|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
On a springtime day not too long ago, I decided to take Tattie to one of the most visited museums in our nation's capital, The Smithsonian Institute. There are sixteen different museums in the Smithsonian's group of buildings. They all show a different part of history. They are all full of wonderful exhibits and can fill an afternoon with fun. Tattie had to choose which of the museums she would like to see the most. Because all of the buildings are full of so much information, it is hard to choose just one. We celebrate Flag Day on June 14, so I thought Tattie would like to see one of the most famous flag of our history, The Star-Spangled Banner. The flag is displayed at the National Museum of American History, in the Behring Center. |
||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
To Spangle is to glitter like spangles. 27 areas of the Star Spangled Banner have been patched over. Stains on the flag look like cursive handwriting. This could be either signatures or some other sort of writing. The "V" on the flag is actually an "A" that stands for the lieutenant colonel Armistead who ordered the flag from Mary Pickersgill. Eight feet of the original flag has been cut off, and these parts were given to important people or soldiers who fought at Fort McHenry. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
The good old Stars and Stripes have come a long way since Fort McHenry. Check out this flag crossword puzzle and see how much you've learned about our national symbol. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
In 1914 the museum hired a restorer named Amelia Fowler. She attached a linen backing in order to preserve the flag so we can enjoy the flag today. Fowler and others attached the backing with 1.7 million stitches in just eight weeks. Unfortunately this backing became dirty and weak and could no longer support or protect the Star-Spangled Banner. So in 1998 the flag was lowered and a new restoration process was started.
This time Polo Ralph Lauren headed up the project, and their goal was to restore the flag to be as colorful as it was in 1813, when Mary Pickersgill made it. The project was finished in 2006 and will soon be displayed in a specially constructed, climate-controlled room.
