Several much-anticipated exhibition openings await Smithsonian Institution visitors this year. A copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s original “I Have a Dream” speech is now on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, while the Smithsonian American Art Museum will see paintings from William H. Johnson’s 1940s Fighters for Freedom series, which includes depictions of famous historical figures such as Harriet Tubman and Mahatma Gandhi as well as lesser-known individuals, all working toward the common goal of world peace. This spring, the National Museum of American History offers visitors an opportunity to engage in hands-on activities that show how inventions improve sports, and to view the very 1966 Honda CB77 “Super Hawk” motorcycle that inspired Robert Pirsig’s fictionalized autobiography Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Other highlights include the chance to explore the narrative art of the Plains through everything from historical hides to contemporary ledger sketches at the National Museum of the American Indian; contemplate fiber arts as a means of modern female expression at the Renwick Gallery; or peruse artworks, photographs and archival materials highlighting Brazilian identical twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo (who work under the name OSGEMEOS), and their hip-hop-inspired urban graffiti traditions, at the Hirshhorn Museum.
Around the globe, an array of new museum openings are also poised to enlighten and inspire. Fingers crossed that 2024 is the year that the Grand Egyptian Museum will at long last welcome public visitors, and the open quarry digs and “Hall of Extinction and Hope,” where visitors can explore ways to take action against climate change, at South Jersey’s Edelman Fossil Park Museum are now opening this summer. Whether you’re looking to test your thespian skills on the same stage where the Bard of Avon once stood, delve into LGBTQ+ history through the eyes of a Stonewall pioneer or save a princess from a giant gorilla in “Donkey Kong,” these ten museums will surely bring you into the action and provide a whole new…
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