Closeup of a cog in the drivetrain of this old tractor (right; click to enlarge). The National Museum of American History has a small collection of agricultural implements on display, but the big exhibit when we went (about two weeks ago) was "America On the Move," which purports to explore how transportation transformed America. Shockingly, the exhibit is sponsored by General Motors, so you won't be surprised to learn that the exhibit presents bikes, trains, buses, and trolley or tram systems as quaint and outdated, while praising the growth of the private automobiles. It barely mentions the fact that GM and other automakers worked hard to put streetcars out of business all over the country in the 1940s and 1950s so that people would have no alternative to driving cars (or riding in buses made by GM).

In all, I found the National Museum of American History very very sad. It's a huge collection with lots of great items, but its interpretive materials leave a lot to be desired. It's also horribly arranged, with a display of instruments next to a display of printing technology next to an exhibit of Beatles photos next to a giant dollhouse. Where's the rhyme or reason in that? There isn't any, so you could spend all day in the place and leave with little clue as to how one exhibit relates to another. And this is our national museum. Pathetic.