MC Students from around the World Exploring American Culture

by Professor Kay Ahmad

The goals for my ELAS 970 (English Language Academic Speaking/Listening I) class of the English Language for Academic Purposes (ELAP) Program at Montgomery College were to learn more about the Smithsonian Museums and American culture while practicing their speaking and listening skills in English. There were multiple pre-visit activities and assignments in the classroom in preparation for a visit to the Entertainment Nation exhibit in the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Hall of American Culture at the National Museum of American History. In mid-November, most of the class (16 out of 18 students) went with me on the first visit to Washington, D.C. to explore and learn about the various items that impacted American culture over the decades. One student went to the museum on his own, and the other student went with me on the second visit.

First Visit

On Sunday, November 17, more than half of the students traveled with me from the Shady Grove metro station, and we met the other students on the first floor of the National Museum of American History. From there, we headed to the third floor to discover the items in the Entertainment Nation exhibit, where they were required to pick three objects to take notes on and to later give a mini-presentation about one of the objects back in the classroom Some of the students lingered at the front of the exhibit focusing on the 1939 ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, the 1977 Star Wars droids: R2-D2 and C-3PO, and the famous Muppets: Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog. Other students headed down the center of the exhibit and were fascinated with the outfit from the Handmaid’s Tale; the display dedicated to Selena, a celebrated Mexican-American singer, featuring her music and her donated leather motorcycle jacket and boots; the directional signpost from the television show M*A*S*H*; and the 1938 boxing gloves of Joe Louis, where two of my students made boxing poses to take pictures in front of the display. I joined in the fun by posing with Prince’s 1983 yellow cloud guitar as one of my students took my picture. Other favored exhibits were Constance Wu’s designer gown from the 2018 Crazy Rich Asians movie, the prop egg from the Alien science fiction movie, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey, Muhammad Ali’s robe, the multiplayer decks of DJ Steve Aoki, Levar burton’s prop manacles from the 1977 television miniseries Roots, and the Cardinal Wolsey costume worn by the actress, Charlotte Cushman in the 1850s. My favorite part of the exhibit was the themed movie clips section focusing on family, heroes, and kisses. I found myself mesmerized as I watched the images from several movies move quickly from one clip to the next and wished that the clips were longer as my memories of watching many of those movies were stimulated along with a smile of enjoyment on my face.

As I walked through the exhibit observing my students, I saw enthusiasm as they discovered objects that they remembered from their childhoods and saw objects that they recognized from the music, movies, and sports in which they were interested. For example, several students were amazed to see the red, white, and blue shield of Captain America on display especially when they realized it was an original prop from the movie. As I neared the far end of the exhibit, I found several of my students sitting in the children’s television viewing area. Some were watching, while others were completing their assignment worksheet.

One of my students who is an animation major was excited to see the 1929 animation sketch of Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie.

Some of the students lingered in the Entertainment Nation exhibit much longer than the others, while others moved on to visit some of the other exhibits in the museum on the second and third floors until we met up again to finalize our visit and view one of the exhibits on the first floor. As many students were venturing back home, some students decided to stay longer and go next door to the National Museum of Natural History, while a few sought nourishment from one of the food trucks outside.

Student Quotes:

A: “I was excited about the interesting things I saw. I would have liked to visit all the floors of the museum to discover a little more. I was very surprised to see the clothes of Selena (a Texan singer of Mexican descent) who being in that museum is also considered part of American history despite the fact that most of her songs are in Spanish.”

B: “It connects me to the past, present, and future in one space. It is a treasure trove of story. For me, it is a place for quiet reflexion.”

M: “I felt thrilled and inspired! Seeing Captain America’s shield was like stepping into a superhero movie, and the creativity behind the Alien egg was mind-blowing. The visit was not only fun but also filled with excitement and wonder.”

G: “I am extremely pleased with this remarkable work by professor and the visit in the museum. I expected it to be just paintings, but it turned out to be much more than that. I am absolutely thrilled.”

Second Visit

The following Sunday afternoon, I met one of my students who could not attend the group visit, but we had our own group because she brought along her mother, brother, and three friends. It was their first time on the metro, so the trip started out with excitement. When we got to the museum, we went to the third floor to explore the Entertainment Nation exhibit. I explained the purpose of the exhibit to my student’s family and friends and showed them the ruby slippers on display. The small group broke up as we moved through the exhibit. My student who is Korean navigated toward the gown from Crazy Rich Asians to choose as one of her objects to add to her assignment worksheet and expressed an interest in seeing the movie. Eventually, my student and her family ended up at the far end of the exhibit, where she was diligently completing her assignment worksheet while I was explaining the exhibit of the female heroes and the display with the Sponge Bob movie cell to her brother.

While visiting the exhibit on this second trip, I looked for some of the objects that my students from the first trip discussed in their assignment and that I had missed or not focused on. On this second visit, I was also able to spend more time in some of the viewing areas on the side, where clips of comedians and singers/anthems were playing. As we finished our exploration of the Entertainment Nation exhibit, we visited other exhibits on the third floor and one on the second floor before our trip back to Maryland via metro.