When I went to the National Museum of American History I was not
too sure of what exhibit I wanted to visit. While I was walking around
from place to place nothing was really interesting me until I walked into
the Star-Spangled Banner exhibit. Although the exhibit was fairly small,
it was the best one to visit. It was awesome to actually see the original
American flag, the one that inspired the national anthem. Along with me,
there were people of all ages, races, and genders. For all those who go
through this exhibit, they learn about the history of the flag and how
they are going to restore it. Seeing the original American flag is like
meeting a relative that you know a lot about but you see this relative for
the first time.
The main object that caught my eye in the whole museum was the original American flag. The size of the flag was unbelievably huge, I had no idea that it was that big. Your whole life you hear the stories about the flag and how it inspired the National Anthem and to actually see it in person was amazing. " The star spangled banner was made to conform to the standard size for garrison flags of the era, which was about 30 by 42 ft. This is about a quarter of the size of a modern basketball court" (plaque). The colors of the flag are red, white, and blue. The stars are white with a blue background and then there are stripes that are red and white. When you see the size of the flag in person you get a feeling of how much power this flag really has. This flag has the power of representing the freedom and strength of a whole nation.
The purpose of this exhibit is to teach and help you understand a few things about the original American flag. The first thing this exhibit does is show you how they are restoring the American flag so it can be a part of American culture forever. It is important to have this flag around because it represents our patriotism in our culture and it also shows how Americans care about the past and the future. Another intent of the exhibit is to teach you the history of who made the flag and were the flag has been. "Mary Pickersgill a Baltimore native flag maker, assisted by her 13 year old daughter Caroline, sewed the star spangled banner. Commissioned by the U.S. Army to make the flag for fort McHenry, the Pickersgills completed their task in August 1813"(plaque). It is important for Americans to learn who made the original flag because the original flag has been to such places as Boston Navy Yard, 1873, Smithsonian Castle,1907, and Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, 1949. I think all of this information is interesting to know about the original American flag because it shows how Americans had a hunger to see the flag.
I believe this exhibit is much more interesting than many of the other exhibits in the American History Museum. The reason for this exhibit being more interesting is just because it actually has the original American flag on display. I think this was the reason why everyone was going to see this exhibit. In other parts of the museum I over heard other people trying to figure out were the exhibit was so they could go themselves. Although it is the most interesting exhibit it does not have the best floor layout. The exhibit is fairly small and there are not many objects besides the flag. You walk in one direction for about 10 yards and then come right back in the opposite direction and then the exhibit is over. Some of the other exhibits are much bigger with more things to see.
The Star Spangled Banner exhibit is the best exhibit in the museum, but it is not perfect. Although this exhibit has the best artifact overall it does not have enough artifacts like the exhibit Material World. In the Material World exhibit, there were all types of artifacts from Tupperware to televisions that explained themselves. Although this exhibit has a lot of artifacts, its size is not very big just like the Star Spangled Banner exhibit. Both exhibits could be a little bigger to hold more people. The Material World exhibit was very cramped and did not call attention to one artifact like the flag exhibit calls the attention to the original flag. The Star Spangled Banner exhibit main theme is the flag and everything else is to support the flag. The Material World exhibit does not have one main object and does not attract people. The reason why many people see the Material World exhibit is because they placed it right in the middle of the museum were you have to walk through it. The Material World exhibit is good but know were as good as the Star Spangled Banner exhibit.
Although this was the best exhibit in the museum, it could still use some changes. The first change I would make to the exhibit is that I would find a way for people to be able to take pictures in the exhibit. Sometimes people's best memories come from photographs and I am sure people would like to keep a memory of the flag. Another change I would do is to make the exhibit a little bigger with some more artifacts that were used around the time and place of the flag's birth. There are only a few other artifacts besides the original American flag. Still, this exhibition really shows that in our American culture, we do really care about the past and the future since people are fighting hard to preserve the flag.
I think I learned quite a bit from going to the Star Spangled Banner exhibit. The first thing I learned is how big the original American flag is. I never knew how big it really was. I learned how important the American flag is to the country and to the American people because it represents the past and the future of this nation. I also learned many details on were the flag has been and who made it. I learned that it is important for people to learn about the flag and to preserve it so that people can teach the generations to come how important the flag is to American culture.