Friends from a Land Down Under

Australian State of Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk and Smithsonian Deputy Undersecretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support, Scott Miller greet three Smithsonian Queensland Fellows. From the left, Dr. Kathryn Mackey, Dr. Aaron Davis, and Dr. Mark Schutze.

This past Friday June 12, 2015, Australian State of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and Smithsonian Deputy Undersecretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support Scott Miller sat down to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation (MOU) between The Smithsonian Institution and The State of Queensland Australia.

The signing took place at The National Museum of Natural History‘s Q?rius, an evolving learning lab located on the ground floor of the museum. Ms. Palaszczuk was first greeted by Mr. Miller along with three current Smithsonian Queensland Fellows. She was then given a tour of Q?rius before sitting down to sign the MOU document.

Q?rius manager, Efrain Tejada, guides Australian State of Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, through the space and its collections.

This MOU describes cooperation between the Smithsonian and the Australian State of Queensland on projects, staff/information exchanges, conferences, exhibitions in general as well as a fellowship program that brings fellows from Queensland to the Smithsonian. It is an extension of an MOU that was first signed in 2000.

Smithsonian Deputy Undersecretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support, Scott Miller and Australian State of Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, sign MOU Document. Also pictured are three Smithsonian Queensland fellows. From the left Dr. Mark Shutze, Dr. Aaron Davis, and Dr. Kathryn Mackey.