Washington, D.C. Lights

If you've ever wondered about the illumination of the Washington Monument in your spare time, you're in luck, since the Washington Post just shed some light on the subject in a very good article by Philip Kennicott, Aug. 26th. If you're an old-hand at Washington field trips, you might recall the good old days, when no tickets were issued to visit the Washington Monument. Instead, you simply instructed your trusty bus driver to swing by the monument, periodically, in order to eye-ball the waiting line and jump in line at a judicious moment. You might, also recall, the monument would remain open until midnight, so even if the wait to get in was a couple of hours, students wiled away the time by making friends with others in the same boat. It was a win-win situation, a handy night-activity and good fun; alas, post-9/11 era arrived and everything changed. But I digress. While waiting in line at night, you would have noticed large cannisters of lights set into the ground. They were hard to miss, since bugs danced about in the light. The trouble with this old-school lighting system was that, well, not much light hit its intended target, the Washington Monument. In fact, as little as 20% of the light did. Enter Musco Lighting, which also has illuminated the Pentagon and the World Trade Center sites during operations, just after 9/11. Musco Lighting came up with a better idea: 1) shape the light with mirror-like fixtures that focus the light in a narrow cone, resulting in 80% of the light hitting the surface of the monument; 2)Less is more, so the new lights reduce energy use and your tax bill covering the cost!; 3) the lights are repositioned to poles removed at a distance from the monument, so bugs no longer dance nearby and the clutter-free design is effective. It's a clean, fresh look for the Washington Monument at night; oh yes, if you're wondering about the lights of the Capitol dome---no comment, since 9/11, this information is security-sensitive and not released to the public. Finally, if you're in town without your students (small site), hike over to 1100 Vermont Street, NW, at night and witness a fanciful display of light-emitting diodes, which cast shadowy images of passersby and, eventually, will include a grove of musical poles that, when touched, will "sing."

Big city, big lights

Waxing Political in Washington, D.C.

Madame Tussauds comes to Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post reveals that the Clintons, among others, will be returning to Washington, D.C, and keeping company with Beyonce, Duke Ellington and Brangelina. The only thing is, don't expect to hold an engaging conversation with any of these personalties, since they'll be cast in wax as part of exhibits planned by famed wax museum entertainers--Madame Tussauds.

The $16 million dollar project will also include replicas of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence; historical exhibits of Washington; and a mock-up of the Oval Office, where you can pretend to be the president, if for just a moment, and have your pic snapped.

None other than President Lincoln will be the official greeter of the museum which is slated to take up 27,000 square feet in the old Woodies Dept. Store building, located at the corner of 10th and F Streets, NW.

Long-time travelers to Washington DC, may remember that other wax musuems predate this current project, most recently, in 1975, The National Wax Museum was housed in what was a turning station for trolley cars, at Fourth and E Streets, SW. It closed in 1984.

The new musuem should be an exciting addition for students on field trips with their teachers. An expected admission fee will be approximately $25 per person and the museum is scheduled to open October, 2007.