My Social Media-less Life

Today I went to the Freedom Plane exhibition at the World War I Museum and Memorial with my mom.

We were in and out within an hour and a half and I hate that.

We spent more time in line than we did actually absorbing the documents and information we were looking at.

What was even the point?

In business terms, I understand the point: everyone who wants to get a look should have the opportunity, and plus the building does have a closing time and we need to make sure everyone CAN at least look.

What I do not understand is: why are we rushing to take these priceless treasures on tour when some people just don’t have the means to go to Washington, D.C. at the drop of a hat to look at these documents that helped forge our nation? Why not make it a slightly longer exhibition like some of the ones I’ve been to, like the Auschwitz exhibition or the Titanic exhibition or even some of the exhibitions they have at the WWI Museum?

Looking at the first and last pages of the Bill of Rights was probably my favorite part, but I only got about 25 seconds to soak it in because I had already been scolded for moving too slow back at the Declaration. Thankfully, I can read most of the words on these pages, but there are a few that it is nearly impossible to read because the writing is so faded or the handwriting is so untidy.

I don’t know… if you want people to appreciate the documents that founded our nation, you might want to think of a better way to do it…

Some of the exhibitions I’ve been to in recent years have been a great time. This one was not one of them.

Neither time nor money was well-spent, and I really wish I could say differently.

However…

Spending the time with my mom was nice and standing in the hall we were in (Memory Hall? Memorial Hall? Probably Memorial Hall) and looking at the murals on the walls was a lot of fun. I think I got more out of that than I did out of the documents.

And those things are what I will focus on when I think about the hour I stood in line.

The rush to get through the exhibit? 2/10
The exhibit itself and how it was set up? 8/10
The time with my mom and the location? 10/10
Overall score: 4/10

Spending time with my mom makes everything more fun. 🙂