer Gallery highlights tour at 1:15 p.m.; "Roads of Arabia" exhibition tour, Sackler Gallery, 2:15 p.m.

Monday, January 21: Gallery spotlights or informal gallery conversations in the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.; "Roads of Arabia," exhibition, Sackler Gallery, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. 8th and F Streets, N.W.
Museum Store: G Street entrance
"Portrait Stories:" Saturday, January 19 - Monday, January 21, 2-5 p.m. Young visitors are invited to hear stories about presidents and then create their own presidential portrait in the museum's Education Center.

"Meet the Presidents and First Ladies:" Saturday, January 19 - Monday, January 21, 1-6 p.m. Enactors in the roles of George and Martha Washington and Abraham and Mary Lincoln will engage museum visitors in short conversations and vignettes. "America's Presidents" See multiple images of 43 presidents, including Gilbert Stuart's famous "Lansdowne" portrait of George Washington and our modern presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush.

"Portrait of President Barack Obama" The original artwork, a hand-finished collage by artist Shepard Fairey, from President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign is on view January 19 - 22.

"Diptych of President Barack Obama by Chuck Close" A pair of jacquard tapestries, created as a campaign fundraiser, capture the president's serious expression and his ready smile. On view January 10 - March 3. 8th and F Streets N.W.
Museum Store: G Street entrance
Courtyard Café, 1st floor courtyard Inaugural theme walk-in tours, Monday, January 21, 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Presidential Scavenger Hunt, Saturday, January 19 and Monday, January 21, Luce Foundation Center. Self-guided audio tour: An audio tour about the museum's historic building and events that took place there during the Civil War, including President Abraham Lincoln's 1865 inaugural ball, is available online at americanart.si.edu/multimedia/tours/civilwar/ or by calling (202) 595-1852. "The Civil War and American Art" Examine how America's artists represented the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath. Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Frederic Church, and Sanford Gifford-four of America's finest artists of the era-anchor the exhibition. On view through April 28, 2013.

Online audio tour: An audio tour about the museum's historic building and events that took place there during the Civil War, including President Abraham Lincoln's 1865 inaugural ball, is available at americanart.si.edu/multimedia/tours/civilwar/ or by calling (202) 595-1852.

"A Presidential Scavenger Hunt:" Saturday, January 19 and Monday, January 21 in the Luce Foundation Center (closed Sunday, January 20). 1901 Fort Place, S.E.

Video Screening: The Obama Effect (85 Minutes; PG-13) Sunday, January 20, 5:30 - 9 p.m. John Thomas (played by Charles S. Dutton), who is faced with some difficult life questions after having a heart attack, enthusiastically endorses Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. The screening will be followed by a reception.

"Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways and Civic Engagement" The Anacostia River, which flows 8.5 miles from Bladensburg, Maryland, through some of the poorest wards of Washington, D.C., was so abused and neglected for so long it was called the "Forgotten River." But now it's undergoing a multiyear, multibillion-dollar restoration. The Anacostia Community Museum has organized an exhibition of artwork and research highlighting watershed moments in other cities from London to Louisville. On view through Sept. 18. 2 Massachusetts Avenue at 1St Street, N.E.
Museum store, lower level
Stamp Store, lower level

Collect the Presidents! Saturday, January 19-Sunday, January 20, 12 - 3 p.m. Make and take your very own stamp collection featuring famous American presidents; design your own presidential stamp! "Honoring Lincoln" See 11 certified plate proofs for postage stamps that were issued from 1959 to 1994 to honor the 16th president Abraham Lincoln. Certified plate proofs are the last printed proof of the plate before the stamps are printed, and these plates include the approval signatures and date.
"Super Sonic Weekend: Sounds and Songs of the American Presidency" Saturday, January 19, 12:01 a.m. - Monday, January 21, 11:59 p.m. Smithsonian Folkways recordings is streaming 72 hours of audio recordings related to the American presidency, from a 1757 campaign song used by George Washington in his first race for the Virginia House of Burgesses, to presidential speeches and much more. 4th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
The West Building, East Building, and Sculpture Garden (including the Pavilion Café and ice rink) will be open to visitors on Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20. On Inauguration Day-Monday, January 21-the West Building will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The East Building and the Sculpture Garden, Pavilion Café, and Ice Rink will be closed. The West Building accessible via the entrances on Seventh Street and the Mall on Madison Drive; visitors with wheelchairs or strollers enter at Constitution Avenue. To celebrate the inauguration, the Gallery has installed Roy Lichtenstein's print "The Oval Office" (1992) in the East Building Auditorium lobby. www.nga.gov/press/exh/3287/oval_office.shtm

"Michelangelo's marble "David-Apollo"(c. 1530) first visited the National Gallery of Art in 1949, coinciding with Harry Truman's inaugural reception. In 2013, a new generation of visitors to the National Mall will also have the chance to view this masterpiece, on view through March 3 in the West Building's Italian galleries. www.nga.gov/press/exh/3707/index.shtm

The recently unveiled "Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700-1830" is the first major presentation of early American furniture and related decorative arts on permanent public view in the nation's capital. The new installation highlights nearly 100 examples from the distinguished collection of George M. and Linda H. Kaufman.
www.nga.gov/press/exh/3564/index.htm

Thirteen paintings by Gilbert Stuart, the "Father of American Portraiture," are on permanent display in the West Building. They include the famed Gibbs-Coolidge portraits, the only surviving set of portraits depicting the first five American presidents, a must-see as visitors flock to the National Mall for the inauguration, as well as newly conserved portraits of George Washington, John Adams, and Abigail Adams in the Kaufman Collection installation.
www.nga.gov/press/2012/conservation_stuart.htm

Inspired by "Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700-1830," award-winning Chef Cathal Armstrong (chef and owner of Restaurant Eve) has created a menu of signature American dishes for Garden Café Americana on the West Building's Ground Floor.
www.nga.gov/press/2012/cafe_americana.htm

Among the great American works of art to admire at the Gallery is an exciting recent acquisition by Glenn Ligon. On view in the East Building's Concourse galleries, "Untitled (I Am a Man)" (1988) is a reinterpretation of the actual signs that were carried by 1,300 striking African American sanitation workers in Memphis in 1968, and were made famous in Ernest Withers' photographs of the march. (Withers' photograph also recently inspired a mural at 14th and T Streets NW by French street artist JR.) www.nga.gov/press/2012/acqui_11_16_12.htm

Constitution Avenue at 10th Street, NW
Atrium Café, Ground Floor; Café Natural, Ground Floor; Fossil Café, First Floor
Museum Store, Lower Level; Family Store, Lower Level
Independence Ave at 6th Street, SW
McDonald's McCafe, Boston Market and Donato's Pizza, First Floor
Museum Store, First Floor