Echoes from the Smithsonian: Americas History Brought to Life
by John McCollister
Category: History

Americans love to visit museums. These houses of memorabilia enhance the lessons learned in school while allowing the opportunity to stand in their shadows. The displays bring alive the romance of a bygone era, and a good museum inspires each visitor to look with more enthusiasm toward the promises of the future. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C., is the one museum best equipped to provide all of these elements. Within the halls of the Smithsonian, visitors can see, under one roof, items like the Flyer, the actual first airplane that lifted off the sands at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Friendship 7, the capsule that, less than one century later, carried astronaut John Glenn on his orbit around the earth. Meanwhile, young children point and scream with delight when spotting a sweater worn by "Mister Rogers." Standing just a few feet away, their grandparents gaze with fond remembrance at the "Charlie McCarthy doll" and "Archie Bunker's chair." The Smithsonian highlights a variety of remarkable accomplishments. Visitors report that they have been moved by a variety of emotions when viewing the exhibits. Some of the artifacts rekindle pleasant memories of childhood, while others bring a tear of sadness. Each of them, however, is a piece of thread that has become woven into the fabric of this great nation. In a sense, the Smithsonian Institution is a reflection of the real United States of America, boldly showing America for what it really is--far from being perfect, yet determined to remain a nation that perpetuates the state of "becoming." The stories in Echoes from the Smithsonian: America's History Brought to Life reveal both the triumphs and foibles of this great land.They will help readers appreciate all the more the devotion and accomplishments of those dedicated men and women who gave their time, their talent, and sometimes their lives in order to create and preserve this experiment Americans call a democracy.