Ford’s Theater and Lincoln Museum

Newly renovated Ford's Theater. Photo courtesy of NPS

If you have never been to the Ford’s Theater and Lincoln museum, now is the time to go. If you have visited, think about visiting again. The Ford’s Theater and Lincoln museum reopened recently after an extensive renovation and the result is spectacular. Gone is the shabby exhibition cabinet highlighting Lincoln’s top hat and the gun that killed the 16th president of the United States. The gun remains as part of the exhibition space, but the museum designers knew how to capture the imagination of visitors young and old alike.

Visiting the museum is different from the moment of arrival. The National Park Service contracted with Ticketmaster to distribute free, timed tickets to the exhibit. The entrance to the exhibit space was moved. You now enter through an entrance separate from the theater. The stairwell down to the museum was transformed to re-create the mood of Lincoln’s time.

The exhibition space itself is divided into areas explaining Lincoln’s life and death. You can look through a file cabinet drawer and view biographies of Lincoln’s cabinet members. OK, it is a little on the cheesy side, but the kids look through and read the material in a way you do not often see in museums. Each area of the museum has a running clip from the history channel embellishing the vast written content of the exhibit.

The museum space is well thought out and well used. It takes about the time given to go through and thoroughly take advantage of the exhibition space. Once time is up, the time ticketed group is invited up into the theater where a park ranger explains the significance of the theater and what happened on the day of Lincoln’s death. The stairwell and hallway toward the entrance of the theater has descriptions of what both Lincoln and Booth were doing throughout the day on the fateful day Lincoln was shot. The sound of a clock ticking in the hall adds to the visitors' experience and is illustrative of the thoughtful multimedia approach taken throughout the museum.

Ford's Theater National Historic Site is open for tours by reservation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Petersen House located directly across the street from Ford's Theater (also called the "House Where Lincoln Died") is open 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and also requires a ticket.

To investigate some of the many other sites in the Washington, DC that explore President Lincoln and his legacy see the Lincoln tour of Washington, DC.

Ted Bundy’s VW Beetle at National Museum of Crime and Punishment

Ted Bundy's deadly VW Beetle at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment

National Museum of Crime & Punishment

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment (NMCP) today unveiled the 1968 VW Beetle used by notorious serial killer Ted Bundy during his crime spree resulting from 1974 to1977. The bug was purchased by Arthur Nash from the police and stored until its début at the museum.

Wyndell C. Watkins, Sr. retired Deputy Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C. said at the unveiling, “Ted Bundy was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Bundy did not look like a monster. He was well educated. Bundy used his charm and charisma to get close to his victims." Watkins is the author of YOUVESTIGATE, DON’T SPECULATE, a 2008 book explaining processes, procedures and technology members of the public can use to stay safe.

According to Watkins, the term "serial killer" was coined during the Bundy case. Bundy admitted to killing between 30 and 40 women, but the FBI estimates that he may have had as many as 150 victims.

Bundy sometimes used his car as a rouse to lure his victims. The killer often wore his arm in a sling and asked women to help him open the car door. When the victim came near, Bundy would pull out a crow bar and strike her on the head. Other times Bundy would pose as a policeman or fireman to gain his victim's trust.

Watkins explained that the lesson to be learned from the Ted Bundy case is that it is important to be vigilant. "Do not assume anything until you have checked out the facts. Be sure the badge is real. Make sure any ID has a picture on it." Most importantly, Watkins said to do everything you can to get out of the car if you are forced into it. His experience demonstrates that if you can not, you are not likely to get out alive.

Ted Bundy’s VW replaces John Dillinger 1933 Essex Teraplane getaway car in the museum foyer. The Dillinger car was moved to the Southwest terminal at BWI Airport.

NMCP’s mission is to provide insight into issues of crime, crime fighting, and the consequences of committing a crime in the United States. The museum includes the television set of America's Most Wanted with host John Walsh. NMCP is located at 575 7th St. NW between E and F Streets in downtown Washington, D.C. at the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro (Arena exit).

Leo Villareal's Multiverse at the National Gallery of Art

Leave it to the National Gallery of Art to turn a walkway between buildings into a spectacular work of art. If you have not yet seen it, do not miss Multiverse, a light sculpture created by American artist Leo Villareal especially for the National Gallery of Art.

Multiverse is the largest light sculpture created by Villareal to date. The work was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art for the passageway connecting the East and West Buildings. The moving, changing light show is scheduled to be on view for one year. The work is made from approximately 41,000 computer-programmed light–emitting diode (LED) nodes that run through channels along the entire 200-foot-long walkway. The light sculpture is constantly changing, to the delight of those passing through the space. Children squeal as they walk the length of the passage way or glide by on the moving sidewalk. Enthralled kids often double back to examine the sculpture from different angles and see if they can catch the light show in a repeat pattern.

The development of Villareal’s LED project in Washington, DC began in 2005 and was installed in September 2008. Villareal programmed the lights to include an element of chance. The curator explains that “while it is possible that a pattern will repeat during a viewer's experience, it is highly unlikely.”

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Photo: National Gallery of Art Walkway to East Building

Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #65 at the National Gallery of Art

Want to challenge your kids on the notion of what is and what is not art? Visit Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #65 on view in the East Building of National Gallery of Art . If your kids are like many, they are likely to look at the drawing and shout, "Hey, I can do that!" And they would be right.

Sol LeWitt had a different notion of art than did many artists of his time and before. LeWitt liked the temporal nature of line drawings. Although LeWitt carefully planned his drawings. The art itself was created using groups of workers under his supervision, rather than toiling alone in his studio as is typical of many artists. LeWitt saw himself as more of a conductor than a soloist and so his art demanded that it could, in fact, be created by anyone.

So the next question that kids inevitable ask is, "what is that work doing in a museum? Especially since it looks like it could have been done by a kid!" Exploring the answer to these questions is where adults and children alike can really explore what constitutes art.

Wall Drawing #65 was a gift from Dorothy and Herbert Vogel. Wall Drawing #65 was installed in the National Gallery of Art in 2004 on a wall in the Concourse galleries around the corner from the East Building, Small Auditorium. As is typical of LeWitt, the drawing was planned in advance and then assembled in the National Gallery of Art by a team of workers under LeWitt's supervision. It took eight days for LeWitt and his team to create Wall Drawing #65, a work on a white wall using red, yellow, blue, and black colored pencil.

The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

To see other items in the National Gallery of Art' collection of LeWitt's work click here. For more information on Sol LeWitt and a review of the huge of the Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective see, Sol LeWitt at Mass MoCA.

Photo: Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #65

Women’s Art History at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Celebrate women’s history month by visiting the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The museum has a number of great special exhibits but do not ignore the museums impressive permanent collection.
Begin your tour on the third floor in the 20th to 21st century gallery. Do not miss Frida Kahlo’s 1937 Self Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky. According to Michele Cragle, the museum owns the only painting of Frida Kahlo in a public gallery in the Washington, DC area.

Other works to take note of include two paintings by Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Catlett and Alma Woodsey Thomas, an active member of the Washington Color School (the dominant art movement in Washington, DC during the 1960s and 1970s) and “The Little Paris Studio” (a group of artists formed by Lois Mailou Jones, Celine Tabary and the Barnett Aden Gallery). Thomas broke down barriers as an African American woman expressionist painter. Thomas was 68 when she held her first solo show. Her paintings hang in the White House but she is still remembered fondly in the DC area for teaching art to poor children.

You can challenge your girls’ notion of what is art by discussing Chakaia Booker’s Acid Rain enormous sculpture made entirely from old, used rubber tires and wood. Admire Harmony Hammond’s Hunkertime during its limited engagement at the museum.

Work your way downstairs to the 19th Century, 18th Century and 16th to 17th Century collections. Explore what Krystyna Wasserman, calls the “landscapes of the artists mind” as you enjoy the product of generations of women artists from around the world.

Be sure to stop in the lovely gift shop near the entrance of the building before you leave. True to the museum mission of encouraging women artists, you will find all kinds of creative arts and crafts (including unique jewelry) by interesting artisans at reasonable prices that you can add to your personal collection or give as gifts.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Sunday from noon to 5 pm. The admission fee is $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors and free for those aged 18 and younger. The museum allows free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

Photo: Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907-1954) Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky 1937

Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Gift of the Honorable Clare Boothe Luce

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Grab your girls and head down to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. This stunning museum a few blocks from the White House is the only museum in the world dedicated to the art work of women.

The museum began when Wilhelmina Cole Holladay and her husband, Wallace F. Holladay, were traveling in the 1960s and admired a 17th century still life painting by Clara Peeters. When they returned home they tried to find out more information about Peeters but discovered that neither she nor any other female painters were discussed in art history text books. The Holladays decided to collect works by women. Orienting their art collection to women artists proved to be a shrewd investment decision as the works of women were undervalued by art auctioneers.

The Holladays amassed a large collection. Word of their innovative art collection spread and interest in art work by women grew. The Hollidays donated their works in 1981 to become the core collection that began the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Today the museum sits in the heart of the nation’s capital in an elegant, historic building renovated to become the museum. The museum currently owns about 4,000 works of art by more than 800 women.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, in a landmark building near the White House. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Sunday from noon to 5 pm. The admission fee is $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for senior citizens aged 65 and over and free for students and children aged 18 and younger. The museum invites the community to visit the museum for free on the first Sunday of every month.

Photo: Clara Peeters (Flemish, 1594- ca. 1657) Still Life of Fish and Cat

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay