D-day museum trip
Today we actually went to the D-Day museum like we've been planning to forever. It was worth the wait. Very interesting stuff.
When you first walk in the door there is a big area with all the cool stuff that I've heard about. You haven't even paid at this point. You just walk around and check stuff out.
Airplanes are hanging from the roof.
Here's the inside of a Higgins boat. These are the ones that troops rode onto the beaches of Normandy.
The side view of a second one.
After you pay for your ticket (which is $14 dollars- btw) you go upstairs to the second floor. Everything is designed in a line so everyone walks the same way the entire way through. As you walk the events of WW2 unfold in chronological order.
The walls tell you a story.
There are also posters from the era hanging up everywhere.
Along the way there are guns and uniforms.
Every so often there is a little theatre which has 6 minute movies about the time period you are at. Right past that there are little booths with audio of people who were there.
The third floor details the Pacific theatre. Up there is an electronic map of the Pacific ocean area. Points light up as a narrator describes battles leading up to the Japanese surrender. This picture is horrible but trust me it is awesome. It lasts about 6 minutes and everybody we saw stayed for the entire length of it. Definitely one of the highlights of the museum.
At the very end there is an area that details the plans for a Japanese invasion if the atom bombs weren't dropped.
The museum web site has a slide show with pictures of a lot of these things as well as tons of the stuff that I didn't include.
All in all, I think the movies and the electronic board were the best part of the museum. There are two longer movies that play on the bottom floor but we missed the last showing of them. We might have to go back just to see those. That will be my excuse, at least. The sights and sounds are fascinating and the atmosphere is great. You get the feeling that you are in a church. I could see the respect and awe on the face of everybody in the building. It's a wonderful place and will be one of the first spots I want to take anyone who visits us here in New Orleans.
When you first walk in the door there is a big area with all the cool stuff that I've heard about. You haven't even paid at this point. You just walk around and check stuff out.
Airplanes are hanging from the roof.
Here's the inside of a Higgins boat. These are the ones that troops rode onto the beaches of Normandy.
The side view of a second one.
After you pay for your ticket (which is $14 dollars- btw) you go upstairs to the second floor. Everything is designed in a line so everyone walks the same way the entire way through. As you walk the events of WW2 unfold in chronological order. 
The walls tell you a story.
There are also posters from the era hanging up everywhere. 
Along the way there are guns and uniforms.
Every so often there is a little theatre which has 6 minute movies about the time period you are at. Right past that there are little booths with audio of people who were there.
The third floor details the Pacific theatre. Up there is an electronic map of the Pacific ocean area. Points light up as a narrator describes battles leading up to the Japanese surrender. This picture is horrible but trust me it is awesome. It lasts about 6 minutes and everybody we saw stayed for the entire length of it. Definitely one of the highlights of the museum.
At the very end there is an area that details the plans for a Japanese invasion if the atom bombs weren't dropped. The museum web site has a slide show with pictures of a lot of these things as well as tons of the stuff that I didn't include.
All in all, I think the movies and the electronic board were the best part of the museum. There are two longer movies that play on the bottom floor but we missed the last showing of them. We might have to go back just to see those. That will be my excuse, at least. The sights and sounds are fascinating and the atmosphere is great. You get the feeling that you are in a church. I could see the respect and awe on the face of everybody in the building. It's a wonderful place and will be one of the first spots I want to take anyone who visits us here in New Orleans.
posted by Kirk at 4:40 PM
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