NYAM Celebrates the Mile

NEW YORK CITY, June 6 ???The Museum Mile that is. The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) took part in the 30th annual Museum Mile Festival June 3. NYAM staff stood out on Fifth Avenue, giving out fun gifts, making tattoos and cutting out paper hands with the kids in honor of NYAMs Thumbs Up: A Celebration of the Development of Hand Surgery and the Work of J. William Littler exhibit.

Families decorate hand cut-outs at this year's Museum Mile Festival

The exhibit looks at Dr. Littler’s work, one of the most renowned hand surgeons in the United States and a Fellow of NYAM, and highlights the many ways his work guided the development of the surgical specialty of hand surgery. Families took part in fun and creative ways to use your hands as expressions of art and tools of science.

The Museum Mile Festival began as an initiative to spur the development of new museum audiences and to increase support for the arts during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, Museum Mile was formed as a consortium by the museums that share the Fifth Avenue address. From the barrios of East Harlem and the townhouses lining the Upper East Side, to the winding streets of the Village and the clustered neighborhoods of the outer-boroughs, people came to celebrate their shared pride in their city.
Housed on Fifth Avenue, at the corner of 103rd, NYAM has taken part in the event for the past three years, establishing the institution as a must-see on Museum Mile.

Parents and children check out the NYAM table at this year's Museum Mile

Museum Mile Festival's reach now goes far beyond New York City. Thousands of tourists from around the country and world make their trip to Museum Mile Festival a yearly vacation tradition. Total attendance records over its twenty-six years have surpassed one million visitors, and because of the success of the festival and the work of consortium, the City of New York officially designated Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th streets as "Museum Mile"?? further cementing the area as one of the city??s major cultural resources. Visit their website for more information:http://www.museummilefestival.org/

The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) has been advancing the health of people in cities since 1847. An independent organization, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world’s urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, education, community engagement and innovative research. Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are to create environments in cities that support healthy aging; to strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public’s health; and to implement interventions that eliminate health disparities.

Posted on June 10, 2008

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Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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