On Tuesday, December 15, 2009, organizers at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History screened the film Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta in the Samuel C. Johnson IMAX theatre.

Organizers invited educators and community leaders, Muslim and Non-Muslim, from across the region; about 120 people attended the screening.  The purpose of the screening was to give community organizers, leaders, and educators and opportunity to view the movie before its area release so that they can then help to spread the word about it.