Grand?? Reopening

  Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States
Sunday, November 23, 2008

Front of museum

After two years and $84 million, the National Museum of American History re-opened to the public this weekend.  Since my mom happened to be visiting, we used this opportunity to see the renovations.  I think they should have delayed their grand re-opening and waited until all the galleries were finished.  Among the displays still not finished were the ride simulators, most of the Stars and Stripes Cafe (only food available were sandwiches nothing from the grill), African American History and Culture and to my mom's great disappointment, First Ladies display.  Understandably, the Abraham Lincoln exhibit was not open...I believe they are waiting for the bicentennial celebration of his birthday in Feb 2009.  However the main exhibit, the original Star-Spangled Banner, was open for public viewing.  To protect the fabric, I know they need to restrict the amount of light-exposure to the flag, but the dimly lite display was a disappointment.  I remembered how the previous display with the flag draped from ceiling to the floor was awe inspiring. 

Mary Pickergill...

...and helpers

As part of the reopening celebration, throughout the day and throughout the museum there were special performances of American art and history.  While waiting to see the Star-Spangled Banner, we were fortunate enough to watch Mary Pickergill talk about how she made the famous flag.  This performance included crowd participation where little children could help her lay down the 15 stars in the field of blue.  Also as you walk around the museum, you may encounter historic figures like George Washington, Lewis Clark or a Minuteman.  On the first floor there was a stage where performers were playing Salsa.  I do not know how Salsa is equated to American History but the music was enjoyable.  We missed the Jazz performance because we were looking at the galleries...now Jazz is a truly American music form.  On the third floor near the musical instrument displays, there was a quartet playing Appalachian folk music.

It's not easy being green

There's no place like home

Interestingly, there was a gallery which rivaled the Star Spangled Banner in the length of wait in the queue to enter.  It was the "Thanks for the Memories" gallery.  This gallery was dedicated to entertainment and sports history.  The most popular items were Dorthy's Ruby Slippers and Kermit the Frog.  I also was interested in Roberto Clemente's uniform and Jerry Seinfeld's pirate shirt.  I was slightly surprised to see that they already had Barrack Obama's portrait displayed as the 44th US President.  My personnel favorite display was "Within These Walls".  It had a cut-out of a typical house in New England with the different furnishings you may find throughout the different eras of US History.  What I found the most fascinating was along the wall they had the personnel history of the families that occupied the house.  Overall, I would recommend this museum for those with small children.  There are a lot of hands-on items and interactive displays, which would be a good starting point to initiate interest in American history.  As an adult, I found the museum lacking substance.  If you are going to go to the museum, wait until all the displays are finished around Jan 2009.