Indiana University Bloomington holds more than 560,000 audio and video recordings and film reels, many of which are historically significant, all of which are actively deteriorating. And the window of time to save these materials is closing fast.

The exhibit "In the Shadow of Cortés: From Veracruz to Mexico City" will open at 5 p.m. Friday (Oct. 2) at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, 416 N. Indiana Ave. at Indiana University Bloomington.

A lecture by Jenny 8. Lee, a reporter for the New York Times and author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, and the annual Taste of Asia and AsianFest events will highlight IU's early observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has awarded Indiana University $200,000 to turn the Captain Kidd shipwreck site and three other underwater preserves in the Dominican Republic into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums," where cultural discoveries will protect precious corals and other threatened biology in the surrounding reef systems under the supervision and support of the Dominican Republic's Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural Subacuático.

To celebrate its 10th year, organizers of the 2008 Festival Latino at Indiana University Bloomington will bring in a Grammy-nominated group to perform at the free outdoor event. Latino culture will be celebrated with food, live music, dancing, interactive activities and more during the one-day festival sponsored by the IU Latino Cultural Center, La Casa. Festival Latino is one of many events scheduled during National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).

An "American Idol" semi-finalist and the author of The Chopsticks-Fork Principle, A Memoir and Manual will highlight Indiana University's annual early observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Resting in less than 10 feet of Caribbean seawater, the wreckage of Quedagh Merchant, the ship abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Capt. Kidd as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name, has escaped discovery -- until now. An underwater archaeology team from Indiana University announced today (Dec. 13) the discovery of the remnants.

On Friday (March 30), Indiana University will begin its annual early observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Gary Farmer, a cultural activist, musician, citizen of the Cayuga Nation and an actor who has performed in more than 75 films and television shows -- including director Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man and the highly successful Smoke Signals -- will speak next Thursday (Feb. 1) at the opening night of the Native Film Series at Indiana University Bloomington.

Advocacy groups for American Indians at Indiana University and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures are working together to promote better understanding of American Indians through educational outreach and public events through Dec. 20.

Indiana University Bloomington on March 24 will begin its annual early observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific islanders in the United States.

Jason Baird Jackson, assistant professor of folklore and adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington, has been appointed as the next editor for Museum Anthropology, the journal of the Council for Museum Anthropology. Museum Anthropology is the leading journal concerned with the study of museums and material culture.

With help from its faculty and staff, Indiana University has extensively retooled and refurbished its research Web site, at http://research.indiana.edu. "Research at Indiana University" is designed to make it easier for IU faculty and staff to find information about grant opportunities, compliance procedures and research policies, and celebrate research and creative activity on IU's eight campuses.

Charles Beeker's new laboratory isn't fancy, but it's functional. The 1,000-square-foot facility is abuzz with fans and archaeological activity. Sinks and tubs of water protect such shipwreck finds as 19th-century china from Hong Kong headed for the California gold fields, pig iron ballast, and hand-blown glass ale bottles from Germany. An occasional whiff of ocean water can be detected.

Archaeologists from Indiana University Bloomington are helping the government of the Dominican Republic open a second underwater museum featuring cannons, cannon balls, olive jar fragments and other items recovered from early 18th-century shipwrecks.