WHAT: The Smithsonian is open after 16-day government shutdown. Secretary Wayne Clough and “The Incredible Bionic Man” will greet the public at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013
           10 am
 
WHERE: Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum 
             Independence Ave at Sixth Street, S.W. 
             National Mall Entrance

WHO: Secretary Wayne Clough, Smithsonian Institution
         Gen. J. R. “Jack” Dailey, National Air and Space Museum

"The Incredible Bionic Man," who is scheduled to go on display at the National Air and Space Museum will be greeting the public when the Museum reopens after the 16-day government shutdown.

Smithsonian Channel is the exclusive U.S. television home to chronicle the behind-the-scenes story of the world’s first real Bionic Man – a 6-foot-tall robot built entirely from bionic body parts and implantable synthetic organs – complete with a functioning circulatory system.  The result of billions of dollars of research and featuring components borrowed from some of the world's leading laboratories, THE INCREDIBLE BIONIC MAN shows how far we’ve come in efforts to simulate the human body. A new one-hour documentary about the ambitious project premieres on Smithsonian Channel on Sunday, October 20, 2013 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Contact Alison Mitchell at 202-633-2376 or mitchellac@si.edu or Claire Brown at 202-633-2371 or brownch@si.edu.

# # #