Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
D.C. Museums Review
Topic Started: Jul 29 2017, 07:35 AM (65 Views)
Klaus
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Holocaust Museum: Wow, this was really well done. Although there weren't that many things that were new to me, it did a very good job of two things: 1) Illustrating what the holocaust meant to individuals, 2) Illustrating what 6 million means. One thing I didn't know was how much the other countries refused to take in Jews in '33 to '39, in particular the UK didn't let the Jews migrate to Palestine. The tour started with randomly drawing a card describing the fate of a single holocaust victim. They even had two Holocaust survivors there to talk to (after the visit I felt bad even being in the same room). The images, films and texts were very well done and balanced, in my opinion. Berlin should have a museum like that; instead we have a pointless field of stones. If there's one thing to criticise about the museum it's this: Antisemitism came out of nowhere in the museum; there was no attempt to "explain" it. I think a brief overview of the history of antisemitism in Europe would have helped to put the holocaust into context. But in any case, this is a terrific and moving museum.

National Museum of Natural History: I wasn't so excited about this one. It was mostly a loose collection of artifacts, with little information and little guidance given. The Natural History Museum in London or the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin have impressed me more.

National Air and Space Museum: Pretty cool. I loved the presentation; they didn't just present the artifacts; they also had a story to tell. This was particularly well done in their Wrights Brothers exhibition. It was amazing to read about and see the progress of the Wright Brother's experiments over time and get insights into how they worked. The "space race" in the 1960s was also very well done. I would have also liked to see the F. Udvar-Hazy Center center, but that would have taken a full day, hence I skipped it. All those cinemas were a bit pointless IMO, but overall a very good museum.

National Gallery of Art: I'm usually not a big lover of paintings, but this museum is really something special. Wow. I'd put it in the same category as the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay with regard to size and quality. I liked the American impressionism paintings a lot; this is not something you see in many other museums, especially in Europe. The building alone is worth a visit. I spent around three hours there and saw maybe 30% of the exhibition; unfortunately they kicked me out when they closed. I'll continue the visit the next time I'm in D.C.
Trifonov Fleisher Klaus Sokolov Zimmerman
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Davis
Member Avatar
Fulla-Carp
No Newseum? Any reason you didn't go?
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mikhailoh
Member Avatar
If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
When we were at the Holocaust they had an amazing exhibit on Nazi propaganda. Really well done.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Luke's Dad
Member Avatar
Emperor Pengin
Davis, welcome! Do you have any involvement with The Newseum?
The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Enjoy forums? Start your own community for free.
Learn More · Sign-up for Free
« Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic »
Add Reply