I love history and I love visiting presidential museums. Regardless of your opinion on a particular president and whether you voted for him or not, it’s interesting to see the presidential perspective on his term and to review the events of his presidency with the benefit of hindsight.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at the Bush museum. As a long-time member of the real estate industry, I was very familiar with the building and landscape design – both were beautiful, particularly the Texas native plant garden. Truly breathtaking.
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| In case you are confused – like we were – this is not the entrance. |
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| Here’s the entrance! |
The exhibits were very interesting and honestly, I’d forgotten just how many notable events happened during the two Bush terms and I’d definitely forgotten the key items that formed the initial Bush candidacy policy platform. It was interesting to revisit those.
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| George Brett! Kansas City Royals!! I had to take this photo for the Kansas family. |
The 9-11 section was very well done and quite emotional. It amazes me how seeing and hearing things from that terrible time took me right back to how I felt at the time.
The best exhibit overall for me was the decision points theater.
You select a scenario from four alternatives – the theater will present the scenario that the majority of attendees select. You then work through recommendations that advisors present to you, balancing that with breaking news that may alter the situation as a whole, and finally are asked to make a choice out of a series of decisions that reflect legally possible alternatives. The majority group answer is displayed and compared with the decision that was made at the time. What was good about the exercise is that you understand how difficult it can be to make a decision because of the variety of opinions presented by your advisors and the legal constraints that prevent you from doing what you may prefer to do. I would have liked to stay in the theater longer and go through all four scenarios!
From our experience, two and a half hours was not enough time to fully experience the museum. I would recommend at least three hours, ideally four.
Good to know:
- A variety of discounts are available, from students to military service. (When we visited, that included family of military!)
- Security is very tight. Do not have food (even sealed – we lost our emergency granola bar), beverages, spray containers of any type, multi-tools or pocket knives.