Public History

by Nick Swisher

I recently visited the Newseum in our Nation’s Capital. For those of you who don’t know, that’s the relatively new (its doors opened in D.C. on April 11, 2008) “interactive” museum about our First Amendment and all the good it’s done us. Having heard enough hype and hoorays, some of my family and I decided to take a look ourselves and, I must say, it was terrific. As soon as we reached the building from crossing the streets of D.C. we could spot, lined against the outer walls of the museum, the front pages of nearly every major newspaper in the United States displayed for all to see.  Upon entering, you’re greeted with a massive television that displays live news feeds from around the world.

After a short video about the News and the museum, we were left to browse the exhibits. From the bottom floor (you’re supposed to start at the bottom, take an elevator all the way up, and then view the exhibits as you walk back down), we viewed the mobster/g-man exhibit and the Berlin Wall exhibit, which contained actual sections of the wall and the only guard tower from Berlin now in America. Now at the top floor, right as you step off the glass elevator, was a Barak Obama exhibit, all pictures (from pros and amateurs alike) of his walk to the White House.  Right after this they had a small section on Abe Lincoln, a subtle connection being made between the two obviously.

Continuing downstairs we got to one of my favorite parts and perhaps the largest exhibit, named “The Story of the News”. In the middle of the floor is a long showcase that displays the front pages of historic newspapers in chronological order. They have the display set up so that you can pull out the glass boxes the papers are contained in from underneath one another, much like you were in an archive. You start with what are some of the first newspapers ever created and bounce along to English newspapers about the American Revolution or an American paper about the attack on Fort Sumter. Every time my family or I found one of these big headlines, we’d call out to the others like we’d found the original copy ourselves. It really made you feel as if you were unearthing this history yourself. I even ran ahead to be the first to view the headline “HITLER IS DEAD!”

Then we watched a short film on Woodstock in a long open theatre, followed a timeline of 9/11 around the actual radio tower recovered from one of the Twin Towers, and pried my mother and grandmother from the gift shop.
We viewed another short video containing clips of the most recent of John Stewart’s The Daily Show. Right after that, the Newseum has a section where you can hop up behind a green screen and be taped as if you were an actual reporter for a fee. I am unaware of the cost since my family and I walked by that one, claiming the line was too long (which is partially true; if there weren’t so many people having to watch us as they wait, perhaps we would have done it.)

Sadly, we then reached the final floor, but they ended with a definite bang. The Pulitzer exhibit was moving. It contained every photo that had ever won the Pulitzer Prize, along with further explanations for some on the walls, and another short video that delved even deeper into some. I don’t mind admitting it, I cried. Seeing some of the photos was bad enough, but the explanations for them tore at your heart.

On that happy note, we went to perhaps the “most fun” part of the museum, the free 4-D movie. A 4-D movie, for those unsure, contains 3-D images while at the same time interacting with you via small puffs of air, smells, or bumps that move around your feet. To all of you who get queasy during the 4-D’s shown at Disney World, have no fear, this one is much tamer and is a recommended must see.

All in all, I must say that the Newseum was one of the most memorable museum visits I have ever had. They claim to be the most interactive museum in the world, and I can believe it. Nearly every exhibit contained something to do other than walk by and read. Even more impressive was that almost all the items in the museum were originals. So plan a trip to the Newseum, you won’t be disappointed.