Washington D.C. Weekend
Last weekend, I ventured out of the bubble that is Silicon Valley and headed over to our nation’s capital. The trip was primarily due to my Dad’s induction into the National Academy of Sciences. Created by a mandate from Abraham Lincoln, the induction ceremony included each new member coming on stage and signing a book that each member had signed dating back to 1863. When the ceremony ended, plenty of people came on stage to see previous signatures – I caught Stephen Hawking’s thumb print (he couldn’t sign the book, from 1992). If I was a science nerd, I feel like it would have been even more impressive.
Other highlights included going to Central, Tosca, and Tong Cheng’s to eat. We also went to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian which was an incredibly well thought-out and designed museum. I remember taking multiple classes on Native American history at Stanford, and much of what was presented did not cut political corners or hold back on criticisms of the United States government. So definitely check that museum out when you go to Washington D.C. I also checked out the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the National Portrait Gallery, and the International Spy Museum. I guess my love of history goes well with my enjoyment of museums. It’s so amazing that the Smithsonian museums are free and well-kept. The artifacts displayed are priceless and educational at the same time. Plus, only a small percentage of the Smithsonian’s collection is visible to the public at a given time, so visiting each museum repeatedly will not get old.
One little known personal fact is that I was *this close* to interning at the American History Museum during the summer before my Sophomore year at Stanford. I had everything lined up, including housing and an internship working on an exhibit concerning Japanese American internment. What stopped me? A better opportunity doing similar, funded research at Stanford with the professor who eventually became my thesis advisor. Maybe if things had turned out differently, I would be working at a museum instead of at…Google? Ha!
Anyway, I had a good time. The only exception was my flight home…which I’ll blog about later.