DALLAS -- I went to The Women's Museum on Thursday with my friend, Sarah, a woman. It's a fantastic building with some very finely assembled informational displays, and a particularly intriguing photography exhibit of recent presidents.
The three best things about it:
1. An exhibit on display through March 29: The work of Time magazine photojournalist Diana Walker. I was instructed not to take pictures of them, so they are not included in my gallery, but they're wonderful pictures, and there are plenty of them. Walker had access to the Oval Office and assorted moments between the presidents, their wives and families through the years. Great stuff. Google her name and click on Images for more.
2. The building. Wow. The aesthetics, traffic flow, maintenance, lighting and cleanliness of this place are all top-notch. Just a wonderful space that gives you positive feelings. (Click on the audio link above to hear a little about the history of the museum.)
3. A looping video of famous comediennes, including Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller and my favorite, Wendy Liebman. Not necessarily something you can't see on TV, but a fun departure and a good standing feature.
One somewhat underwhelming aspect:
1. An exhibit on display through March 29: Partisan Pieces: Quilts of Political and Patriotic Persuasion. It's as dull as it sounds, so unless you like quilts, this is as interesting as shopping for bedspreads at Bed Beth & Beyond, except less so because you can't touch or buy anything.
The main course of The Women's Museum is information. Every display is there to convey information, and any items of historical importance are there simply to decorate the displays. So the museum works basically as a pleasant, on-your-feet way to learn some nuggets about famous women and see a couple cool old things along the way.
The museum does incorporate some multimedia features, like a small room in which you can listen to music, and a few areas with looped videos. But I wouldn't say it's quite as high-tech as its name implies (The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future.)
The admission price is absolutely reasonable: $5 for adults. If it were more than $15 I would probably say skip it, but for five bucks, go. And this probably isn't a bad place to drag the kids for an afternoon. Children 5 or younger get in free but would probably be bored; kids 5 to 12 are $3; kids 13 to 18 are $4. I don't see any reason boys would enjoy this less than girls would.
Sarah and I spent probably 90 minutes inside; I think that's enough time.
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