East Coast Trip

America's transfer from Civil War to peace was made more difficult on April 14, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed just five days after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. A well-known actor, John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, stepped into the president's theatre box and assassinated Mr Lincoln. Booth escaped into the night as Abraham Lincoln was carried to the Petersen boarding house across the street. It was there that President Lincoln died early the next morning. Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated.

The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight.

The Museum has two display facilities. The flagship building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the "Spirit of St. Louis," Apollo 11 command module, and a Lunar rock sample that visitors can touch. The new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center displays many more artifacts including the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird", Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" and Space Shuttle "Enterprise". The museum continues to develop new exhibits to examine the impact of air and space technology on science and society.

June 25, 1950 the 38th Parallel marked the beginning of a war that was to be like no other. Many years have passed since the end of the Chosin Reservoir Campaign in North Korea. The American public has all but forgotten the violence and valor that took place there at the fighting man's level. The fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War gives both the armed forces and the nation an opportunity to honor those veterans who served in that bitter war. The battle continues along the present demilitarized zone. The location of this line largely above the 38th Parallel is historic evidence that in Korea, aggression did not pay. In Korea the American soldier with his Korean and United Nations allies fought with bravery and skill against his communist foes

George and Martha Washington, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and other costumed characters greeted thousands of visitors Friday as the National Museum of American History reopened after a two-year, $85 million renovation.
Museum officials plan to have costumed historic characters on hand every weekend and daily during the busy summer months. George Washington greeted many children on the opening day, teaching them to bow "as we do in Virginia," he said, rather than shake hands. 

We have historical documents that tell the stories of America's history as a nation and as a people. These valuable records are evidence of our national experience.
View exhibits of historical records and presidential papers:
The Public Vaults and the Charters of Freedom (the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights), located in Washington, D.C.
Exhibits about American Presidents (each one since Herbert Hoover) in our Presidential libraries.
Records of local importance to geographical regions of America in our regional facilities.

The Newseum — a 250,000-square-foot museum of news — offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

The Newseum is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., on America’s Main Street between the White House and the U.S. Capitol and adjacent to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. The exterior’s unique architectural features include a 74-foot-high marble engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass through which passers-by can watch the museum fulfilling its mission of providing a forum where the media and the public can gain a better understanding of each other.

The Newseum features seven levels of galleries, theaters, retail spaces and visitor services. It offers a unique environment that takes museum-goers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made.

Galleries and Exhibits
The Newseum features 14 main exhibition galleries exploring news history, electronic news, photojournalism, world news and how the media have covered major historical events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.