If I never visited another museum again in my life, I
would have to say--as I've oft said here before--that,
for me, the most memorable Museum experiences/exhibits
revolve around the Smithsonian's Traveling Exhibition
in celebration of its 150th Anniversary, during the
1996-1997 timeframe, one for which I volunteered
and/or visited in five cities (LA, Kansas City, NYC,
St. Paul, and San Jose).

I remember the already remembered things from the
attic as described in another post.  I remember crying
when I saw Marian Anderson's coat she wore on the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The gorgeous Tiffany
Lamp on display in the art section, Mary Pickford's
star sapphire, Mohammad Ali's boxing gloves, the Ruby
Slippers, the space capsules, Wilbur and Orville's
plane, the amber specimens replete with ancient
insects, and sharks jaws, the First Ladies gowns
(different in each city), Kermit the Frog, the Tucker,
and the hundreds of thousands of wonderful Americans
who came out, of all ages, shapes, colors, and sizes
to be there.

The simple exuberance and magnetism of the exhibit on
the populations in each city was incredible.  Working
first hand with the folks from Kansas City, it amazed
me that, when I asked, what exhibit had they come to
see, they were thrilled to be there, but didn't have a
clue in the aggregate as to what they would be seeing.
 They were so kind but so naive.

I remember being there on "last night" in LA, when the
Department of Energy came whisking in to move the
jewelry and other majorly valuable artifacts.  I had
become deeply involved with a member of the Security
Team, and his coworkers, and felt the hairs stand up
on the back of my head as overall security was
increased in anticipation of potential trouble in the
deinstallation from gangs or other criminals who could
have tried to rob the place.  Most of the patrons had
no clue what was going on, but I knew, and it was an
incredible thing to watch.

On an at-home basis, as a child, I still think the
simple pleasures of the baby chick hatchery at the
Museum of Science and Industry in LA, now the
California Science Center, were always my
favorite--that, and the Shirley Temple dolls that once
sat on exhibit in the basement.

Rivaling my Smithsonian experiences in emotional
impact, though, certainly has to be my visit to the
Natural History Museum in NYC.  Having been a language
major, and having hung out with many diverse peoples,
I almost completely ignored the exhibition on people
from the various regions of the world.

I'm so glad I didn't.  As I wove my way through the
museum, I found myself in an alcove off the main path.
 I think I was looking for a drinking fountain or a
restroom.  What I stumbled onto moved me beyond tears.

There, in that tiny corridor were bills of lading from
the days of slave trading here in America.  While, in
theory, I knew such documents existed, seeing them for
first time and how the ancestors of my friends and
loved ones of Afro-American ancestry here in the
States were marketed made me ashamed of the history
that had allowed this to happen.

I sat down in the corridor, almost in a trance, and
then cried hysterically, most of that day.  I am so
glad I did not ignore that part of the Museum.  It was
a truly incredibly moving experience.

By the way, if any of you are interested at looking at
the materials from the Smithsonian's Exhibition,
copies of a book I purchased at the exhibition (I
think I paid about $25 at the time) are on Ebay (and
appear semi-regularly).  Two such copies are located
here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=286605057

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=289093990



=====
Indigo Nights
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