Inauguration Watch: Taking Cover at the Smithsonian

June Kronholz reports on the inauguration. Barack Obama ’s inaugural committee said it is giving the Smithsonian Institution $700,000 to help pay for longer hours and more security at its museums on Inauguration Day. The American History Museum on the National Mall will open at 8 a.m., two hours early, and the other museums will have special exhibits . Among them: Visitors will be able to see the original artwork for Obama’s “Hope” poster at the National Portrait Gallery; hear Native American drums on Inauguration Day at the National Museum of the American Indian, and see the top hat Abe Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theater the night he was assassinated, at the history museum. The Mall museums also could be a refuge against the elements if the weather turns nasty on Jan. 20, but don’t count on getting in. The museums will close their doors when they become too crowded, allowing in groups of 10 only as other groups of 10 leave. The Smithsonian isn’t saying what it means by “too ... (link)