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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2008 DC WELCOMES NEW ATTRACTIONS IN 2008 New and newly renovated attractions are opening in and around DC this fall, giving travelers a host of reasons to plan a visit to the nation's capital. Pentagon Memorial (dedication date: Sep. 11)
Located on the grounds of the Pentagon, this memorial honors the 184 people who perished in the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon. Each victim is honored with a cantilevered bench designed for personal reflection. The benches honoring the 59 lives lost inside the Pentagon and the 125 passengers on board the plane face in opposite directions, and the victims are clustered according to their ages. The memorial is slated for dedication on Sep. 11. Information about the dedication will be posted at www.defenselink.mil as it becomes available; the memorial's official website, www.pentagonmemorial.net, is expected to go live in August. National Museum of American History (re-opening: Nov. 21)
Later this year, the Smithsonian museum also known as "America's Attic" will unveil the results of a major renovation more than a year in the making. Visitors can look forward to new features including: - A new high-tech gallery to showcase the original Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired the national anthem.
- A new permanent gallery, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Designed to house changing exhibitions, the gallery opens with an interactive exhibition, "Invention at Play," which explores the playful side of invention and the inventive side of play. Also located in the Lemelson Center, the new Spark!Lab is designed for budding inventors (including children under age 5), packed with hands-on science experiments and an inventing area that allows visitors to make new creations to take home.
- New building features, includes a central atrium with a skylight, a grand staircase connecting the museum's first and second floors, and 10-foot-high artifact walls showcasing a selection of the museum's 3 million objects.
- Landmark objects to serve as anchors for each wing of the three exhibition floors, including "John Bull," one of the earliest steam locomotives in the U.S., displayed on a section of the first iron railroad bridge built in the U.S.; a car from Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, one of Disneyland's original attractions; the Greensboro lunch counter, famous for its significance to the civil rights movement; and a Red Cross ambulance once owned by Clara Barton.
U.S. Capitol Visitors Center (Opening: Dec. 2)
The largest project in the Capitol's 212-year history, the 580,000 square-foot underground facility is designed to enhance the visitor's experience with new interactive features, orientation theaters and exhibits. As visitors enter the massive underground facility, they'll catch a glimpse of the Capitol Dome through two skylights. Timed tickets for tours of the Capitol, available by advance reservation or same-day, will be distributed on site. While waiting for tours, visitors can browse galleries displaying artifacts from the Library of Congress and National Archives, touch a 10-foot model of the Capitol Dome and even watch live video feeds from the House and Senate. Tours begin with a new 13-minute film exploring the history of the Capitol and Congress, shown in the facility's orientation theaters. aoc.gov/cvc/ # # # About Destination DC: Destination DC, the lead destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of more than 1,000 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. Destinationdc.com.
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