The Smithsonian Museum consists of 16 different buildings all having museums with different themes. There is a mile long grass park called the National Mall that stretches from the Capital Building to the Lincoln Memorial. Along that strip of grass, most of the Smithsonian museums are found. Yesterday we visited the building next door. Today its the NMofAH which focuses mainly on events affecting America since it became a nation.
The biggest areas cover the War of Independence from Britain and the Civil War. The civil war ended when General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. These are the actual table and chairs which they used to sign the surrender.
General Tecumseh Sherman invaded from the north and burned and destroyed his way through Atlanta to Savannah which split the confederacy and hastened the end of the war. This is the horse that he rode during that campaign. It was stuffed 150 years ago and still looks great. I'm not sure how it feels.
Another big section of the museum covered how the Americans won all the wars they entered, saving the world from Fascism, Communism and "having oilism". The vignettes are well done. Here is a Huey helicopter which was used in Vietnam to rescue injured soldiers shown doing its job.
Enough about war, except perhaps the cold war. Here is an actual section of the Berlin wall showing marks where it was broken and pushed over. For our generation, that was one of the defining moments of the fall of the Soviet Union.
On February 1st, 1960, 4 young African Americans sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro North Carolina and asked to be served. They were told to leave because the lunch counter was for whites only. They refused and staged a sit in which was one of the events which precipitated the civil rights movement. This is the actual counter and chairs involved. It is so neat to get to see these things which were pivotal in changing our world.
In the 1930's many families lost their homes and moved into portable trailers which became their home, sometimes for many years. Kinda sounds like Grammie and I doesn't it. Although its hard to see, they had a lot of the amenities we have, except for running water, toilets, electricity and HD TV. Otherwise, quite similar.
In the music history area, they have lots of items like original Fender guitars and the ancestors of many of our current musical instruments. We found the display of Stradivarius violins and viola the most interesting. Not only are they worth millions, they are unique. He only made 11 violins with ornate inlays and here are 2 of them. They had music playing which had been recorded from these instruments. With my tin ear it could have been an organ grinder box for all I knew, but it was nice to know we were hearing the best it got.
Now on to the contemporary culture area. This is Archie Bunkers chair and hat from the show. If you never saw the show, it doesn't mean much does it, but if you did, ain't this cool?
How about Grammies find! Now everyones seen the Wizard of Oz. These are the slippers worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in the movie.
I think I can outdo that. How about Fonzies jacket from the show Happy Days. And I'll throw in Minnie Pearls hat for added impact!
Ouch! Grammie countered with the original Kermit the Frog. Everyone knows who he is so I guess she wins the award for the most recognized find here.
For those of you who have ever shopped, thought of shopping or have heard of shopping, you should recognize this: its the very first shopping cart. Until this was invented by a grocery store owner, he noticed that people stopped shopping once their little hand basket was full. By developing this, his customers could buy much more and browse longer because their cart held more and their arms didn't get tired. You could set this in the small top section of most shopping carts now.
Don't think that 12 hours of constant adventure and discovery doesn't come with a price, because it does. Those with sharp eyes will see the ankle brace and knee brace Grammies wearing. Now you know the price we are paying to inform and enlighten you. Hope you appreciate it.
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