The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened its doors to the public to a crowd of hundreds Wednesday. (Christopher Saul / The Daily Campus)

Less than one week after five living presidents joined the high-profile dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the center officially opened to the public on Wednesday.

The public opening did not draw as much media attention, but certainly drew a crowd.

The door’s opened at 9 a.m. to hundreds of people who lined SMU Boulevard to be some of the first to tour the museum.

“We opened up this morning at 9 a.m. and not to sound cheesy, but it came together, there was a symphony and it was beautiful,” National Archives and Records Administration spokesman John Orrell said.

While many waited in line, the first members of the public to tour the museum were 43 children ranging in grade from kindergarten to high school.

Those students were surprised by George W. himself, who took pictures with the kids in the full-scale Oval Office replica.

Kenneth Bain, a 1982 SMU alumnus, stopped by to tour the museum on his alma mater’s campus.

“I’m looking forward to going through it and seeing what really happened, as opposed to what were told happened,” Bain said.

He said his favorite exhibits were the Decisions Points Theatre and the Oval Office.

According to library curator Amy Polley, to get the Oval Office to be almost an exact replica took a lot of research.

 “We have the same patterns, the same furniture, we did recreations of all the art, so it really looks like the real thing,” Polley said.

Other exhibits feature Hurricane Katrina, the War on Terror and Bush’s domestic policies.

The library will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for children 13-17 and are free for SMU students, faculty and staff.