Beginning Orientation at the Newseum

            After speaking with our sponsor at the Newseum, Sami and I were able to start our training early. So this morning we made our first trip downtown via metro. The trip to Judiciary Square, the station closest to the metro, clocks in at about 45 minutes, a pretty solid commute. We somehow managed to find the Newseum despite our navigational challenges and finally entered the realm of our project. The 250,000 square foot museum is run by the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit devoted to promoting and educating the public on the first amendment. Our trainer, the lovely and informative Samantha Barry, gave us all of this information and much, much more. 

            Training/orientation, is a multi-day affair, and on this first day we went over the basics of the Newseum and customer service, as well as took a very comprehensive tour of the Museum. The actual visitor area is seven floors of artifacts, information, and interactive kiosks, all of which is swarming with school groups and families. Sam gave us background less on the actual exhibits, but more geared towards why the exhibits are in the museum and how they fit into the mission statement of the Freedom Forum. The multi-hour, though interesting, was quite tiring and Sami and I were ready to go see the city and enjoy the evening before returning to write these blogs. In a nutshell today was a grand orientation to travel, the Newseum, and our positions; a productive and exhausting experience.