We reported last week that “Night at the Museum II: Escape from the Smithsonian,” the 20th Century Fox film starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Owen Wilson and Dick Van Dyke will soon film in Washington. Now, the Smithsonian is prepping its employees for the festivities.

In two internal notes to Smithsonian employees obtained by Yeas & Nays, acting Undersecretary for History, Art and Culture Richard Kurin says the museum signed a contract with 20th Century Fox on April 28 “and will receive compensation for its role in the film.”

“This is the first time in its 162-year history that the Smithsonian has allowed its name to be used in the title of a movie produced for theatrical distribution,” writes Kurin. “Why now? The popularity of the first movie convinced us that this is an innovative way to capture the imagination and curiosity of a young audience. The film positively portrays museums and historical artifacts and will shine the bright lights of Hollywood on the Institution, focus attention on our collection and bring to life heroes such as Amelia Earhart and the Wright Brothers.”

Filming crews will be at either the Smithsonian Castle and/or the Air and Space Museum beginning this Friday and concluding on May 21 (exterior shots include the National Museum of the American Indian, Hirshhorn Museum, National Museum of American History, and the American Museum of Natural History). And, if you’re wondering what those “Smithsonian” banners are doing hanging from the lightposts along the Mall, well, “Night at the Museum II” is your answer.

Kurin calls the Castle filming “some of the most complicated we have ever done at the Smithsonian.”

“Night at the Museum II” is making the Smithsonian spruce up the place, too. “Kurin notes a request “by Fox to fill out the flowers surrounding the Joseph Henry statue so that no ground shows through.” And they’ve also requested “hanging baskets outside of the Castle (we can ask them to supply if needed).”