New Exhibit Features Julia Child, Baby Carrots

Curious how baby carrots got so damn popular? Fascinated by the history of the microwave oven? Then head to the National Museum of American History next week, when it opens its new exhibit, Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000.

The museum has devoted almost 4,000 square feet to the cause of food, including Julia Child's kitchen (which reopened back in August after a brief hiatus). Sections are devoted to specific topics, like wine and technology. The exhibit explores such issues as how the California wine industry actually grew during Prohibition, or what impact the country's various immigrant populations had on its cuisine. There's a 22-food communal table where attendees can gather to talk about the exhibit (and, presumably, food), and sections devoted to such developments as the rise of the drive-through. You can get more of a sense of what the exhibit's all about on its website. The exhibit opens to the public Nov. 20.

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