By: Joe Strupp The long-awaited opening of Newseum's new Washington, D.C., location will be Friday, April 11, museum organizers revealed Thursday.
Dubbing the new 250,000-square-foot site "the world's most interactive museum," a press release on the event stated that admission will be free for the first day and grand opening events will include entertainment, guest appearances, and children's activities.
"This museum is a unique blend of fun and inspiration," Charles L. Overby, chief executive officer of the Newseum, said in a statement. "There is something for everyone here ? history, games, films, big screens, photos and major historical artifacts from around the world."
The $450 million, seven-story building will include 15 theaters, 14 galleries, two broadcast studios and a "4-D time-travel experience." One of its major attractions is a "74-foot-high, 50-ton marble tablet emblazoned with the 45 words of the First Amendment."
"The Newseum will be a must-see in D.C. from opening day on," said Newseum Executive Director Joe Urschel. "Visitors will be transported through time from the dawn of the age of the printed word to the cutting edge of the digital age through an unparalleled blend of artifacts, photography, exhibits, films and interactive experiences."
The building also includes a three-level restaurant ? The Source by Wolfgang Puck, marking his first "fine-dining establishment in Washington."
The Washington Post will sponsor free admission for group tours of schoolchildren from the District of Columbia, eight counties in Maryland, and 11 Virginia cities and counties for the first year of the museum's operation, the release stated.
The Washington, D.C., site opens after more than six years of planning, design and construction. It is funded primarily through a $450 million grant from the Freedom Forum.
The Newseum' previous home in Rosslyn, Va. originally opened in 1997, but closed in 2002 to allow for the move to the new site.
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