Death by Smithsonian
Though I've often said this of the Louvre, it holds even more true for the Smithsonian: you could easily spend a week and never see everything. That's bc the Smithsonian comes not single spy, but in battalions. With something like 14 museums, plus the Washington Zoo, you could camp out for more like a year and still not see it all.
I've only ever managed to see a few of the museums, and had developed firm favorites. The Air and Space Museum, for rockets and space, is a geek's dream. And the Natural History Museum, of course, bc, well, dinosaurs. I'd been to one of the fine arts galleries at some point, and I remember my mom showing me the star spangled banner at the American History museum, but...eh. American history? All those presidents and politics? The This Act and the That Tariff and the Something Else Plan? Bleah.
So when I decided to see the exhibit of the First Ladies' Inauguration gowns at the American History museum, I was surprised to find how much other nifty stuff was there. Sure, their signature exhibits are the ballgowns and the pop culture gallery, with Dorothy's ruby slippers and Fonzie's leather jacket, but both of these are really pretty small. I ended up getting sucked into an endless labyrinth of exhibits on the sciences in America. Not only did each display discuss the development and applications of things like birth control, nuclear fusion, and computer-controlled "smart" cars, there was a lot of commentary on their societal effects as well. It was fascinating, and impressively laid out, but since I'd only allotted the two hours before they closed, I didn't get to see all of it. I did wander through Julia Child's kitchen, which is how I came to pick up her autobiography "My Life in France" in the gift shop, but there was an African American section, with exhibits on jazz and the Apollo Theater, that missed entirely. (There's a whole African American culture museum slated to open in 2015.)
Also on the list of unexpected delights was the uninspiring-sounding collection of Madeleine Albright's pins. I just happened to stumble across this bc I had never been to the main Smithsonian building before--the Castle--and decided to take a peek, and this is what happened to be on display. Since I had a half hour to kill before going to see the live butterflies (whee!) at the Natural History Museum, I wheeled Z's stroller through to see what was so special about Ms. Albright's pins.
Turns out they're pretty interesting--after being called an "unparalleled serpent" by the Iraqi press, Albright got into the habit of subtly (sometimes not-so-subtly) commenting on the diplomatic situation through her collection of whimsically shaped costume brooches. "On good days, I wore flowers and butterflies and balloons, and on bad days, all kinds of bugs and carnivorous animals." I spent a lot more time than I'd anticipated reading the stories behind the variously shaped pins. (Z was not impressed. Probably bc he could only see the bases of the display cabinets.)
Lest you should think I left all of my old favorites neglected, we did get over to Natural History to see the butterflies, and yes, the dinosaurs. There, I got sucked into a vast set of exhibits on the evolution of man. The displays on Neanderthals and the concurrent homo sapiens sapiens made me nostalgic for Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, back when they were still good (the first three novels, that would be). She sure did do her research.
No, I didn't make it over to the Air and Space Museum, but I think three musesums in one day (if you count the Castle and the pins) is a pretty good track record. My legs and back certainly thought so.
I've only ever managed to see a few of the museums, and had developed firm favorites. The Air and Space Museum, for rockets and space, is a geek's dream. And the Natural History Museum, of course, bc, well, dinosaurs. I'd been to one of the fine arts galleries at some point, and I remember my mom showing me the star spangled banner at the American History museum, but...eh. American history? All those presidents and politics? The This Act and the That Tariff and the Something Else Plan? Bleah.
So when I decided to see the exhibit of the First Ladies' Inauguration gowns at the American History museum, I was surprised to find how much other nifty stuff was there. Sure, their signature exhibits are the ballgowns and the pop culture gallery, with Dorothy's ruby slippers and Fonzie's leather jacket, but both of these are really pretty small. I ended up getting sucked into an endless labyrinth of exhibits on the sciences in America. Not only did each display discuss the development and applications of things like birth control, nuclear fusion, and computer-controlled "smart" cars, there was a lot of commentary on their societal effects as well. It was fascinating, and impressively laid out, but since I'd only allotted the two hours before they closed, I didn't get to see all of it. I did wander through Julia Child's kitchen, which is how I came to pick up her autobiography "My Life in France" in the gift shop, but there was an African American section, with exhibits on jazz and the Apollo Theater, that missed entirely. (There's a whole African American culture museum slated to open in 2015.)
Also on the list of unexpected delights was the uninspiring-sounding collection of Madeleine Albright's pins. I just happened to stumble across this bc I had never been to the main Smithsonian building before--the Castle--and decided to take a peek, and this is what happened to be on display. Since I had a half hour to kill before going to see the live butterflies (whee!) at the Natural History Museum, I wheeled Z's stroller through to see what was so special about Ms. Albright's pins.
Turns out they're pretty interesting--after being called an "unparalleled serpent" by the Iraqi press, Albright got into the habit of subtly (sometimes not-so-subtly) commenting on the diplomatic situation through her collection of whimsically shaped costume brooches. "On good days, I wore flowers and butterflies and balloons, and on bad days, all kinds of bugs and carnivorous animals." I spent a lot more time than I'd anticipated reading the stories behind the variously shaped pins. (Z was not impressed. Probably bc he could only see the bases of the display cabinets.)
Lest you should think I left all of my old favorites neglected, we did get over to Natural History to see the butterflies, and yes, the dinosaurs. There, I got sucked into a vast set of exhibits on the evolution of man. The displays on Neanderthals and the concurrent homo sapiens sapiens made me nostalgic for Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, back when they were still good (the first three novels, that would be). She sure did do her research.
No, I didn't make it over to the Air and Space Museum, but I think three musesums in one day (if you count the Castle and the pins) is a pretty good track record. My legs and back certainly thought so.