First off, you walk into a ceiling that is just DIVINE. Y'all, look how awesome this rainbow book collage is! I am currently trying to figure out how to put this into my home.
The museum is small when it comes to size as it is one floor in a building, but y'all, trust me that there is plenty to keep you busy. Dustin and I spent just under two hours here, and it was awesome.
First, they do a timeline of authors that coincides with American history. Each author has three panels you can rotate through. The nice thing is this isn't an overwhelming amount of information. Also, BONUS is that I found some "new to me" historical authors to check out!
They also had this really neat Word Waterfall that did a show of various quotes to describe America and writing. It was captivating to watch.
Opposite the author timeline, there was a wall that highlighted various types of books/written word. There were panels for each, and you just didn't know what you might find when you flipped them around! My personal favorite was this ode to Jurassic Park.
And then, AND THEN, they had this amazing mural in the room about children's books. Each of the squirrels in the mural is reading a children's classic. I'm also trying to find a way to get this in my home.
As if they knew I was coming, the special exhibit was about Laura Ingalls Wilder. I will always geek out about anything around the Little House books, and this was no exception.
There were lots of other fun things like the screen where you could choose your five favorite books and make a bookmark. Talk about pressure! After some intense internal debating, I was able to make my choices.
Oh, and they even had a bay of typewriters where you could type your own stories. Y'all, let me just say that typing on a typewriter was so, so, SO much harder than I remembered. There were some other interactive, touchscreen stuff I really dug that I won't detail because I want y'all to have some surprises when you visit.
Overall, I'll say this - I. LOVED. IT. It's a book lover's dream. It's just the right amount of information, so you're not overwhelmed by content. I also appreciated that you don't have to explore the museum in any exact order. Dustin and I went on different paths, and that worked perfectly. In fact, it's not really a museum that works well as a group activity. It's best enjoyed as a solo exploration, and you can meet up and discuss later. Also, as I mentioned earlier, Dustin is not a reader, and it got his stamp of approval as well, mostly for its historical connections.
Final Tip: Check for deals on admission. You can get a 20% discount for signing up for their mailing list prior to attending. I was able to find a Groupon to get half-off our admission. I'm all about a good deal for a great experience, so sharing the love on that here.
Happy Reading and Exploring Y'all!
