We enjoyed the museum. It had great displays, friendly staff and was well-maintained and clean. It is loved and beloved and it shows. A couple of thoughts:
1. We grew tired of hearing that it was affiliated with the Smithsonian. Every five feet we were reminded it was affiliated with the aging museum to the north. Who cares? This does nothing for me, and is actually a negative. When I hear that I think, "bureaucracy," "expensive," "politically correct," and more "expensive." You are good enough to stand on your own!! Please do.
2. The General was spectacular! Just, it is housed in a room that is way too small. I would like to have stepped back and seen it in its entirety, at least a little. It just looks cramped where it is, and the balcony on the back was nice, but I would like to have had one along the sides, too.
3. I wish the museum did more to link in to its locality. While it describes a lot of local places, I wish it had more artifacts, and more simple things like real windows to the outside or drawings that emphasize and show that all these things happened right here!
4. The movie is a little cheesy - but good. It mixes clips of the Fess Parker Disney movie with local actors. I kept wondering what the local actors added. Why not just show clips from the Disney movie? Fess Parker's coat is on display. It'd be nice if they could display more artifacts from the movie too. Even better if there were more from the camp, train and other period pieces from the robbery itself.
5. The museum has some really neat facts and trivia printed on displays but there is way too much copy. I could not read it all and my eyes and back were straining to read it. Edit it down! Also, I looked for a book in the bookstore that might have given me this information to take home and read. Didn't exist. I would have easily paid $20 for a well-made souvenir book that recaps the exhibits and has nice photos with all the facts from the displays.
We liked the museum, and the people, but left thinking it could be so much more.
Keep up the good work.
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