NARA Hosts Free Public Programs in June to Celebrate BIG! Exhibit
Press Release · Monday, May 11, 2009

Washington, DC

In June, the National Archives celebrates its new exhibition “BIG! Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the National Archives,” with free public programs including film screenings and author lectures. All programs will be held at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, which is fully accessible. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on the corner of 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. National Archives summer exhibit hours are 10 am-7 pm, through Labor Day.

Book talk:  Life in the BIG Fish Bowl
Thursday, June 11, at noon, Washington Room
Author and journalist Bonnie Angelo discusses First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives. Angelo probes 200 years of American history to tell the story of real life within the White House walls—how Presidents, their wives, children, and extended families worked to create a home in an imposing national monument while attempting to keep their private lives from the public domain. A book signing will follow the program.

BIG! Film series screening:  North by Northwest
Saturday, June 27, at noon, William G. McGowan Theater
In North by Northwest, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), an unsuspecting businessman, is mistaken for a spy by a foreign agent (James Mason). With a chase by a crop-dusting biplane to the climax atop the faces of Mount Rushmore, action ensues at every corner. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. (136 minutes, 1959). Presented by The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film at the National Archives.

BIG! Exhibition
The National Archives celebrates its 75th year in 2009 with a new exhibition featuring big records, big events, and big ideas. At a time when many people struggle to see documents and images on smaller and smaller screens, the National Archives exhibition “BIG!” presents the nation’s original record in its full-scale glory. From the 13-foot scroll of the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, to the size 22 sneaker of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, the items in the exhibition are pieces of the American story—writ large. The exhibit, on display in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building, runs through January 3, 2010. Spring hours (through Labor Day) are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily. Admission is free. BIG! related items and the book featured above are available in the Archives Shop. Call (202) 357-5271.

All programs are free and open to the public. To verify dates and times of the programs, call 202-357-5000 or view the Calendar of Events online. To request an accommodation (e.g., sign language interpreter) for a public program, please e-mail public.program@nara.gov or call (202) 357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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