National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, Tennessee
Established in 1991 at the former site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated in 1968, the National Civil Rights Museum steps through the story of colonisation, slavery, oppression and aggression in a contemporary and comprehensive environment.
As you move through the exhibits, cleverly intertwined into the physical structure of the Lorraine Motel, you get a real sense of the struggle incurred by generations of African Americans. Whilst the curatorial focus is on their struggle for equality, the exhibits also explore other minority groups in a way that is both confronting and respectful.
At the end of the self-guided journey in the main building, you find yourself standing in room 306, at the spot where MLK was shot. It’s an eerie, quiet and revered place of reflection and acknowledgment of the intensity of the civil rights struggle.
A more recent addition to the facility is in the building where the assassin fired the fatal shot. After you’ve stood at the window and looked across to room 306, you can then explore the case against James Earl Ray, convicted of MLK’s murder in 1969. The conspiracy theories are explained alongside the physical evidence of the case, right down to the bullets and rifle.
Tip: Pause and listen to the entire ‘I have a dream’ speech. As profound now as it was in 1963.
National World War Two Museum – New Orleans, Louisiana
Ranked the 3rd best Museum in the USA on TripAdvisor, the National WWII Museum is not so much a hidden gem, as one slightly incongruous in the New Orleans landscape.
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war – quite a different narrative to the New Zealand (or British) stories we’ve grown up with.
Cleverly and coyly presented, the exhibits step us through all the phases of WWII. The Road to Tokyo exhibit presents the Pacific war, whilst the Road to Berlin details the European conflict. Clever use of temperature and lighting lets you feel the chilling winds at the Battle of the Bulge, the searing air of Tunisia and gritty sand from the D-Day beaches of Normandy.
Fans of aviation will love the array of aircraft on display, and younger visitors will enjoy the USS Tang Submarine Experience – where visitors play a role in manning the most successful submarine in World War II for its fifth and final war patrol.
With plenty of War Veterans on hand as volunteers around the various exhibits who are very happy to chat and share their experiences, this is so much more than just a traditional war museum experience.
Tip: Pay the extra few dollars and watch the ‘Beyond all Boundaries’ film – a 4D interactive spine-tingling experience.
America’s Car Museum – Tacoma, Washington State
Harold and Nancy LeMay amassed the largest privately-owned collection of automobiles, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world. At its peak, the LeMay Collection numbered more than 3,000 vehicles and thousands of artifacts. The collection celebrates America’s love affair with the automobile and includes both domestic and foreign marques.
A selection of the vast collection is displayed throughout the 15,000 m2 building, with over 350 vehicles and artifacts on display at any time. Unique to ACM is their open storage galleries for vehicles not on active display, giving visitors the opportunity to see most of the LeMay collection.
Motoring enthusiasts will love exploring the broadly American fleet that spans the 20th Century, from a 1913 Daimler Tourer to the 1994 Flintmobile (as used in the Flintstones movie) and everything in between.
Younger visitors will enjoy the slot car racing track and the variety of interactive and educational exhibits on offer, and fans of Nascar will love the Legends of Motorsport display. The Route 66 exhibit is an immersive, interactive collection of cars and memorabilia to celebrate America’s iconic roadway and tells the story of the ‘Motel 5’ chain, where you could secure a motel room for $5 a night!
Tip: Every car has a story! Chat to the volunteers stationed around the museum – they are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and keen to share the ‘backstory’ of the vehicles on display.
International Spy Museum – Washington, DC
Whilst a slightly whimsical concept, this Museum deserves to be taken seriously.
The only public facility in the United States solely dedicated to espionage, this museum features the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display alongside strategies and techniques used in some of the most secretive espionage missions in world history.
The experience begins with an orientation to the techniques, tools, and other tradecraft associated with espionage at the "School for Spies". The galleries trace the history of espionage from biblical times to the present day with stories of real spies, their missions, their fates, and how their espionage affected some of the most pivotal moments in world history. Along the way, you learn about concealment devices, sabotage weapons, and cipher machines to dead drops, secret writings, and microdots.
The immersive experience concludes with the ‘Exquisitely evil: 50 years of Bond villains’ exhibition. Meet Bond’s villains, uncover their evil schemes, and explore their exotic lairs and weapons in this special exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Bond films. The Museum has partnered the Bond film producers to showcase over 100 objects from the films - from airships and underground lairs to nuclear weapons and hungry sharks.
Tip: Trust no one. There are more spies per capita in Washington than anywhere else in the world.
Future of Flight – Mukilteo, Washington State
Located 40km north of Seattle, the Future of Flight Museum is the entry point for the Boeing Factory Tour.
Whilst the Future of Flight exhibits are interesting (the upside-down treadmill in the Apollo space capsule was a highlight), the main drawcard lies a few kilometres away behind a massive blast fence.
Boeing has been manufacturing aircraft onsite since 1967 and on the ninety-minute tour, you get to watch 747s, 777s and 787 Dreamliners being assembled.
The scale of the Boeing factory is beyond massive at 13 million cubic metres. It’s the largest building in the world (by volume) and the sheer scale of the facility becomes understandable once you enter the production line.
The Everett Site, as it’s known, employs 30,000 people and has its own civic infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the 24-hour workforce. The aircraft are fabricated, built, painted, tested and presented to their new owners all on the one site.
The tour takes you through a selection of aircraft production lines, where you will stand on walkways suspended many stories above the working floor and learn the manufacturing process step by step.
Fun fact – Boeing sold their first two planes every produced to New Zealand buyers; and it was the 7th plane they built that was ‘just right’ and became the prototype for production, hence the 7 prefix on all their aircraft.
Tip: Book ahead and be sure to allow plenty of travel time as it can take up to one hour to drive from Seattle.
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