As museums continue to explore the visualization of data, can physical manifestations of data sets change our capacity to tell visual stories and increase visitor understanding? Improved access to data as well as changes in technology provide the opportunity to visualize historical data sets as physical spaces in museums that can evoke both historical and felt understanding. Based on examples from several institutions and building on visitor reactions to two recent projects at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this paper examines how physical visualizations create a powerful learning environment for the public.