There was a block party on Pennsylvania Avenue this morning—complete with confetti cannons, a very smart bald eagle, several acrobatic roller-skating newsies, and a bevy of young women with televisions affixed to their brassieres—all in celebration of the long-awaited opening of the Newseum.

One moment of irony stuck out amid the fanfare, when a man handed several schoolchildren signs expressing opposition to the Iraq war. The kids displayed them proudly—that is, until a woman who seemed to be their chaperone brusquely confiscated the anti-war signage.

“You can’t give signs like this to kids,” she growled, and tossed the posters aside.

The kids looked disappointed. I comforted them, and told them that she had no right to take the signs away. She scowled at me. The scene was brought into vivid relief by the 50-ton marble tablet directly behind the children and their ward, on which is engraved none other than the First Amendment.

For more pictures of the Newseum’s opening, along with some words from Gene Policinski (vice president of the First Amendment Center), check out the slideshow below.