The Newseum

I have a new favorite museum in Washington DC. It is the Newseum, which opened at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue (next to the Canadian Embassy, near the Archives and between the Capitol and the White House) three years ago. I have always loved history and watching and listening to the news. I remember as a young child watching the Kennedy funeral and seeing Walter Cronkite nightly on the news. I remember the number of dead from the Vietnam War being reported nightly. When I saw the headlines in the Newseum about the first heart transplant, I knew that happened in 1967. Even if you aren't a news junkie, you will still enjoy this museum. Since the weather was not very hospitable on our recent visit, this was a perfect day to spend the day! Even if the weather had been perfect, it was still a great way to spend the day! The admission is actually good for two consecutive days and I could have spent part of the second day there, but hubby was sick the next day and I wanted to walk to some of the monuments. I gave my tickets for the second day to a couple on the National Mall...I hope they went and enjoyed it at least half as much as I did!

There is a collection of newspapers going back to the 1400's. There are tv and radio clips of significant events for the last century. There are videos about news and the media, how civil rights was covered and the importance of getting the news right.

There were very touching exhibits such as the September 11. There is part of the antennae from the World Trade Center and the newspapers on the wall showing headlines from that week. There is a video regarding 9/11 that made me cry and I saw many others crying. Also a video about a photographer that went towards the tower and did not make it. His camera and photos are there. Other touching exhibits were the one about Katrina and Pulitzer Prize winning photographs.

Above, there are eight sections of the Berlin Wall as well as a death tower behind it where the guards watched with guns for anyone trying to climb the wall. There were other things such as the door from the Watergate scandal, the DC sniper car where they shot from the trunk, and the cabin of the unabomber. It is just amazing the collection of items and footage that have been in the news. Tim Russert's office is there, with his sign, "Thou shalt not whine". Yes, the Smithsonian's don't charge admission and I do love going to them, but this one is worth every penny! Next time you are in DC and have a day or two, don't miss this museum!