Saturday April 09, 2005 D.C. - American History Museum
I spent today walking around the Mall and visiting the American History Museum and the National Archives. I now know that (Cherry Blossom Festival + nice weather) = huge crowds.
Due to the large crowds, it was a bit more difficult than I would have liked to view the American History Museum exhibits. Despite this, the visit was fulfilling. The museum was a wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in the history of this great country. There is something truly awe inspiring about viewing artifacts like the Star-Spangled Banner, George Washington's sword and scabbard from the War of Independence, the Appomattox Court House chairs used by Grant and Lee, and the flag unfurled at the Pentagon the morning after 9/11.
My favorite exhibit was >a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/">The Price of Freedom: America at War. It was fascinating to view artifacts from the wars that won and maintained our independence and defended our national interests. The collections of flags, photographs, uniforms, swords, medals, equipment, etc. were simply incredible. As you might imagine, the collection of firearms displayed in this exhibit, along with those in the Gunboat Philadelphia gallery, were also very impressive.
Several of the exhibits that appealed to the engineering geek in me were Science in American Life, Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860, and Information Age: People, Information & Technology. The Engines of Change exhibit displays artifacts associated with the Industrial Revolution in America. The collection of engines and generators in this exhibit is exceptional. The Information Age exhibit chronicles the information age with artifacts from a Morse telegraph and a Bell telephone, through a collection of computers including parts of ENIAC and early PCs like the Altair 8800. The exhibit pays tribute to Sun's role by displaying an early Sun workstation.
The Hall of Agriculture was another exhibit of special interest to me (due to my rural upbringing). The exhibit is nice but, IMHO, is too small in proportion to the importance of agriculture to this country. Interesting artifacts in the Hall of Agriculture include a 1903 Hart Parr tractor, a 1918 Waterloo Boy tractor, and a 1943 International Harvester cotton picker.
I hope to be able to visit the American History museum again in the near future as my visit, while it took up the better part of a day, did not afford an opportunity to see everything to the extent I would have liked. Nevertheless, I am gratified to have had the opportunity to spend what time I did in this exceptional museum.
After visiting the American History Museum, I headed over to the National Archives to view some of our nations formative documents. I had very little time for this visit so I went straight to the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. Standing in front of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was an experience that I will never forget. I felt simultaneously thrilled, awed, and humbled as I viewed these magnificent documents.
( Apr 09 2005, 10:36:07 PM PDT )
Permalink
Comments [0]