This summer, the residents of Washington and its many visitors can look forward to a brand new exhibition space at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History here in the nation’s capital. As part of a huge renovation project, the Museum is currently in the middle of renewing the building’s 120,000 square foot exhibition wing.
As part of the renewal, we can all look forward to new galleries, an education center, performance spaces, new infrastructure and interior public plazas. There’s also a new panoramic window available on the first floor which offers breath-taking views of the Washington Monument and some of the National Mall’s landmarks.
The great news is, the first floor of the new wing opens to the public this Wednesday, July 1st. The overall theme of the floor is Innovation. This will focus on how America has provided new ideas and realities across different systems like social, legal and financial frameworks, not to mention the more controversial topics of rewarding the risk takers and tolerating failures.
There are many great exhibitions in this new space. The Mars Hall of American Business explores the history of American Enterprise, the Gallery of Numismatics which focuses on the value of money, and the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation houses facts and exhibits on some of the most inventive minds of our Country.
The Education Center is also found on this floor, with interactive spaces including the Spark! Lab and the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project. Housed within the Education Center is also the SC Johnson Conference Center and the Wallace H Coulter Performance Plaza. By fall or winter of 2015, there will also be an Early Learning Gallery, catering specifically to the younger children. The Education Center houses everything from food demonstrations to lectures on capitalism, with everything you need to know about innovation all taking place in the various performance spaces.
In addition, there’s an archives center and the Dibner Library located on the first floor of this building so you can find out almost anything you ever wanted to know about US history within these walls.
If you are interested in the rich history and culture of our capital, why not combine this brand new attraction with a half-day tour of the city? Gray Line DC operates a half day DC Tour route on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays which encompasses many of the great memorials in and around D.C, including the Iwo Jima, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, the World War II Memorial and more. You’ll also get a photo stop by the White House to give yourself an extra memory of the capital. You can get off at each of the memorials and enjoy learning more about these great historical figures or battles from our licensed Washington D.C. tour guide drivers. Make it a summer to remember by visiting some of these great attractions in the capital!