If you’re in DC and have the time – do it! Time off work and ticket availability converged and I finally got to the NMAAHC, and it did not disappoint.

The content is fantastic, and there are really great design choices. Three levels dedicated to history and three levels dedicated to culture. You start on the bottom floor and there is background on European & African relations and then moves into the Atlantic slave trade right off the bat – and yeah, it’s a pretty bleak part of our history. But as you move upward through the exhibit, things shift and it’s more, IDK, hopeful? So many victories and progress, but absolutely not glossing over all the hardships placed on the Black American community by white supremacy.

Then when you get to the culture exhibits, it’s downright celebratory. Just awesome exhibits. There is also a special exhibit on Afrofuturism which is terrific – it’s open until August of next year.

There are parts of the museum that will absolutely make you sad, angry, uncomfortable, and embarrassed about the history of our country – as they should. But there are also SO many good things – they got the balance just right.

They’ve also done a great job with accessibility too. Ramps, elevators that aren’t hidden away, escalators, sensory maps, closed captioning on video exhibits, apps for visual interpretations – they really put a lot of thought into it. Also, lots of benches to stop and have a rest.

And 3 years ago, the Smithsonian kicked off it’s Open Access project and images of the items on exhibit are digitized and available for download and use under a Creative Commons license.

If you go, wear comfortable shoes – we were there about 2 1/2 hours and I definitely got all my steps in for the day.