Museum-ing

Since I work for the Smithsonian, I figured it would be a good idea to see all of their museums while I'm here. Good idea, right?

I started last week during my lunch break. I work in the same building as one of the museums, so I skipped on over there (I didn't skip, that's weird).  They are the Freer and Sackler galleries, which consist of mostly Asian exhibits. It's a good museum for a lunch break cuz it's small and I saw most of what I wanted within a half and hour.  For more info on that museum, go here. 

Friday night, since I have no friends, yet, and I don't want to sit by myself at home, I went to the National Portrait Gallery.  This one has the portraits of all of the US presidents, which is pretty cool, along with portraits of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.  There I was, walking along the hall, when I turn the corner and think, "That looks like Joseph Smith!....It IS Joseph Smith!"  So that was a cool surprise.  The labels for the portraits were a little...weird...but cool to have those pieces in the National Portrait Gallery! I think it was a really cool museum for the pictures of famous early Americans.  

(c/o NPG)

The Great Hall in the NPG--used to be the biggest room in America.

The modern art section wasn't TOO strange, except for a piece that I really truly thought was a real woman sitting at a table, like she was just resting from walking around.  It creeped me out when I figured out she was fake. I just stood there and looked sideways at her and was frozen in fear.  Then I almost ran into the big wooden horse next to her. I like to play it cool in public places.

A really cool/artsy picture of Abe. He's my fav.
(c/o NPG)

They also had an exhibit about Amelia Earhart.  I like her because she seems like she was a woman of gumption.  

(c/o NPG)

Then this week, I ventured over to the Museum of African Art.  I was wanting to go here because of an exhibit I had been promoting from Lalla Essaydi, who has an exhibit of women with beautiful colors and writing all around them.  I thought most of the exhibit was very beautiful (there is a section for adults only that you should avoid...).

(c/o NMAA)

A supervisor of some other interns that I met my first day asks her interns every day, "And what did you learn today?"  Every day, I'm not only learning more about my job itself, but about all other things.  I learned the other day that out of the 800 species of fireflies, only 80 actually have glowing butts.  Who knew?  I also learned at the African Art Museum that Walt Disney was an avid African art collector and he donated his large collection to the Smithsonian.  It is now on display and I was able to see it.  Who knew?  I think that's what I like most about working for the Smithsonian--I love to learn and I love to help others learn.  It's a pretty nice fit, I'd say!

So if I haven't bored you with my geeking out about museums and learning, stay tuned while I try out the other museums around DC!