Courtesy Muhammad Ali Center
Muhammad Ali Center
Louisville, Kentucky
In the 1960s and 1970s, Louisville native Muhammad Ali won a slew of boxing championships and became one of the best-known athletes in America. Thirty years after the height of his career, the Muhammad Ali Center opened in downtown Louisville.
“It’s a very historic focus,” said Jeanie Kahnke, vice president for communications and marketing at the center. “We showcase 70 years of history and how Muhammad was in the middle of so much of what was going on in the world: athletics, civil rights, the international spotlight, humanitarian work and his struggle with Parkinson’s.”
Visitors begin their experience with a 15-minute, five-screen introductory film that gives an overview of Ali’s personal and professional accomplishments. From there, they go into a series of galleries that include lots of boxing memorabilia and hands-on interactive areas, as well as exhibits that illustrate the key values that shaped Ali’s life.
One highlight of the galleries is a large boxing ring (used in the filming of the movie “Ali”), onto which footage of some of Ali’s most famous fights is projected from above. An area called the Hope and Dream Wall contains 8,000 tiles of artwork created by children from around the world.
This year also brings a special Olympic emphasis at the center.
“Since we’re in an Olympic year, we have a film called ‘Lighting the Way,’” Kahnke said. “It features Muhammad’s famous appearance at the 1996 Olympics, where he carried the torch. We also have the torch that he carried in the Olympics.”
www.alicenter.org
Mount Vernon Estate
Mount Vernon, Virginia
There may be no more famous Southerner in American history than George Washington, who lived on a beautiful estate in Virginia when he wasn’t serving the public on the battlefield or in Washington, D.C. His home, Mount Vernon, has been beautifully preserved and features a dynamic museum and education center for visitors.
Groups that visit Mount Vernon invariably take a tour of the home.
“We have over a dozen rooms in the mansion that visitors can tour,” said Melissa Wood, media relations manager at Mount Vernon Estate. “The highlight for most people is the large dining room, where they see where George Washington ate and socialized. We think that’s the room where George Washington first heard that he had been elected president of the United States.”
In addition to seeing numerous Washington family artifacts throughout the house, visitors can tour the estate’s farm to learn about agricultural life in the 18th century. The grounds also feature the tomb of George and Martha Washington, which is surrounded by a solemn and beautiful garden.
In the museum and education center, groups can experience a multisensory film that tells stories from Washington’s life and see displays with artifacts such as his iconic wooden teeth. New exhibitions and tours also give an insider’s look at domestic life at Mount Vernon.
“We just opened a new food exhibition called ‘Hoecakes and Hospitality: Cooking With Martha Washington,’” Wood said. “We’re also launching a one-hour food walking tour that goes to the gardens, the cellar, the salt house and the greenhouse, and concludes with a sample of food based on 18th-century recipes.”
