In a new year, Planet Word, a new museum with voice-activated exhibits, debuts in Washington D.C., with a mission “dedicated to the power, beauty and fun of language: showing how words shape the human experience.” Admission is free.
Located in downtown D.C. in the former historic Franklin School, renovated at an approximate $60 million cost, Planet Word opened initially in October but because of COVID restrictions temporarily closed shortly thereafter. But much of the new museum remains open virtually, including a general tour, virtual field trips and programming including word games, according to a recent newsletter.
Planet Word intends to reopen as soon as COVID restrictions are lifted. Worldwide virtual access has enabled visiting by people “who might never have been able to visit in person in the best of times,” according to founder and CEO Ann Friedman.
A sampling of just a few of multiple exhibits for children and adults includes:
• A Magical Library where over 50 of the most revered and loved books worldwide are shown. “As visitors lay open the books on tables, visuals come to life via hidden projectors, so that visitors can see birds flying out of the seams of the pages or Alice actually falling down the rabbit hole. In addition to the animated pages, a narrator reads the book aloud.”
• ”Where Do Words Come From?” exhibit: a 22-foot tall talking word wall that shares the story of the English language through a conversation with visitors and extraordinary light effects.
• ”An acoustically sealed room where visitors use a teleprompter to deliver one of eight historically significant speeches.”
• ”A Karaoke lounge where music lovers learn secrets of great songwriting.”
• “A gallery where visitors can create an advertising campaign using ‘smart’ paint brushes.”
Like many museums, Planet Word was founded by a woman: Ann Friedman. She’s the daughter of the late Matthew Bucksbaum, an American shopping mall magnate, and World War II Army cryptographer in the Pacific Theatre, whose fortune Forbes magazine estimated was $1.2 billion in 2011.
Friedman got the idea for Planet Word after she retired from teaching first-grade reading in the D.C. area. Friedman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and economics from Stanford University (1975), a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics (1976) and a master’s degree in teaching from American University (1998).
Janice Law is a columnist for The Daily News. Have a travel question? Email judgejanicelaw@yahoo.com.
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