Trip Down History Lane

The husband and I took the little guy to visit the National Museum of American History this weekend. It just reopened after being closed for renovation for a couple of years so we wanted to check it out.

I love the museums in DC. They almost make the traffic and high mortgage prices worth it.

View of the Washington monument from the steps in front of American history. I don't know what the deal is with the sculpture, but I've always liked it.

I asked the husband what his favorite exhibit was. The answer was...

Roberto Clemente's uniform.

He's a big Pittsburgh fan so this really didn't reveal any shocking insight into his personality.

The little guy also had an obvious (and predictable) favorite.

There is huge exhibit on the history of transportation, called American on the Move. Trains, planes, bus, motorcycles are everywhere.

If they added a singing purple dinosaur, I think it would be my son's version of heaven.

I highly recommend parents of small children hitting this one on the way out instead of the first thing.

The little guy spent most of the visit serenading the other visitors with his super loud choo-choo appreciation chant. Nothing like a couple of old trains to get my son all fired up.

Now on to the good stuff.

I love the ruby slippers.

There is something about a pair of magical, sparky red high heels that speaks to me.

I was a big Wizard of Oz fan growing up.

Speaking of growing up...

I was a bit surprised by the entire corner dedicated to the pill in the history of science exhibit. It is a really big area entirely reserved for educating museum goers in detail about the pill (the word sex is used repeatedly).

I had never really thought about the pill as a marvel of modern technology, but I guess it was kind of a big deal historically.

That said, I still find this exhibit freaking hilarious.

I know the picture didn't come out terribly well, but all those things in the case are different types of birth control pills. I wonder who came up with this idea?

Other random things-

Apparently, Lincoln logs were named after President Lincoln. They are supposed to resemble the type of house he grew up in. I had never made this connection.

Along with the ruby slippers, the museum also has an Kermit the frog and an Oscar the grouch on display.

The Obama have already been added to the list of Presidents and First ladies.

Also, on a practical note, there are a couple of cool exhibits with hands on stuff for kids.

All and all, we had a great time. I definitely learned some new stuff (especially about the pill).

I love this museum (although Natural History is still my favorite).