# The Smithsonian **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984 "2020-05-01T15:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_Taggart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9dc877/32.png) [@Jim\_Taggart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Taggart)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/1 "2020-05-01T15:30:21Z")
Ever been to the Smithsonian ? Favorite exhibits ? Was there once and would like to go back. My most memorable: Archie Bunkers chair The Mash sign Judy Garland’s shoes from the Wizard of Oz George Washington’s uniform A computer from 1943 Moon rocks (different building) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/2 "2020-05-01T15:38:49Z")
I’ve been there several times. My favorite exhibits were in the Hall of Gems and Minerals. I went on a field trip with my son’s kindergarten class, and found an alphabet in which each letter was carved from a single diamond. Very appropriate. I liked the Hope Diamond, too. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/3 "2020-05-01T16:13:44Z")
I first visited when I was 11 years old and have been back a couple of times since. I still have my American Heritage Guidebook from 1965. The first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of the Smithsonian is the African Bush Elephant in the rotunda of the Natural History Museum. The two other most impressive things are the Concorde and Space Shuttle at the Udvar-Hazy Center. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/4 "2020-05-01T16:35:16Z")
There are 19 museums under the Smithsonian umbrella - [About Our Museums and Zoo | Smithsonian Institution](https://www.si.edu/museums) My personal favorite is Air and Space, and the Apollo 11 command module is hard to beat. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/5 "2020-05-01T16:46:22Z")
I’ve worked for the Smithsonian or at Smithsonian facilities since 1977. Between 1987 and 1992 I was based in Washington, and had an office in the [Arts and Industries Building,](https://www.si.edu/sites/default/files/newsdesk/photos/arts-and-industries-building-med.jpg) the second oldest building after [The Castle.](https://washington-org.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/travelwith_caro_summer-day-on-national-mall-in-front-of-smithsonian-castle_yesmydccool.jpg) My office was in one of the turrets on the left of the building as seen in the photo, and was reached by a spiral metal staircase [like this](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/08/24/smithsonian-interiors_custom-054da5548202bd93ec708ae7da4b73678adb6ac5-s800-c85.jpg). (I’m not sure, but that could actually be my office.) The great thing about the Smithsonian is the incredible breadth of the museums. The OP mostly references exhibits in the American History Museum, but of course there is also Natural History, Air and Space, the American Indian and African American Museums, and a bunch of art museums. The Smithsonian also operates the National Zoo, plus research facilities in Panama (where I now work), Kenya, and elsewhere. I’ve been fortunate in being able to visit many of the behind the scenes areas, especially the collections of the Natural History Museum, but also the exhibitions departments and the Zoo. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/6 "2020-05-01T18:09:11Z")
So many… The first was many years ago, I entered the Air and Space Museum and the first thing I saw was the Wright flyer, suspended over the Apollo 11 capsule. It hit me then that only 66 years (well within one person’s lifetime) had passed between them. Think about it. In modern times, I visited the Air and Space annex out at Dulles (Udvar-Hazy Center). While there are great numbers of things to see, it was the **Enola Gay** , the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, that affected me the most–still not sure why. And one of Benedict Arnold’s ships (when he was on our side) and…so, so much. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/7 "2020-05-01T18:56:30Z")
When I was allowed in the office I’d sometimes clock out and visit the Mall museums on slow days. Has anyone been to the design museum I’m NYC? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/8 "2020-05-01T21:46:27Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’ve been there several times. My favorite exhibits were in the Hall of Gems and Minerals. > > I went on a field trip with my son’s kindergarten class, and found an alphabet in which each letter was carved from a single diamond. Very appropriate. I liked the Hope Diamond, too. I adore that as well - we saw the Hope Diamond there as well. =) I have always loved minerals - opals are both my birthstone and absolute favorite mineral - the variety of colors and sheer beauty o the flash is amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/9 "2020-05-01T22:03:06Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Has anyone been to the design museum I’m NYC? The [Cooper Hewett.](https://www.cooperhewitt.org/) Unfortunately, although I’m from New York, that’s one of the few Smithsonian Museums I haven’t been to (along with the Anacostia Community Museum, plus the Postal Museum, African American Museum, and Udvar-Hazy Center, all of which opened after I left DC.) ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/10 "2020-05-01T22:39:43Z")
I like the rocks, especially the giant crystal ball (quartz sphere) but I’m a sucker for the First Ladies’ dresses. I know the exhibit is now more about the entire role of the first lady but I just go to see the dresses. I love the different fabrics and styles. Love Grace Coolidge’s [flapper dress](https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/photos/first-ladies-collection-grace-coolidge). What can I say? I’m a sucker for art deco beading. I also love seeing the sizes of the first ladies. Nancy Reagan was tiny. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/11 "2020-05-01T23:51:29Z")
It was founded with money from the will of an English guy who never visited the US. I like the Air and Space building out by Dulles airport. It’s free but $15 to park. You can take a free bus from the older A&S museum on the mall. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/12 "2020-05-01T23:58:19Z")
Growing up in MD in the 70s and 80s, we went there often because it was free for our family of 7. Air and Space Museum was a favorite, and Natural History (Gems and Minerals) and American History (All of it, and especially First Ladies’ gowns). Living and working in MD in the 90s, Mr. CelticKnot and I went there often in the year before we married. I was teaching art, so I took my students on a field trip to the Smithsonian. The school music teacher was our chaperone. Guess who? (We’re high school sweethearts because we met teaching at the same high school.) We loved going to the art museums; we would just spend all day walking to different museums. There was a Whistler exhibit at either the Sackler or the Freer Gallery (I don’t remember) that he loved, but that was long ago. He proposed at the National Botanical Garden. We moved away from MD after we married, so we haven’t spent much time there since. We did make a point of going to the National MUseum of the American Indian after we lived on the Navajo reservation. Mostly what I remember was the frybread sold in the cafe was just not right. There’s so much there it’s hard to say what is best. We could spend a week in DC, just visiting the mall. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/13 "2020-05-02T05:09:11Z")
Just once, and it was so packed with bus loads of school kids, I turned around and walked right back out. Honestly, I never got much bamg from museum. I know there are wondrous old things, but I have no need to see them. Not a knock on museums, they just dont do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/14 "2020-05-02T11:19:58Z")
We happened to be in the area a few years ago, while visiting family, and thought it would be great to visit the Smithsonian. Forgot about the difference between Switzerland and the U.S. In Switzerland, having a Swiss Army knife is considered normal. It might be confiscated for a concert, but museums don’t have pat-down searches. Not all of the museums have lockers. Fortunately the Air & Space Museum does, so we visited it. I don’t even remember which one we originally wanted to visit. Who knows when we’ll be back in the area. The relatives moved to NC, so no cheap hotel. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/15 "2020-05-03T14:34:35Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Just once, and it was so packed with bus loads of school kids, I turned around and walked right back out. Honestly, I never got much bamg from museum. I know there are wondrous old things, but I have no need to see them. > > Not a knock on museums, they just dont do it for me. You might enjoy living history museums more - there are a number of very good ones -[Sturbridge Village](https://www.osv.org) in Mass, [Genesee Country Museum](https://www.gcv.org) in western NY, and [Plimoth Plantation](https://www.plimoth.org) also in Mass are quite interesting. They have humans in costume that portray people who would have been living there doing whatever they are demonstrating. We did an all day cooking thing up in Sturbridge that ended up with a package of recipes and dinner =) \ ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/16 "2020-05-03T18:37:13Z")
I wanna gooooooooo! Mr VOW (Sgt VOW at the time) visited when he was TDY at Ft Belvoir for the Advanced Course, Combat Engineers. He took lots of pictures! He got Archie Bunker’s chair, MASH, First Lady dresses, the Hope Diamond, John Wilkes Booth’s boot, and…and…damn near everything. He also got pictures of the large model of the USS Enterprise, NCC 1701, used in the opening of the original Star Trek series. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/17 "2020-05-03T22:23:16Z")
Air and Space is pretty much always crowded with kids. the newer one by Dulles is less crowded. The metro silver line will go to Dulles next year but I don’t think it is stopping at the museum , maybe they will have a shuttle bus from the metro stop. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/18 "2020-05-06T06:16:39Z")
I’m not a US resident. The Air and Space museum was the first one I went to. The Wright Flyer, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier and the Apollo capsule were highlights. I have also visited the Udvar-Hazy Center at IAD. The Air France Concorde was great (even though I once flew on a BA Concorde and visited another one at Filton near Bristol), but other aircraft were also fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/19 "2020-05-06T11:15:54Z")
For a long time the Wrights did not want the Smithsonian to have their first flyer because the Smithsonian did not fully back their claim of first flight. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian/852984/20 "2020-05-06T11:32:23Z")
That was because of Langley and the aerodrome. > **[Langley Aerodrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_Aerodrome)** > > The Langley Aerodrome was a pioneering but unsuccessful manned, tandem wing-configuration powered flying machine, designed at the close of the 19th century by Smithsonian Institution Secretary Samuel Langley. The U.S. Army paid $50,000 for the project in 1898 after Langley's successful flights with small-scale uncrewed models two years earlier. > Langley coined the name "Aerodrome" and applied it to a series of engine-driven uncrewed and crewed tandem wing aircraft that were built under his superv...