Museum of Television and Radio
Visitors to the Museum of Television and Radio may watch and listen to news and a collection of entertainment and sports programs from the earliest days of radio and television to the present. Pop music fans can see footage of the early Beatles or a young Elvis Presley making his television debut. Sports fans can relive classic Olympic competitions.
Visitors can select up to four extracts from the library’s computerized catalogue at any one time. These are then played on small private consoles. The museum also has a 150-seat theater, which hosts major exhibitions, seminars, and screenings on specialized subjects and selected actors or directors.
The collection of more than 75,000 television and radio programs includes such timeless classics as I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners. Favorite television and radio commercials, encompassing the industry’s advertising history, are also available. The holdings duplicate those of New York’s highly successful Museum of Television and Radio, which was created in 1975 by the late William S. Paley, when he was the head of CBS Television.
Tel (310) 786-1000. noon–5pm Wed–Sun (until 9pm Thu).
www.mfr.org
Museum of Tolerance
This museum is dedicated to the promotion of respect and understanding among all people. Its two primary areas of focus are the history of racism and prejudice in the United States and the European Holocaust experience, examined in both historical and contemporary contexts. The museum tour begins in the Tolerancenter, where visitors are challenged to confront racism and bigotry through interactive exhibits. “The Other America” is a computerized wall map that locates and gives information on more than 250 known racist groups in the US.
A 16-screen video wall depicts the 1960s civil rights struggle in America. Interactive video monitors ask visitors for their personal profiles and then challenge them on questions of responsible citizenship and social justice. They also offer footage of the LA riots of 1992, with followup interviews. One of the most hard-hitting exhibits is the 15-ft (4.5-m) “Whisper Gallery,” in which visitors hear racial and sexual taunts. At the beginning of the Holocaust section, each visitor is given the details and photograph of a child whose life was in some way altered by that period.
Throughout the tour, the child’s history is updated and, at the end, his or her fate is revealed. During the tour, visitors become a witness to events in Nazi Germany. Wax models in an outdoor café scene, set in prewar Berlin, seem to discuss the impending Nazi takeover of Germany. In a re-creation of the Wannsee Conference, the Third Reich leaders decide on the “The Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” Videotaped interviews with concentration camp survivors shown in the “Hall of Testimony” tell of their harrowing experiences.
Artifacts on display include Anne Frank’s original letters and memorabilia from the camps. The upper floors of the museum house special exhibits, films, and lectures. There is also a multimedia learning center with interactive computers containing additional information on World War II topics. Some of the exhibits may not be suitable for children under the age of ten.
Tel (310) 553-8403. 11.30am–4pm Mon–Thu, 11.30am–1pm Fri, 11am–5pm Sun.
www.museumoftolerance.com
