For Its 150Th Anniversary, Smithsonian Hits The Road

WASHINGTON - When James Smithson, an English chemist who had never visited America, bequeathed $500,000 in the 19th century for the young United States to found in Washington "the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among man," Congress was reluctant to accept it.

Sen. John Calhoun of South Carolina insisted it was "beneath the dignity of the United States to accept presents of this kind from anyone." It struck Calhoun and many of his colleagues as a blatant attempt by an eccentric, run-of-the-mill scientist to hallow his name.

But Congress overcame this aversion long ago, and the Smithsonian Institution, now celebrating its 150th anniversary with a national touring exhibition, is surely the apple of almost every congressional eye, even escaping most of the knives wielded lustily on Capitol Hill these days at most things cultural.

But it does not escape all knives. The institution was forced to close some of its museums when budget battling between the White House and Republican congressional leaders precipitated a government shutdown in early winter.

"Tough political times"

"These are tough political times," said I. Michael Heyman, the former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, who now heads the Smithsonian. "But it's not . . . aimed at the Smithsonian. We're cherished by both parties."

Shortly after taking over the Smithsonian a year ago, Heyman, felt forced to squelch the heart of an exhibition that questioned the wisdom of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of World War II.

Political controversy, however, is rarely on the minds of the millions of visitors who visit the buildings of the Smithsonian Institution every year for a chance to see the Hope diamond, the Apollo command module, a piece of moon rock, the original "Star-Spangled Banner," the inaugural gowns of all the first ladies and a host of other relics from a collection that now numbers 140 million objects (if you count all the insects in the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History).

For many years, the Smithsonian Institution - now a complex of 16 museums, five research institutes and the National Zoo - has been known as "the nation's attic," and a day or two at the Smithsonian is a must for all Washington tourists. But the museums are enormous and numerous and, in some cases, far apart (two, in fact, are in New York), and it is hard for a tourist to take in all the splendors or even all the highlights.

Waiting for traveling show

Some Americans, in fact, may get a better grasp by remaining at home and waiting for the institution's traveling show to come to them. "America's Smithsonian" is the keynote of the institution's 150th anniversary, and the curators have packed 350 of the most popular and prized objects for this unprecedented national tour of 12 cities that will be on the road for two years after its recent Los Angeles opening.

Heyman ruled only three pieces off-limits for traveling: the single-engine Spirit of St. Louis that Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927, the tattered Fort McHenry flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1812, and the most visited object in the institution: the 45.5-carat Hope diamond. Heyman said the airplane and the flag were too fragile and the diamond was too tempting for thieves.

But that left a host of old favorites to take on tour. Curators put up the most resistance to shipping Lincoln's top hat - which some accounts cite as the one he wore when he was assassinated. The hat is so fragile that it has not been exhibited for more than 15 years. But the Smithsonian conservation staff designed a protective glass-and-steel box that will house the hat.

Visitors can also count on seeing, among much else:

-- The compass carried by Capt. Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark expedition that explored the Northwest reaches of the Louisiana Purchase in 1804.

-- The Apollo 14 command module Kitty Hawk that reached the moon in 1971.

-- Paintings by such American artists as Childe Hassam, Frederick Edwin Church, John Singer Sargent and Edward Hopper.

-- One of the ill-fated Tucker automobiles - "the car of the future" - that never went into full production after 51 samples were built in 1948.

-- The inaugural gowns worn by first ladies Jacqueline Kennedy, Patricia Nixon, Mamie Eisenhower and Lucretia Garfield.

-- One of the first electric light bulbs invented by Thomas Edison.

-- The fur coat worn by African-American contralto Marian Anderson when she sang at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her the use of their Constitution Hall because of her race.

-- A pair of the magical red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the movie "The Wizard of Oz."

-- The boxing gloves used by Muhammad Ali when he defeated George Foreman in Zaire in 1974 for the world heavyweight title.

Smithsonian officials say the traveling exhibition will cost the federal government nothing. Four corporations are underwriting the project.

The 65-year-old Heyman regards himself as a short-term leader.

"I don't intend to do this for more than five years," he said. "I'm a very good person to have at this time. The place needs someone to say no."

There are no new buildings or museums in Heyman's sights. He said this is not an era for expansion but a time for the Smithsonian "to get out of Washington."