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If the consortium is successful, the Center promises to become an important place for international research on tropical savannah-grassland ecosystems and their role in maintenance of biological diversity, as well as their importance to global and environmental change.

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF A TOUR OF THE NATIONAL GEM COLLECTION

As Regents will recall (see minutes of February 4, 1991, p. 96-98), in 1992 the National Museum of Natural History will close the current Gem and Mineral Hall for complete renovation.  This closing represents a unique, strategic opportunity for the museum to expand its visibility and national public service, enhance its fund-raising program for the Hall renovation project, and provide an international audience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the treasures of the National Gem Collection.

The National Gem Collection has never traveled as a collection, although individual pieces, like the Hope diamond, have traveled for short periods.  The collection is truly a national treasure and has an international reputation as the most comprehensive collection of gem stones in the world.  While this traveling exhibition will be a "blockbuster," it is not intended to be merely a display of rare and valuable gems.  Rather, it will foreshadow the new interdisciplinary approaches envisioned for the renovated Hall.  The curatorial intent will be to show both the natural and cultural history of gems and examine the two distinct types of time that are imbedded in them.  Geologic time will be seen in the slow, precise way in which the raw material for gems is formed.  In contrast to the geological time frame will be the human history; the rapid, unpredictable way that raw material races from discovery, to faceting, to fame.

With the consent of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, the Museum is conducting a feasibility study of such a travelling exhibition.  The first step is to conduct, through a contractor, a national telephone poll and a series of regional focus groups to determine:

* The extent of support or resistance to a national and/or international tour.

* The willingness to visit the National Gem Collection at one of the tour sites and to pay an admission fee there.

* The public relations benefits and risks for such a tour.

The poll was tested in early August and results are expected by mid-September to aid in planning such a tour.  It is anticipated that test results will be presented for Regents' final consideration at the February 1992 meeting.

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

Design documents for the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian are ready for construction bidding.  The Institution has reached agreement with the state of New York and New York City, and Memoranda of Understanding will be signed shortly.  When funding is