16 July 2008

U.S. Museums Becoming Popular Vacation Destinations

Podcast reviews several interactive museum exhibits, programs

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This year, many American families are visiting museums for their annual vacation. They find museums to be an educational and economical way to spend the family vacation as many travelers cut back on expenses. A vacation centered around a museum visit leads families to remember the past, understand the present more deeply and educate for the future -- all while having a great deal of fun.

The American Association of Museums estimates that 600 million people visit museums every year in America.  The Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., is the top destination for vacationers. The Smithsonian is a collection of museums that covers topics such as natural history, space and aviation, and the arts. The top destination is the National Museum of Natural History, which contains more than 125 million natural science specimens and cultural artifacts, including dinosaur fossils, famous gemstones and 35,000 meteorites. In September, the museum will open its renovated Ocean Hall, which teaches visitors about the intrinsic connection between marine life and their own lives.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum contains interactive exhibits and flight simulators. Young people especially love looking at the aircraft and rockets. In this museum, you can see the actual spaceships that landed on the moon, the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Charles Lindbergh piloted in the first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and the Wright Brothers’ Flyer, which made the first powered flight in 1903.

America’s diverse history is put on display in museums across the country.  The Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York City portrays the great immigration flows into the United States from 1892 to 1954. Ellis Island was where many immigrants arrived and were processed by American officials.

For many children, visiting Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute Science Museum is a great adventure. It offers hands-on exhibits, including a giant, walk-through heart and a 350-ton steam locomotive.  Everything at the Franklin Institute is designed to inspire scientific curiosity. On exhibit until November is “Real Pirates,” the world’s first exhibition of authenticated pirate treasure from a British pirate ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1717.

Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History contains the largest and most complete skeleton of Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found. In the Crown Family Play Lab, children can dress up like animals, create their own works of art and play musical instruments from around the world.

Today, the museum buildings themselves are becoming attractions. One of the most striking examples is the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, which opened in 1997.  “The Getty,” as it is known, draws as much attention for its linear, modern architecture as it does for the art it contains.  In 2007, more than 1.3 million visitors saw the museum’s collection of European sculpture, paintings, manuscripts, and decorative arts.

U.S. museums are increasingly popular destinations for vacationing families because many of these facilities offer interactive exhibits that delight adults and children alike.  From coast to coast, the most-visited museums in the United States explore the realms of dinosaurs, pirates, marine life, aviation and lots more.

The Smithsonian Institution owes its existence to a British scientist named James Smithson. In 1826, Smithson drew up his last will and testament and named his nephew as beneficiary. The will stated that if the nephew died without heirs, as would happen nine years later, the estate should go to the United States of America to establish the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. Smithson himself never traveled to the United States nor had any correspondence with Americans. His reasons for the gift remain a mystery. Smithson died in 1829. Seven years later in July 1836, Congress accepted Smithson’s legacy and backed the charitable trust. In 1846, an Act of Congress was signed by President James Polk establishing the Smithsonian Institution.

To find out more about the Smithsonian Institution, its museums, and research, visit www.si.edu

This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.

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