Learning Opportunity! As you may have heard, the Smithsonian Institution is sending a traveling exhibition, America's Smithsonian, around the country. The second venue for the exhibition is Kansas City, where it will open on April 9th at the H Roe Bartle Hall in the Convention Center. The exhibition will be open from 9 am to 8 pm daily. Accompanying American's Smithsonian is a smaller traveling exhibition, American Voices - Music at the Smithsonian. This exhibition presents three "works in progress" which feature the social and cultural history of three distinct musical forms: African American sacred music, musical theater, and rock and soul. Working with the exhibition team, the Smithsonian's Institutional Studies Office (ISO) is focusing on collecting material from and about visitors to Social Roots of Rock and Soul, an exhibition within American Voices, which will eventually be at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. and will also travel to other sites. ISO's interest is in using social science techniques (e.g. unobtrusive observations and in-depth interviews) to understand how visitors are using the current mini-exhibition as well as how their backgrounds and interests can help inform the planning for the complete exhibition. What Can You Do? If you are interested in the interplay between exhibition development and the visiting public, you should consider joining us for our Kansas City data collection period. Over a three-day period, April 25 through April 27, we will be observing and interviewing visitors to Social Roots of Rock and Soul. To participate, we would require a minimum two-day commitment, including an orientation session on Thursday morning, April 25 at the Kansas City Convention Center. If you are interested in continuing your participation, we may be able to arrange for you to collect additional data after our visit. In addition, you would have an opportunity to comment on our Kansas City report and share your insights with us. If you would like additional information, please contact Zahava D. Doering either by phone [202-786-2232], fax [202-786-2648] or through e-mail: [log in to unmask]