WASHINGTON – A museum devoted to the history and practice of journalism opened here last month.

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The Sept. 11, 2001 gallery includes a piece of the radio tower from the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center and front pages of newspapers.

The Newseum, at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, is designed to be fun and educational, with a goal of teaching visitors about the free press and the First Amendment.

One gallery features a comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. Interactive kiosks let visitors try various journalism roles: photographer, editor, reporter or anchor. A theater shows what the museum calls a "4-D" film – a 3-D movie with seats that move and air gusts – that covers news events over more than 150 years. A memorial gallery is dedicated to journalists who died covering the news.

Facilities include a restaurant by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, a conference center and two broadcast studios, one of which is a new home for ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos.

While Washington has many free attractions, the Newseum is the latest museum to open with an admission fee – $20 for adults, $13 for children 7 to 12, $18 for those 65 and older. The International Spy Museum charges $18 and Madame Tussauds wax museum charges $21.

The Newseum cost $450 million to build; donations came from media companies, including Knight Ridder, The New York Times Co., and News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal, Fox News Channel and the New York Post.

The previous incarnation of the Newseum, which was in Arlington, Va., closed in 2002 and was free. Officials at its parent organization, the Freedom Forum, decided to build a larger center closer to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall.

Details at www.newseum.org.