A Day in DC

I’ve been in the Washington DC area for a bit of business lately and got the opportunity to take the day off on Sunday (what a concept). Having a day off in our nation’s capital is a rare opportunity for me and certainly one that shouldn’t be wasted. I decided long before I even came that if the opportunity arose, I would visit one of the Smithsonian Museums.

Which one of the many Smithsonian museums should I visit though? I’d been to the Aerospace Museum several times before and admittedly, it’s pretty cool and related to my job, sort of, so it’s a double plus, but as I said, I’d been there several times before. Likewise I’d visited the Natural History Museum and the US History Museum, both excellent, by the way, but how about something new? I’m not that big a fan of art in general so I didn’t want to use my one free day to visit the gallery of art or sculpture. It might be nice, but I was looking for something special that I could really enjoy.

I got on the Smithsonian website to look for a new experience. The website is itself a nice web destination if you’ve got several free hours to explore. It was easy to navigate and at as soon as I saw the big frog, I knew I wanted to visit the National Zoo, which is part of the Smithsonian. I never did figure out how much it costs to visit the zoo, but I did figure out it was quite expensive to park at the zoo, if I could find a parking space at all. Forgive me for being cheap, but I went back to the main website to look for another choice.

I spotted a museum I didn’t even know existed – the National Museum of the American Indian. They had a picture of the building and it was beautiful. I figured I had been to the US History Museum, but it really didn’t have that much on the original occupants of this country, so it would be very cool to check out the American Indian Museum.

My original plan was to get up early and get a parking space on the mall before they all filled up. In years past I don’t remember ever having a problem parking on the mall, but the last time I was here it was impossible. Perhaps that was because there was a boy scout jamboree going on and there were about a zillion boy scouts running around and bumper to bumper cars looking for non-existent parking spots. By getting there early, I shouldn’t have a problem though.

OK, I did have a problem: Me getting up early. Well THAT didn’t happen. By the time I got the mall at around noon parking looked rather full, but I drove the loop anyway looking for a spot. I couldn’t believe my eyes – I spotted one right in front of the Aerospace Museum and the building next to it, closer to the capital building looked like the picture of the American Indian Museum from the web page. I quickly parked, got out, and locked the car.

I was a bit hungry since I didn’t get up in time to get breakfast in the hotel. Fortunately, there was a deli stand right there next to where I parked and I got a ham and cheese sandwich combo (chips and a drink), but with no place to sit, I went back to my car and got in. It was a bit cool outside anyway. About the time I finished my sandwich, I noticed the sign next to where I parked. They all said “No parking between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM and “Three hour parking limit” but this slot had an extra sign I didn’t notice before: Handicapped parking only. D’OH! I parked in a handicapped spot. No wonder it was so conveniently close – and empty. So, I took off to look for someplace else to park.

After driving around the mall and finding nothing I decided to give up and try to park near a metro station in Virginia and just catch the subway back to the mall. I brought up my trusty router and it found several stations, but with no information on if there was close-by parking, I chose the Rosalyn station because I seem to remember that’s near where we stayed while on our family vacation back in 2000. While following the router, it took me close to the Lincoln memorial and I noted on the opposite side of the road from me, there were many parking places open, but given this was quite a hike from the American Indian Museum and these spots still had the 3 hour limit, I’d be better off parking in Rosalyn, so I continued on following the GPS route.

The DC area is tricky. That’s really all I’m going to say about it, except even following my router, I never did get to a point in Rosalyn to park before somehow I ended up on the on ramp to 395 south and away from the city. At this point I figured I’d give up on Rosalyn and just go back to one of those 3 hour spots close to the Lincoln memorial and hike. At least it was parking, right?

Did I mention DC roads are tricky? On my way to the parking I had spotted I ended up on the mall loop again, but with incredible luck, I found a spot east of the Washington Monument, not too far from the main Smithsonian building and maybe only a ½ to ¾ mile walk to the American Indian Museum. Yes, it is a 3 hour parking, non-handicapped spot – I made sure, and off I went.

There was a near-by directory sign and I thought I’d check it to find the National Museum of the American Indian – just to make sure what I had spotted was right. No use in walking a mile to find out you’ve gone in the wrong direction. I found the “You are here” X with no problem, but the American Indian museum was no where to be found on the sign. I looked the whole thing over several times. Since it was now 1:30, I figured I’d walk to where I thought it was (the web site put it in the same location I thought I had spotted it) and if it wasn’t to be found, I was close to the Aerospace Museum – or the sculpture museum – if I was really hard set on seeing something I hadn’t seen before.

When I arrived to where I thought it was – it was indeed there. A very beautiful building with a beautiful walk up to the front door next to a beautiful fountain/pond thing with waterfalls on both sides.

As I neared the end of the pond I noticed the water was flowing into a well-like hole and next to the hole swam a couple of ducks. Later as I left I noted one duck was even sleeping next to the hole – I wonder if they’ve ever been washed into the hole? Anyway, after my long quest I had actually made it to the museum.

Admission to the Smithsonian Museums along the mall is a very reasonable FREE! Of course there is a bit of a security check point you have to go though, but it is nothing like an airport. The guard checked in my pack and I walked through the metal detector, but my phone, keys, and iPod in my pocket didn’t seem to set anything off.

The museum is 4 stories tall and as you walk in, there is a large round area that goes all 4 stories tall plus a dome type roof with a skylight in the middle. There was a sign that said walking guided tours started at 1:30 and 3:00 PM from this spot, but since it was now 1:45 I had missed the first opportunity and didn’t want to wait for the next. I could walk around and read the displays for myself.

Since the first floor had a café and a gift store, etc., I figured perhaps I should start at the top – the 4th floor and work my way down. So, I took the elevator to the 4th floor.

I spotted this beaver eating his own tail in one of the first exhibits I came to. Since the Beaver is the state animal of my home state and due to the fact it was the mascot of my University, I felt obligated to take his picture.

I was looking at some of the exhibits along the walls when I heard some drum beating and some Indian singing coming from the center of the museum – you know where the area is open from the floor all the way to the skylighted dome? I walked to the edge and looked over to see some dancing display going on and lots of people gathered around watching.


I watched from the 4th floor vantage point for a while, and then walked down the stairs part way to the landing between the 3rd and 4th floors so I could look straight on to the dance floor, so to speak. Each dance was introduced and I watched several dances. The performers changed costumes between, and sometimes during a dance, but the music more or less all sounded the same (kind of like rap does) and the dances were pretty much all the same – even the special “woman’s dance.” Given the monotony of the dance, I got bored and continued exploring the 4th floor.

The displays were glass cases with drawers below them. Most of the drawers said they were locked and could not be opened, but some did open to show more items on display in each available drawer. Just because you couldn’t open the drawer though doesn’t mean you couldn’t see what was inside.

In front of the display cases were touch screens that let you click on any item, or any drawer to see the items therein. By clicking on an item it would show you a close up and more information about that piece. Also available was a magnifying glass that could be moved about over the object to get an even closer look at it. This was all very cool, but it seemed rather stark for a complete museum. However, once I figured out how to get to the right area and not just this central portion I found there were lots and lots more exhibits to look at and I was still only on the 4th floor – my first stop.

The museum is kind of difficult to find your way around in though. There is no clear path to all exhibits. You want to look around each corner and every nook though to make sure you don’t miss something. Some pretty small entries open up to some pretty amazing displays.

I found this display of Bibles, translated by various people into many different native languages. I found it both interesting and disturbing at the same time. In reading the display it was clear that while people say, quite loudly today, that our country was based on freedom of religion, it was really based on freedom to worship God, and more specifically Jesus Christ any way you choose. All other religions were considered barbaric or uncivilized, or just plain not proper. That certainly isn’t the case now, but it was the case since white men first stepped on this continent until very recently.

Many American Indians are now Christian, but really not by their own choosing. They were broken up into camps – more or less denied the right to practice their own religion and had Christianity shoved down their throats. To not accept the Christian teachings could mean a threat of death.

Sure, I’m Christian, but I’m Christian because I choose to be – not because someone is forcing me to be. I think translating the Bible to put the word of God into the hands of others is a great thing, and sharing the word through witness is also good, but that’s where I draw the line. One has to choose to accept God, not be coerced. Coercion only leads to hate and mistrust. Certainly not the desires of my Savior.

One would expect to find bows, arrows, horses, etc. in this museum, but there is a big display of guns and other modern things, like this rig used for ice fishing. This type of vehicle is being used today by Native Americans to ice fish.

On my way out I noted the dance floor had been changed to display these full sized watercraft. It was cool that not only could you see them, but you could touch them as well.


Of course there were lots more exhibits I saw than I’ve posted here. I saw no point in taking a photo of every one. I didn’t have enough memory on my camera, even if I wanted to. One should visit the museum for yourself to get the full experience. Many displays had videos looping, with natives talking about their particular tribe or tribal history. Some had children’s voices just talking about their days – what they like to do. It was an experience that should be done with all your senses – or at least your sense of hearing, sight, and touch. There really wasn’t much to smell, but another patron told me I should have eaten in their cafeteria because the food was great.

One thing I discovered while wandering around is the answer to the questions, why didn't this museum show on the mall map and why hadn't I heard of this museum before? The answer is easy: It's a new museum. It had its grand opening in September 2004 -- about a year and a half ago.

The Indians have always had a strange and strained relationship with our government. It’s interesting that the museum should be placed so close to the capital building. Perhaps it is so that they can each better watch each other.


Of course on my way back to the hotel, I noted a beautiful sunset. Too bad I didn’t stay on the mall to shoot a photo of the sun setting on the Potomac like I did years ago. I would have liked to get a better picture of it using a better camera than I did some 10 to 15 years ago. I had to settle for this sunset shot from my hotel room.