Published: December 01. 2009 2:00AM

By Renata Parker

There’s a lot of news from our nation’s capital these days, but the latest museum opening is news worth taking note of. Washington, D.C.’s new $450 million Newseum celebrates the nature of how and why news was made. Spanning five action-packed centuries of news, the Newseum features seven levels of galleries and interactive exhibits supported by the latest in information technology. Just over a year old, the Newseum is attracting rave reviews and you don’t have to be a news junkie like me to visit.

Have what it takes to be a television reporter? Test your on-camera skills at one of the two NBC News interactive television studios. Test your moral compass in the Ethics Center, where you participate in a fast-paced game of judgment. The pressure’s on as you make the call and learn about actual consequence of real-life situations in the history of news reporting.

“The exhibits are a reminder of all the momentous events that have happened in our short lifetime,” said Julie Horton
, government relations manager for the city of Greenville. “The Front Page exhibit and the Journalists Memorial bring home the sacrifices reporters made while doing their job.”

The names of nearly 2,000 journalists who have died since 1837 are listed on the gallery wall.

Visitors will be captivated by the Comcast Gallery, which is devoted to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The exhibit is anchored by the dramatic mangled antenna of the World Trade Center’s South Tower. One of the most moving components of the exhibit is “Running Toward Danger,” a documentary of first-person accounts of journalists covering the event before the World Trade Center’s South Tower collapsed.

“The footage brought 9/11 home and we were so moved by it,” said Horton. “It’s a bird’s-eye view of one of the biggest news stories of the century and how the media responded. Reporters were dying photographing the tower. You saw the humanity of the event and what it must have been like being there.”

Take in the Newseum History Gallery, where you can explore 500 years of history through more than 30,000 historic newspapers and 800 front pages with breaking headlines. Throughout the gallery, you will learn or be reminded about the powerful minds and the events affecting history. You gain a better perspective about digital democracy and the benefits of a free press. You will experience firsthand reports of great moments in news history.

A broadcast exhibit feature presentation is a mesmerizing documentary on electronic journalism during the “golden age” of television news between 1947 and 1969.

Convicted “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski’s actual 10-by-12-foot cabin is part of the exhibit on “G-Men and Journalists: Top News Stories of the FBI’s First Century,” which highlights some of the country’s biggest cases. Visitors can also see John Dillinger’s death mask and the electric chair in which convicted Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann was executed.

“I love true-crime stories, so to see the Unabomber’s cabin was fascinating,” Horton says. She said she also enjoyed exploring exhibits like “the first dogs” and a complete cartoon exhibit.

For a panoramic view of our nation’s capital, head to the top floor. Because of the Newseum’s prime location at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, visitors can experience breathtaking views of the U.S. Capitol, the National Mall and downtown. While you’re up there, take a look at the terrace exhibit, which traces major events and parades that have taken place on Pennsylvania Avenue.

If your appetite goes beyond the headlines, head to the Newseum’s restaurant, The Source by Wolfgang Puck. Its lounge menu offers small plates such as prime beef sliders with smoked onion relish and of course a selection of Wolfgang Puck’s signature pizzas.

“There’s so much to see,” said Horton. “When I left, I wished I had time to explore.” I agree — you really need to plan the majority of your day to soak in all of the exhibits. It’s hard to pull away.

Catch a moment of history in the nation’s most fascinating museum dedicated to news. www.newseum.org