Welcome to Entertainment Nation/Nación del Espectáculo.
Assistive Listening
Loop amplification is available at the entry, in two enclosed pocket galleries, and at the end of the exhibition’s central pathway. All media programs are open captioned, either on-screen or on adjacent monitors. The electronic kiosks in front of exhibit cases have no sound.
Visual Descriptions and Touchable Models
Visual descriptions are available throughout the exhibition via QR codes on raised discs, just like this one. On the floor below each QR code is a cane stop—two parallel foot-long bars. You will find QR codes for all media programs, object information kiosks, and touchable models.
Touchable models are available at five locations in the exhibition, located adjacent to display cases. Each one is mounted on a slanted panel and has a QR code, marked by a cane stop on the floor.
Keep listening for a detailed visual description of the gallery layout that highlights some of the objects on display.
Now that you have scanned this QR code, turn to your right and pause. An expansive, open-concept gallery lies in front of you. The perimeter walls of the gallery are lined with glass-fronted cases that run nearly from floor to ceiling. Spotlight displays—tall, free-standing cases beside panels shaped like the beam of a spotlight—are arrayed along the exhibition’s central pathway of sparkling red terrazzo flooring (the rest of the gallery is carpeted).
This path stretches before you, approximately 20 feet toward a free-standing blue wall, then turns right and runs along the center of the exhibition to the end of the main gallery.
That free-standing blue wall displays the exhibition’s main label: “For more than 150 years, entertainment has provided a forum for important national conversations about what kind of people we are—and want to be.” A red circular wall case at the lower left displays the original Muppets.
Immediately to your left and low on the wall, another red circular case displays one of Dizzy Gillespie’s “bent” trumpets.
Next on the left, dimensional letters on the wall spell out the title of the exhibition: Entertainment Nation/Nacion del Espectáculo. The letters are filled with light bulbs—like an old theater marquee.
Next on the left is a spectacular array of LED flat-panel video tiles that reach approximately eight feet from side to side and rise from floor to ceiling before arching overhead. The program that plays here poses a question: How does entertainment shape the nation? The QR code for accessing a detailed visual description of the program is located above the cane stop there, mounted on the adjacent captioning monitor.
Approximately every four minutes—at the conclusion of the entry program—one of eight 30-second special programs plays here and on video displays above and at the end of the central pathway.
To the right of the video tiles, one of the tall, free-standing cases rises 12 feet from the floor into a glowing, ring-shaped light fixture suspended from the ceiling. A panel—shaped like the beam of a spotlight—stands alongside the case. This spotlight display features the R2-D2 and C-3PO costumes from Star Wars’ Return of the Jedi.
To your right is another spotlight display. It features Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. To the left of this case is a slanted, circular panel holding a touchable bronze model of the sequin-covered shoes, made using a 3D scan. The QR code for accessing information about and visual description of the slippers is on that circular panel, to the right of the replica shoes.
As you move closer to the blue wall with the main label, other parts of the exhibition are revealed.
To the left of the blue wall, a free-standing spotlight display features cut-out paper figures from a child’s playset inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Beyond that, floor-to-ceiling cases line the walls at this end of the gallery. The case straight ahead displays a huge circus poster; there is a bas relief tactile of a detail of the poster with a QR code and cane stop in front of the case. This section of perimeter cases is titled: “Debating an Expanding Nation, 1840–1910.”
Turn right while you are in front of the blue wall, and the red terrazzo pathway stretches before you down the center of the gallery. Overhead are ribbons of LED video display tiles and rows of glittering marquee-like light bulbs. More spotlight displays line the path. Along the left side, you’ll find the white, skirt-like shorts and short-sleeved shirt Althea Gibson wore at Wimbledon; Prince’s “Yellow Cloud” guitar; Joe Louis’s boxing gloves; and the signpost from television’s M*A*S*H. Along the right side of the pathway, you’ll find the jacket covered with photos of friends that Wilson Jermaine Heredia wore while portraying Angel in RENT; the long red robe and white-winged bonnet Elisabeth Moss wore as Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale; and the trim leather pants and short jacket Selena wore while singing.
At the Prince spotlight display on the left side of the pathway, you can touch and pose with a replica of the “Yellow Cloud” guitar. Moving behind the guitar activates a tall video display of Prince performing; the QR code for visual descriptions of the video program is above the cane stop there, on the frame to the right of the monitor.
At the Selena spotlight display on the right side, there is a tall circular structure. Moving into it activates a video program that plays on a monitor inside; the QR code for visual description is above the cane stop there, on the frame to the right of that monitor.
Beyond the spotlight displays that line the pathway, floor-to-ceiling glass cases line the walls on both sides and at the end of the gallery. Along the left wall, these cases are titled: “Making Sense of Modern Times, 1900–1950” and “Seeking Truth and Justice in the Atomic Age, 1940–1980.” A case titled “Breakouts and Breakdowns, 1970–2000” marks the end of the gallery. And a case titled “Confronting Infinite Choices and Challenging Divides, 1990–present” runs along the right wall. You’ll find a touchable model with a QR code located above a cane stop in front of each case.
There are two six-foot alcoves in the casework that lines the left side of the gallery. The first opening is behind and just to the right of the blue wall that carries the exhibition’s main label. The second is just a bit past the spotlight display featuring Joe Louis’s boxing gloves. A glass door in each vestibule opens into a pocket gallery with an immersive media experience. The first is titled “What’s So Funny?” and the second, “What is Your Anthem?” Cane stops mark QR codes on the walls outside the doors, and link to summaries and detailed visual descriptions of the programs.
To the left of each alcove, a large case displays objects related to the program within. An electronic kiosk in front of each case offers information about the objects on display: costumes for “What’s So Funny?” and musical instruments for “What is Your Anthem?” QR codes above cane stops there, on the right side of each kiosk, link to information about how to use the kiosk’s touch navigation pad. Use your own headphones to access content and visual description.
At the far end of the sparkling red terrazzo pathway is a media presentation on spectacular floor-to-ceiling video tiles that arch overhead. Three programs play here; they consider how movies get us talking about love, family, and heroes.
At the end of the terrazzo pathway, the main gallery extends to the left and opens into an area focused on television. Two large cases here display objects related to children’s television and women in sci-fi and fantasy, while a third displays objects from the sitcom All in the Family. An electronic kiosk in front of each case provides information about and visual description of the objects on display. QR codes above cane stops there, on the right side of each kiosk, link to information about how to use the kiosk’s touch navigation pad. Use your own headphones to access content and visual description.
In this extension of the main gallery, you’ll also find an interactive video program on children’s television. There is a QR code, touch navigation pad, and headphone jack below the lower right corner of the monitor. Visual descriptions for this program are brief but synchronous.
Enjoy your visit!