A 40-foot by 19-foot architectural representation of a waving flag is at the center of the new atrium of the renovated National Museum of American History. The artwork frames the entrance to the new Star-Spangled Banner Gallery. (Meaghan Gay)

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When the Newseum opened this summer, some commentators reminded us that museums are places to house the archaic, outdated, and the useless—what a perfect place for print media!

Hearing President George W. Bush speak at the dedication of the renovated and renewed Smithsonian National Museum of American History gave us that same feeling; in just a couple of months, he, too, will begin the tenuous fade into history and will eventually be remembered vaguely by visitors to this very building.

But yesterday, President Bush was still president, and he praised the $85 million renovation, calling the new museum a “fantastic place of learning” and a “great civic institution.” Characteristically, he framed it within his vision of America’s role as guardian of freedom, the patriotic displays becoming evidence for his vision of Americana and its meaning.

The NMAH most certainly has some great artifacts that can stir even the most stolid student of history. The spine of the museum, a five story, skylit atrium-cum-grand staircase that faces an abstract representation of the flag made from 960 polycarbonate tiles (costing some $2.5 million) is speckled with red and blue lights and provides an impressive, if not slightly cheesy, entrance. It also splits the whole museum into West and East wings, making the NMAH by far the easiest museum on the Mall to navigate. Just go to the center, see where your exhibit is (3 West, 2 East, etc.), and go to the corresponding floor and wing.

The museum’s main attraction, the Star-Spangled Banner, is located directly behind its massive abstract counterpart in the atrium. To get your eyes and minds prepared for flag, the walkway into the exhibit dims and slopes upwards, featuring placards that explain how Francis Scott Key saw the massive Banner waving atop Fort McHenry in Baltimore, inspiring him to write what is now our national anthem.

You’ll find the Star-Spangled Banner laid out in all its hole-ness in an almost completely dark room, lit meekly to preserve the fragile fabric (1.7 million stitches were removed from the flag, excising it from its former linen backing to keep it strong). The desired effect is solitary meditation, but if the presentation doesn’t conjure grand notions of patriotism and pride, you can’t help but appreciate the “broad stripes and bright stars”: the flag is surprisingly large at 30 x 42 ft.

Next to the Banner, the NMAH installed a $225,000 touch screen that allows visitors to explore the entire flag up close, with 120 hotspots that give further information on the flag’s preservation and history. Though John King is nowhere in sight, you wish he were, because the screen is essentially a larger version of our favorite CNN toy from this past election cycle.

For the next three months, the last known hand-written copy of the Gettysburg Address is also on display, on loan from the White House. It’s placed in the middle of a few classically furnished exhibition rooms, reminding us of its bloody context, culminating with a high-def video of the White House's Lincoln Bedroom. There’s a touch screen in this exhibit, too, providing deeper access to the Address and Abraham Lincoln’s handwriting (it even translates the document into Spanish).

Besides the new atrium, the Star-Spangled Banner, and the Gettysburg Address, there’s a number of other old and new attractions that will return the NMAH to its role as a primary mall destination. The old The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibit is back, with the podium to give your own speech and Warren Harding’s silk pajamas. So is the immense The Price of Freedom: Americans at War exhibit that traces American fighters from the Revolution through Iraq. The Greensboro Woolworth’s counter at which the civil rights sit ins were launched returns as well.

New attractions include two great rooms for children: The Lemelson Hall of Invention is poised to eclipse the Air and Space Museum's How Things Fly as the best place to pretend you spent the whole day there just for the kids; and the Spark! Invention lab, where children can do everything short of blow themselves up in the name of innovation.

From the new—and green—architecture, to the renewed attention to technology and visitor experience, the NMAH has concluded a successful reinvention of itself. With its sweeping displays of American history and catalogue of priceless cultural artifacts that outdo an eBay dealer’s wildest dreams (Seinfeld’s puffy white shirt, Grandmaster Flash’s turntable, and, of course, Dorothy's ruby slippers), the NMAH has rejoined other Mall mainstays as a place where Americans and visitors across the globe can lose themselves for hours and hours—and hardly cover half the thing.

TheNational Museum of American History is located on Constitution Ave., between 12th and 13th Streets, NW. It officially reopens Friday at 10:30 a.m. and will be open late, until 7:30 p.m. Regular hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.