Smithsonian Sampler : Artifacts From Apollo 14 to ‘Oz’ on View in L.A.

In the entrance area for the Smithsonian Institution’s 150th Anniversary traveling Exhibition, which opened Friday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, primates get a strawberry Newton in reward for good behavior.

No, not you. Though you and the rest of the half-million human guests expected to visit the exhibition through March 7 do indeed qualify as primates (look it up in your Webster’s), the ones getting the cookies today are monkeys cavorting on a video screen, an introduction to the world of animals at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in Washington D.C. (The zoo, the video says, houses some 4,000 assorted species--not just “large, charismatic animals� such as lions, tigers and bears).

And speaking of lions, tigers and bears, in a gallery to your left are ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz�--oh, my. They are more brownish than ruby-ish now, but still look as though they could get you back to Kansas. And since you mentioned “The Wizard of Oz,� the Tin Man could have saved a lot of trouble by acquiring the Jarvik 7, the first artificial heart, on display in the exhibition’s “Remembering� gallery. And the Scarecrow wouldn’t even need a brain if he had an Altair, the very first personal computer, created in 1975. Or maybe you’d rather have a chair designed by Santa Monica architect Frank Gehry in corrugated cardboard--or how about a small meteor?

Going on a first-day tour of the Smithsonian exhibition is a lot like trying to follow this train of thought. Though divided into three separate “theme� areas--titled the Remembering Gallery, the Discovering Gallery and the Imagining Gallery--the categories are so loosely defined they might as well have just thrown it all into one room and called it “A Lot of Cool Historical Stuff.� It’s all in the Convention Center’s cavernous West Hall, which seems more likely to house an auto show than a museum exhibition.

This is an exhibition even Newt Gingrich could love, because there are no government arts funds involved. The entire $10-million bill is being footed by “corporate partners� who are making their very large presence felt with their own displays, including Intel Corp.’s giant-sized personal computer, celebrating the history of the PC.

The sampling of 300-odd Smithsonian treasures, which launches its six-city tour in Los Angeles, includes glittering mega-carat jewelry and paintings and sculptures and airplanes and insects, works by living artists and hats worn by dead presidents. There are 4.5-million-year-old shark teeth, trilobites, belemnites and ammonites. Exhibit kiosks play continual video displays about the National Zoo, the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute in Panama and the Smithsonian’s Astrophysical Observatory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Chesapeake Bay.

One wishes one could reach out and turn on the Edison lightbulb, unbroken since 1880 and housed in a protective case, or the Tiffany dragonfly lamp once owned by Andrew Carnegie (if only to shed some light--the whole exhibition area is unnecessarily dark). And one wishes one could turn off the incessant music blaring from a fantastic circus carousel set up in the middle of the hall, open for rides at $2 a pop. One patron from Chicago called it “festive;� this visitor considered it torture by calliope.

The music also interfered with the exhibition’s interactive audio tour, rentable for $5, which you can carry around with you for further information on each object in the collection, in English or Spanish. By pushing a button, you can get background data, or sometimes even hear the voice of the artist or historical figure involved. There is also a special version of each narration geared to kids.

With an expected half-million visitors, as well as free tickets, one might expect mayhem at the box office and long lines, but crowd control, at least on the first day, was state-of-the-art. For each day, 10,000 reserve-by-phone tickets are available, and 12,000 are saved to be given away at the box office (all reserve tickets for weekends are already taken, but you can still take your chances as a walk-in). Tickets are issued for two-hour time periods, but only 900 patrons may enter every half-hour--first-come, first-served (and you may stay as long as you like). Expect to spend a few moments going through a metal detector. If you have to wait, you are treated to a video featuring Ray Charles and celebrating the 150th anniversary.

First-day patrons seemed pleased with their experience--particularly those who had never visited the Smithsonian’s museums back East. “It was great--I was the first one in the door!� exulted Steve Perovich, in town on business from Seattle.

“I liked all of it--I thought the [Apollo 14] lunar module was very exciting,� said Sandra Marsh of Palmdale. “To think, somebody went up in space in that thing!�

Eileen Kallin of Arcadia brought sons Michael, 3, and Stephen, 11, to see Apollo 14 (“It was neat� said Michael), then persuaded them to visit a gallery which included artworks; the family sat contemplating a 1979 depiction of folk hero John Henry painted by Frederick Brown. “I’m not really into art, but I like this one,� Stephen observed.

Anthony Romero Flake of South-Central brought his reluctant 19-year-old daughter, Yumiesha, to the exhibition because, “I may never get to Washington, so now that it’s here in Los Angeles, I like to take advantage. It’s all historical, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. A lot of people let life pass them by and don’t take opportunities.�

Eighty-one-year-old Myrle King of Burbank, who was dragged to the Convention Center by his wife, Shirley, (who loved seeing Lincoln’s hat and Jacqueline Kennedy’s inaugural gown) was a lone dissenter, saying he’d seen most of the objects before, and quite frankly, he liked them better in Washington. “It couldn’t be [as good], because they couldn’t bring the whole thing out here,� he grumbled. “I’m not enjoying it--she is.�

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‘America’s Smithsonian’

* Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, Yorty Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St.

* When: Daily through March 7, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

* How: Admission is free, but tickets are required. Same-day tickets are available at the Convention Center. Tickets for morning admission are distributed at 9:30 a.m.; afternoon admission at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Advance tickets can be ordered for a $3.50 service fee for each ticket at (800) 913-TOUR.

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A Selected GTuide to the Smithsonian Treasures: REMEMBERING / IMAGINING: