Sometime over this past winter, we decided that this summer we would take our children to Washington, D.C. for a vacation. In April, my husband heard a radio advertisement for new and different kind of museum that was now open called the Newseum. After looking at the information provided on its website at www.newseum.org we though it was a good place to add to our itinerary.

The Newseum is open from 9 to 5 daily, except for a few major holidays. It is located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. in Washington, D.C. and accessible to a few different Metro train stations. Ticket are priced at $20 for adults, $13 for children ages 7 to 12 (6 and under are free), and $18 for Senior Citizens.

Since we arrived about fifteen minutes before the Newseum opened, we had time to review the current headlines that are posted along the sidewalk in front of the building. Each morning, the front pages of newspapers from all fifty states, plus a few from around the world, are posted in display cases.

The first thing that we noticed upon entering was a huge, and I mean huge, television screen hanging from the top of the seventh floor and coming all the way down to the lobby. We were told that current event news stories are usually shown, but as we visited during the Summer Olympics, those games were being broadcast.

It is suggested that you begin at the top and work your way down to the bottom floor, and before you even get on the elevator, you get to see some news history. The Newseum has eight large pieces of the Berlin Wall, which is the largest collection outside of Germany.

As we began viewing the exhibits, my son immediately noticed that they were very up to date. We visited on a Monday morning, and there were huge displays of photographs and newspaper articles featuring American Olympians who had won medals just two days earlier. Michael Phelps, the phenomenal swimmer, was shown on quite a few of these exhibits.

One room housed a collection of actual front pages of newspapers, with one dating back as far as 1545. These were on pull-out trays under glass, but could also be viewed on one of the many interactive computer screens around the room. Another one focused on the First Amendment and the five freedoms that are guaranteed to all of us in this country.

One of our favorite parts of our visit was that for $5.00, my children got to be on television and create their own newscasts. My daughter chose to do the weather and my son chose a sportscast. The recorded their story, which was then played back on the television screens above our heads for all to see, plus they received a photograph of themselves in action, and were given a code to go online to download their newscast.

Throughout the different exhibit rooms there were televisions and movie screens constantly running news stories, commentaries and even comedic pieces poking fun at the news industry from television shows such as Saturday Night Live.

Although the Newseum has many historical artifacts and news stories, many of its exhibits are constantly changing to keep current. We visited in mid-August of 2008, and there were pictures and stories from the Beijing Olympics, as well as coverage of the McCain-Obama race for the presidency.

The Newseum focuses on the idea that news is love and hate, life and death, good and bad, and everything in between. It affect us all, sometimes in different ways, and in more than one location there were silver tissue boxes on the displays for those who might be overcome with emotion by what they were seeing.

One such area was where an antenna from the top of the World Trade Center, burned and slightly melted from the 9/11 Attacks was displayed along with a time-line of that day. In this area, headlines from more than one hundred newspapers displaying the events of that day were displayed.

There was a movie entitled "I-Witness: A 4-D Time Travel Adventure" in which we were part of Patriot printer Isaiah Thomas's world and accompanied Nelly Bly as she went undercover in an insane asylum before joining Edward R. Murrow as he gave a live broadcast from London during WWII.

Other movies included a look at how the government often works with the media to solve crimes, such as when they caught the Unabomber, and a movie about how media plays a role in how we view sports.

The exhibits in this museum cover every aspect of news and include everything from a brick with Cuneiform writing to an Amazon Kindle. There is a memorial to those Journalists who lost their lives doing their jobs, and each year, a new dedication will be held to honor those lost in the previous year.

The Newseum has a lot to offer, and we were lucky enough to visit when it was practically empty so we could spend as much time looking at the exhibits that interested us as we wanted. We covered the entire museum in just over three hours, and then headed for the lowest level for lunch. Unfortunately, The Source, Wolfgang Puck's cafeteria style eatery is only open certain days and times, and we were there when it was closed. There is a small snack bar area that sells soups, sandwiches, drinks and snacks that is open every day, but of course, places like this are known to be pricey and feeding my family of four a quick lunch was almost $40.

There were quite a number of helpful staff members throughout the Newseum who directed us to exhibits that they thought our children would enjoy. These employees were available near each exhibit, but in some areas, such as the World Trade Center section, and those showing film clips, newspaper headlines, and photographs from different wars, I noticed that they stayed in the background, being available if somebody wanted to ask a question, but leaving people to themselves to reflect on what they were seeing.

I am glad that we made time in our schedule to visit the Newseum and since it is ever-changing and kept up to date, I would most likely visit again if I return to Washington, D.C. in a few years. Children as well as adults, even if they are not in the journalism or news industry, will enjoy a visit to this museum.

Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime