Photo via Wikimedia Commons
The original Star - Spangled Banner - the physical flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment of Baltimore in 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem - hangs in the National Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is tattered, reduced from its original massive dimensions by souvenir - seeking and time, and protected in a specially designed chamber where light and temperature are carefully controlled. Standing before it is one of the genuinely arresting experiences the Smithsonian offers, and it is entirely free.The National Museum of American History earns 4.7 stars from more than 27, 000 visitors, and the rating reflects a collection of almost unfathomable breadth and imaginative curation. Julia Child's kitchen - transported whole from her Cambridge, Massachusetts, home - sits beside Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and Thomas Edison's laboratory equipment. Abraham Lincoln's top hat, the bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, a section of the Berlin Wall - these objects have an almost talismanic quality, familiar from years of images but wholly different in physical presence.Located at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, the museum occupies several floors and requires real time to experience properly. The American Enterprise gallery, tracing the history of American business and capitalism, and the American Democracy exhibition are particularly ambitious in scope and execution, grappling with the contradictions of the national story alongside its achievements.The museum is open daily from 10AM to 5:30PM. Admission is free, true to the Smithsonian's founding mandate of providing access to knowledge for all. Visit americanhistory.si.edu to plan your time and check which galleries are open.
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