Holocaust Museum, best interactivity site Part II

A specific, hopefully focused posting for the class assignment:
You, your mother (75 years old; with bad knees; sweet old lady, with a great sense of humor and interest in anything that he grandson is interested in) and your 15 year old (energetic and mercurial) son, Josh, are planning to visit XXXX city and go to XXXX museum for a 4 hour visit. You need to make sure that the trip to the museum will go well, so try to plan for any and all disasters before hand.

1. Mom stresses about traffic and parking. She will nag you increasingly every minute that you circle a block looking for a space. What is the parking situation?
This is downtown D.C. Fuhgget about parking. Less stressful is planning the trip through the Metro system, where I can plug in times and even walking distances to a form and get results. Aging mom can walk a block, and it's probably good for her. By the time we get to the museum, she'll be glad to have a wheelchair. There's an easy, quickly findable map and link to the metro system from the "Planning a trip" part of the website.
2. Mom's knees tend to ache after standing for awhile. She will want a wheelchair or to go back to the hotel. Can you get her a wheelchair?
In a repeat visit to the site, and with clues from classmates, I find a small link that is less obvious than the large Museum Accessibility Guide that tells me wheelchairs are free in the Check Room. It even tells me that audio-only presentations have text accompaniments, something that will be useful for other relatives later who don't hear well.
3. Josh is bored by 'old-fogey stuff'. Is there a contemporary or bleeding edge exhibit that will win cool points in Josh' eyes - and how would you know if it is cool enough?
Under Frequently Asked Questions, one question asks "What should my children see?" Young Josh is going to feel grown up that some exhibitions are not recommended for those under 11; the appeal of "Daniel's Story," mentioned in the FAQ answer as well, will give him a specific person that he can identify with. I'm so grateful for sites that deal directly with parents' concerns. And in my particular pretend case, I'm more concerned about the emotional reaction of Mom; her dad was career Army, and at one point was near Hitler's headquarters. She doesn't like to think about unpleasant times; luckily, there's lots at the museum besides the stories of human loss, so she can continue to keep her emotions turned off if she wishes.
4. Josh always loves to eat and mom is happy to pay. Is there a restaurant/food option that might be attractive to both of them? Is it a cafeteria or a restaurant? Price?
Oh how I love this FAQ sheet. It answers all my questions, including the food question, with clear words in bold and links in the answers. Not all answers have links; some have email addresses or phone numbers if I need to go more in depth. So the answer is yes, there's food, and even a menu, though I have to click away from the FAQ to get the menu. A menu link from the FAQ question would be an enhancement. Horrors, I had to do one click to find it. I love this site. I can even order online for the day I'm visiting.
5. Tour guides / audio tours... maybe you should get one of these and just not worry about keeping everyone happy. What's available? How much? Do you need to reserve in advance?
Plenty of options for the visually impaired exist. I have to make reservations two weeks in advance. That's not a problem for my group, and I don't find information quickly about whether I can check out a personal audio tour (like I used for the "Dead Sea Scrolls" when they came to Charlotte), but I'm reassured that my needs, even unforeseen ones, will be met by the many references to the information desk at the museum. Besides, the site has some podcats; downloading one or two of these might be easier and more fulfilling than trying to use some proprietary and foreign audio tool like the "Dead See Scrolls" clicker thingie. I can put the museum's media on Josh's Ipod, and he can plug in any time he wants. I wish Elie Wiesel would do a podcast; his focus on Darfur is hot right now, and that would really appeal to Josh since Wiesel is reaching out to young folks so much with his Darfur focus.
6. Is there really enough to see here for a 4 hour visit? Or should you plan for other events in the area - what else is close by?
Because of the richness of the site, I'm reassured there's more than enough to see in four hours. I appreciate the question in the FAQ; can we do the museum in an hour and have time to go to other places on the mall? I have numerous options, including "Daniel's Story," which can be done in half an hour. So I can even recommend a quick visit to the museum to friends with smaller children.
7. Are there special events or performances that you should plan your visit around?
Plenty of special events are listed. Because of the short attention spans of my group, and the emotional touchiness of some of this for Mom, I can plan around the special events to avoid lines and too much emotional grief for Mom.