Museums Are Essential to Our National Heritage

That's the name of a petition sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution at this Web site. It reads as follows:

Do you remember your first visit to a museum? You may have uncovered a passion for geology as a student on a field trip. Or realized you wanted to be a pilot while gazing up at the Spirit of St. Louis. Or maybe you started visiting museums with your children, and watched as they touched a rock from the moon or stared wide-eyed at a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil.

Every year, millions of visitors pass through the doors of America's history, science and art museums. One of the principal goals of these institutions is to create lifelong memories of discovery for visitors.

Museums are an integral part of American culture. What is your favorite museum story, memory or exhibit?

The goal is 15,000 signatures, and it's currently up to 9,375. We encourage you to sign it, but also to browse through the comments left so far in answer to the last question. A surprising number of them reference the "Night at the Museum" movies, and they're pretty heavy on the exclamation points, but they show a wonderful range of personal responses to many different kinds of museums.