National Museum of the American Indian
March 22nd
This museum just opened 6 months ago and I was so excited to be able to see all of the exhibitions here. It was fairly crowded and quite warm, but I moved along at my pace only bumping into people every now and then. (Little did I know at this point that the crowd here was nothing compared to the mass humanity I'd encounter in the next 2 museums I'd go to.) It was just so huge, I feel like I didn't see 1/2 of it. And although I would have loved to read more about each exhibit that really caught my eye, I was starting to feel overwhelmed and was having a bit (!) of sensory overload.
The 5-story curvilinear building evokes natural rock formations carved by wind and water over time.
Gold objects from Central and South America
Native Artifacts from all over North, Central and South America
Gold objects from Central and South America
"Allies in War, Partners in Peace" a gift of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York
The Native Modernism exhibition explores prominent US artists of a formative generation in Native American Art.
"May We Have Peace"
"Resting at the Spring"
All 4 of these sculptures were created by Allan Houser. These 4 were my favorite, of course, I took photos of several more.
March 22nd
I didn't intend on going to this museum, but I found myself right in front of it and figured, what the heck? I'm pretty interested in space travel (in the 5th grade, I really wanted to be an astronaut) and Jimmy and I have been watching the 'From Earth to the Moon' series, so I was intrigued. Plus airplanes are pretty cool, too. The line wasn't long, so after going through the x-ray security (like in every building in DC), I found myself in the lobby of the Air and Space Museum, the most popular Smithsonian Museum. I say this because there were 2 million people in this so-called huge museum. Well, within 15 minutes (seriously), another 5 million people (obviously that's a 'slight' exaggeration ;) arrived, all of them 14 year olds, fresh from eating lunch so they were nice and rambunctious and full of energy and loud. Deep breath, I'll be fine. And mostly I was, but honestly, I think I already hit my sensory capacity at the American Indian Museum. With all those people and the 14 year olds really just being 14 year olds but IMO a wee bit disrespectful for being in a museum, the walls of this massive museum were closing in. So I pretty much walked through most of the exhibits here, took a few snap shots, and was out of there within 45 minutes, maybe even quicker. Nonetheless, looking back, I'm glad I went because I know I'd be doing regret now if I hadn't.
National Museum of American History
March 23, 2005
It was raining...hard. This would be a good museum day!! Yup, what an 'original' idea. So, there I was, 9:50am, standing in line with about, oh...200 other people, in the pouring rain waiting for the museum to open at 10. Actually, the wait wasn't bad at all, it was only 10 minutes and I had an umbrella, a rain jacket and I had just taken a 12-hour Aleve Cold and Sinus tablet so I was fine. And being one of the 1st ones in the museum was nice. I was able to explore about 1/4 of the museum without fighting for elbow room. But around 10:45, I was in the Pop Culture section and suddenly, about 300 - 14 year olds appeared. If I thought they were rambunctious yesterday in the Air and Space...well, all I can say is I remember quite well how much energy my friends and I would have when it was pouring rain and we were away from home (think band trips) but stuck indoors. Patience grasshopper.
Presidential Toys - Theodore Roosevelt's teddy bears
Seinfield's Pirate Shirt
