Artist's rendition of a coral reef tank

Opening September 27, 2008, the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall, developed in partnership with NOAA, is the largest permanent exhibit ever created in the world’s most visited natural history museum. Among the many notable exhibits will be:

• A 50-foot, life-sized replica of Phoenix, an endangered North Atlantic right whale living today
• 20-foot male and 36-foot female specimens of the elusive giant squid
• The six-foot Science On a Sphere®, which displays the Earth as viewed from 22,000 miles in space and shows moving satellite images
• A 1:100 scale model of the world’s largest ocean drilling ship, the Chikyu

For the latest on Ocean Hall, see http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/ocean_hall.

Once again the White House hosted an event for Military Spouses on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. A Garden Breakfast on the South Lawn of the White House took place this year and it was a beautiful sunny warm day. In his speech, President Bush thanked the spouses and families of all service members for their sacrifices and support. Approximately 1,100 spouses attended and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award was given to this year’s six recipients.

An email notice for this event was sent to members of the National Military Families Association (NMFA) who are current with their annual dues. NMFA also invited Cheryl Glang who serves on their Board of Directors and Cindy Bailey who is also serving on a special panel for NMFA. Jane Barnum who is finishing her second year as President of NOFA, DC, attended also. An invitation for this event is open to all NOAA spouses through NMFA membership.

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