DAR Museum Sorts Colonial Fact From Fiction

Betsy Ross made the first American flag -- or did she? Young history buffs can find out at "Myth or Truth? Stories We've Heard About Early America," an exhibition at the DAR Museum at the headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution's National Society in downtown Washington.

The displays even add spice to Presidents' Day by exposing a few whoppers about the father of our country. Families should take a good look at a popular painting of George Washington reputedly asking directions to Valley Forge, suggests Raina Johns, education curator of the museum. Or they might measure themselves against a silhouette of the first president to discover if, indeed, people were shorter during Colonial times.

The exhibition, geared toward children 7 and older, is "a way of learning history not by sitting down and reading a textbook but through curiosity about stories we've heard for generations and finding out what's behind them," Johns explains. Twenty-six displays investigate legends and popular beliefs or explore the meanings behind "grandfather clock" and the "macaroni" in the "Yankee Doodle" ditty. Explainer panels describe "What We've Heard," "What We Know" and "What We Think" to help visitors get to the heart of each mystery, with period portraits, illustrations and artifacts providing additional clues.

Take Betsy Ross (1752-1836). On a recent visit, my daughter, Christy, 8, and her friend Hannah Levine, 7, learned that the famed seamstress actually made ships' flags, or standards, and that it wasn't until 1876 that her name was linked in a speech by her grandson to the first American flag. Did Ross make the first flag, perhaps some version of the 13-star flag on display? "There's no way to know," the exhibit concludes.

But the "Mad as a Hatter" display comes to a different conclusion. Did hatmakers, who worked with mercury, sometimes go crazy? A top hat, a picture of 19th-century hatters at their trade and an illustration of the Mad Hatter from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" helped Hannah and Christy connect with the facts: Many hatmakers suffered from mercury poisoning -- with symptoms including hallucinations, tremors and twitching resembling the Mad Hatter's behavior in the children's classic by Lewis Carroll.

"I like the tall clock best," Hannah said of the item popularly known as a grandfather clock because of an 1876 song by Henry Clay Work. "It has music," said Christy, winding a small box numerous times to hear "Grandfather's Clock."

And if you've ever wondered about the macaroni in Yankee Doodle's cap, the exhibit clears up any confusion. When the song's "doodle," or simpleton, calls a feather by this term, he refers not to pasta but to style. Such an accessory made him the height of fashion, he believed. The reaction of the girls to an illustration of such a dandy? "He looks silly," they said, giggling at the tiny tricorn hat atop a towering wig.

Hannah and Christy also had a chance to travel back in time through the museum's Colonial Adventure program, which is offered free two Saturdays a month (reservations required). With help from docent Mary Vaughan, herself clad in Colonial attire, they tied on the caps, aprons and pockets worn by girls of that era. (Vests and tricorn hats are available for boys.)

Vaughan then led the girls through the museum's three floors of furnished period rooms, stopping at those with particular relevance to children. She pointed out the long gown on display in the Colonial New England living space. Young boys and girls wore this, she explained, as well as the cloth "pudding cap" to protect against bumps on the head. And in the New Hampshire attic, typical playthings included a hickory nut doll and Noah's ark with miniature animals (one of the few toys, because of its biblical connection, allowed on the Sabbath).

The tour ended in the Touch of Independence area, a play space filled with reproductions of period toys and furniture. Here Hannah and Christy enjoyed a pretend tea party and fingered the silk cocoon, rough cotton and wool used to make clothing of the time.

Yet more activities will fill this space when it reopens in late April (after a March 26 closing). Plans for a multi-sensory education center, Johns says, include adding more Colonial toys, kitchen utensils, games and school things to give today's kids an even better sense of life in the old days.

MYTH OR TRUTH? STORIES WE'VE HEARD ABOUT EARLY AMERICA Through March 31 at the DAR Museum in the headquarters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D St. NW (adjacent to the White House Ellipse). 202-879-3241.http://www.dar.org. Open Monday-Friday 9:30 to 4, Saturdays 9 to 5; closed Sundays and federal holidays.

Colonial Adventure A 60-minute docent-led tour through selected period rooms gives youngsters a sense of a kid's life during Colonial times. First and third Saturdays of each month from September to May at 1:30 and 3. Ages 5 to 7. Free. Advance registration required. Call 202-879-3240 or e-mailmuseum@dar.org.