National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

This year for Christmas, my Grandma asked us to take her to DC to visit the American History Museum. Since graduating from UMD I've always felt that I didn't take advantage of my proximity to the national mall, especially since it's now 1500 miles away. I was pretty excited to see the exhibits this museum had to offer (I've been before when I was younger but I only remember bits and pieces). Here are a few of the things you can find in this amazing museum (please forgive the photography, I wasn't using a flash as to not damage the artifacts):
Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers from the 1939 Wizard of Oz (fun fact: they were originally meant to be silver!):


Jacqueline Kennedy's Inaugural Gown:


Congressional Medals of Honor:


An original Charlie Brown comic strip (the upper is a pencil drawn sketch and the lower is the final pen drawn comic):


Singer sewing machine from 1917:


Michelle Obama's Inaugural Gown:


Mary Lincoln's Inaugural Gown:


Another Dress from Mary Lincoln:


Lincoln's top hat from the day he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre:


Jim Hensen's (a UMD grad) Kermit the from from 1955:


The Fonz's Jacket:


The original Washington Monument:


Old Glory, the flag that inspired our National Anthem (this was an especially dark room due to the rapid deterioration of the fabric of the flag):



Everyone should make at least one trip to our nation's capitol in their lifetime and I highly recommend checking out some of the museums of the Smithsonian!