A Welcome from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Secretary G. Wayne Clough greets online conference participants, talks about the Smithsonian’s involvement in studying climate change, and shares insights from his recent field visit to Wyoming to examine evidence of climate change found in plant fossils.

G. Wayne Clough

Wayne Clough is the 12th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Since beginning his tenure in July 2008, Secretary Clough has overseen several major openings at the Smithsonian, including the Sant Ocean Hall at the Museum of Natural History and the reopening of the American History Museum. He has initiated long-range planning for the Institution that will define the Smithsonian’s focus for the future.

Welcome to the Smithsonian Education Online Conference on Climate Change

This is the second of three scheduled conferences. The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies has made these conferences possible as part of the Smithsonian’s ongoing efforts to broaden the public’s access not only to our vast collections but also to the expertise of our renowned curators and scientists.

The first online conference in February (Abraham Lincoln) focused on our exhibitions and objects – the vast collections people usually associate with the Smithsonian. This conference highlights another strength of the Smithsonian, one that’s perhaps less in the public mind – the research that’s going on even as we speak in the areas of science, history, culture, and the arts.

Our unique ability to approach to a topic from multiple dimensions sets the Smithsonian apart from other organizations. It’s from these various perspectives that this conference will consider the evidence, impact and response to climate change.

Three thousand people participated in the live sessions of the Lincoln conference and another three thousand have watched replays since then. These people live in more than two thousand different cities in every state, in more than eighty countries, and on six continents. We’re sure you’ll find this conference equally thought-provoking and engaging.

When you register for the conference, you’ll notice the Center features the ginkgo leaf on the conference website. In the art of many cultures, the ginkgo symbolizes the balance between the natural and manmade worlds – a concern we’ll be looking at through the Smithsonian lenses of science, history, and art.