DC Holiday Part 5: The Museum of American History

The Museum of American History is quite nice, but it's made up of lots of small interesting exhibits instead of the massive and impressive pieces that the Air and Space or Natural History museums feature. Some exhibits are just kind of boring - this is one example of the exhibits I will NOT be blogging:


With that disclaimer, the Museum of American History follows the tradition of having big, bold, and iconographic displays in the foyer. Air and Space has the Apollo capsules, Natural History has the giant Elephant, and the Museum of American History has a truly breathtaking exhibit - the flag that was draped on the Pentagon on September 11th 2001:


One of the most interesting pieces they have, at least to me, is the uniform of George Washington. I've seen it depicted hundreds of times, but there it is for real. That's part of what makes the Smithsonian special.


Next up is an odd pair of WW2 memorabilia: A German Field Marshal's baton, which I've never even heard of, and a German MP40, which I've fired thousands of times in computer games.



One exhibit in the WW2 section that surprised me was a pinup collection. Pleasantly surprised me, I must say.


Next up is the musical instruments section, with a beautiful piano made in 1903 for the White House by Steinway and Sons, depicting America Receiving the Nine Muses.


Here is part of the Strativarius collection, with an interesting omission. I hope it's not because a curator's kid has a recital.


Apparently the Internet needs renovation. Probably long overdue.


We wind up in the pop culture section, with an homage to the power of Disney: