Permanent Exhibits

This section of the museum details the ecological damage in Kuwait caused by the retreating Iraqi army. As the magnitude of the devastation was revealed, experts speculated it could take three years to get the fires under control. But miraculously, myriad firefighting teams put the fires out in just eight months, the last of which was ceremoniously extinguished on November 6, 1991.

According to Kuwaiti custom, when a man gives you the key to his home, he is your friend for life. When a man gives you the door of his home you are a member of his family. A sign of appreciation, this door was a gift from the people of Kuwait to President Bush. Also in this section, you can make a rubbing from the engravings of the names of servicemen and women who died restoring freedom to Kuwait.

The hard fought, but ultimately disappointing campaign of 1992, when President Bush ran for re-election against Bill Clinton, is documented here. Despite President Bush's late surge in the polls, the popularity of the Independent candidate, Ross Perot, siphoned too many votes away in this tight campaign, leading to then Governor Clinton's victory.

One of President Bush's favorite things was getting out on the water in his speedboat. Here we have his actual boat, Fidelity, which he loved racing on the Atlantic waters off Kennebunkport, Maine, until the boat's retirement in May 1998.

Life after the White House was certainly not boring for the Bushes. They remained active in many volunteer and humanitarian activities. President Bush wrote two bestsellers and completed three parachute jumps, and Mrs. Bush continued her quest for national literacy wrote two bestselling books.