Ronald Reagan library tour and experience!

Welcome back Crypto Nation,

I hope all is well and you had a good weekend. I was looking to get away from the computer for a green beer(happy belated St. Patrick's day) but before I hit my favorite Irish pub I stopped off to get a view of this amazing exhibit. The first thing I remember is just how beautiful the surroundings were near this Spanish styled Library and memorial for the former president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan.

As I approached the entrance the building I saw this statue of Ronald Reagan I had to snap a picture. This is a larger than life statue.

First let me tell you a bit about this place before you see the photos I captured using my Galaxy Note 8. The museum first opened in 1991, the 100 acre Ronald Reagan Museum and Library hosts 24 exhibit halls depicting different stages in the life of the 40th president–from his childhood and Hollywood career up to his two terms as president of the U.S. The library offers family fun activities on national holidays like the Fourth of July and Veterans Day, and acts as a history wonderland with its interactive aspects and informative docents who manage to interest hoards of middle and high-school students daily.

Don't forget at the entrance after purchasing the tickets make sure you pay for the Library’s Guide-Cam system for $7 (you get to keep the headphones), available in English and Spanish. The guide can not only provides a recorded audio tour with over 50 audio stops, but can photograph and videotape like an iPod touch so kids can remember their tour and share special moments on social media family and even school projects. The digital device captivated my attention and encouraged me to explore the exhibit at length.

You can choose to explore the outside gardens, providing views of the nearby valleys and mountains either before or after touring the museum. Apart from the president’s memorial site carved with an inscription from Reagan himself, the grounds boast a replica of the White House Rose garden and segment of the Berlin Wall, with its back side still bearing marks of the East German barbed wire.

As you enter, the museum exhibits start with Ronald Reagan’s childhood and Hollywood days. As part of the interactive experience visitors can pretend to act next to him in a movie using ‘green screen’ technology. The next areas document his run for presidency and inauguration. There is detailed section about the president’s 1981 assassination attempt with newspaper clips, videos and bullet-riddled suit.

The full-scale replica Oval Office Ronald Reagan library is a crowd pleaser, and most visitors (us included) stopped to listen to the knowledgeable person who pointed out the office was decorated in earth tones, had a collection of saddles and included a jar of jelly beans.

One thing to keep in mind is because of the nature and security of this kind of plane, no filming or pictures are allowed once you board the plane. Now undisputed highlight of the library in my opinion is the Air Force One aircraft that served six presidents and logged over 600 thousand miles with President Reagan alone. The Boeing plane had to be disassembled and reassembled so it can be housed in the custom built pavilion in the museum. Visitors who tour the aircraft are treated to a rare glimpse of the president’s and first lady’s sleeping quarters, mini office and kitchenette where the flight crew prepared their meals.

The Cold War exhibit has a dark and narrow Berlin Wall tunnel replica visitor can crawl through; complete with the sound of guard dogs ferociously barking overhead. Most of the high-school students we saw the day we visited loved it.

Tips for this trip

The best time to visit the library is on a weekday after 1 PM (most groups arrive during the morning and leave by lunchtime). Private docent tours are available but need to be scheduled two weeks in advance.The facility is wheel chair accessible and provides special needs parking.

I really hope you enjoyed this blog I will be sharing more about the special exhibit Genghis Khan experience.