I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story

Now - June 15, 2013
3rd Floor, Corridors

This banner exhibition celebrates Asian Pacific American history across a multitude of incredibly diverse cultures and explores how Asian Pacific Americans have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history. Rich with compelling, often surprising stories, it takes a sweeping look at this history, from the very first Asian immigrants centuries ago to the complex challenges facing Asian Pacific American communities today. 

Related iPhone app.

 

The National Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913

Permanent Exhibit
History Highlights Case, 1st Floor, Center

On March 3, 1913, 5,000 women marched up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, demanding the right to vote. Their “national procession,” staged the day before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration, was the first civil rights parade to use the nation’s capital as a backdrop, underscoring the national importance of their cause and women’s identity as American citizens. The event brought women from around the country to Washington in a show of strength and determination to obtain the ballot. The extravagant parade -- and the near riot that almost destroyed it -- kept women's suffrage in the newspapers for weeks. Costumes worn by participants, along with banners, sashes, postcards, letters, and photographs, re-create the mood of the parade and illustrate its impact. 

Gymnast Gabrielle Douglas

Permanent Exhibit
American History Museum, 2nd Floor, East Wing

On view are objects donated by gymnast Gabrielle Douglas: the leotard she wore during her first competitive season in 2003; the grip bag, wrist tape, and uneven bar grips she used at the 2012 London Olympics; her mother Natalie Hawkins's Olympics ticket; Douglas's credentials for access to Olympic venues; and personal photos. Celebrates Black History Month. 

Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963

Now - September 15, 2013
African American History and Culture Gallery, 2nd Floor, East Wing (American History Museum)

The National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation: The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. These events were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals—both famous and unknown—who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Such objects as the inkstand used by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 to draft the document that would become the Emancipation Proclamation and the pen President Lyndon Johnson used to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reveal how these two events—separated by 100 years—are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience. Other highlights include:

• the top hat Abraham Lincoln wore to Ford's Theater the night he was assassinated on April 14, 1865
• shards of stained glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where four young black girls were killed in an explosion on September 15, 1963
• Harriet Tubman’s shawl 
• a marshal's armband from the March on Washington and the guitar played by singer Joan Baez

Free brochure

Related iPad app: Changing America: To Be Free

No photography permitted

 

Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, East Wing

Whether convenient, fast, organic, processed, gourmet, ethnic, or local—the foods available to Americans have never been more plentiful and diverse, or more ripe for discussion. Coupled with big changes in who does the cooking, where meals are consumed, and what we know (or think we know) about what’s good for us, the story of Americans and food in the last half of the 20th century is about much more than what’s for dinner. Learn about the social changes that have changed how we eat in the the following sections:

• Julia Child's Kitchen: One of the Smithsonian’s most popular artifacts, the kitchen contains the tools, equipment, and furnishings arranged exactly as they were when Julia donated it to the museum. She was an important force who changed the way many Americans think about and prepare food; she inspired many cooks to venture into unfamiliar cuisines and encouraged them to enjoy cooking and to share the pleasures of the table.
• “New and Improved!”: Explore the innovations behind some of the major changes in food production, distribution, preparation, and consumption since the 1950s. Learn about the rise of large-scale, centralized agriculture, the expansion of manufactured “convenience” foods, and the tremendous increase in drive-thru and on-the-go dining.
• Resetting the Table: How have social and cultural movements affected what’s on the table in America? Explore the role of new immigrants in introducing new flavors. Learn how shifting gender roles, working patterns, and family life have changed the way we eat. Examine the roots of movements embracing local, fresh, and organic foods.
• Wine for the Table: The tremendous growth and expansion of wine and winemaking is an important story in postwar America. Discover how new technologies, innovators, and changing attitudes led to the production of wine in all 50 states by 2000.
• Open Table: Take a seat at a large, communal table and engage in conversation about a wide range of food-related issues and topics.

Conestoga Wagon

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, Center

Covered wagons, which enabled settlement to spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific, have long held an iconic place in the real and storied past of the American nation. Until the 1850s, Conestoga wagons helped settlers just beyond the mid-Atlantic region compete in national and even world markets. They hauled supplies and finished goods over the Allegheny Mountains and returned to Philadelphia and Baltimore with agricultural bounty from the western frontier.

Girl Scouts 1912-2012

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor

The museum celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts with this special case highlighting the organization's history from its early years to today through uniforms, camping, community activities, and more.

American Stories

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, East Wing

A chronological look at the people, inventions, issues, and events that shape the American story, this exhibition showcases more than 100 historic and cultural touchstones of American history from the museum’s vast holdings, supplemented by a few loans. A changing exhibition space features new acquisitions. Highlights include:

• Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz
• a fragment of Plymouth rock 
• Benjamin Franklin's walking stick 
• Abraham Lincoln’s gold pocket watch
• a sunstone capital from the Mormon temple at Nauvoo, Illinois
• Bob Dylan's jacket 
• Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves
• Archie Bunker's chair
• Kermit the Frog
• former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s suit
• Elphaba’s costume from the musical Wicked
• miniature teakettle from 1807

Spanish-language translations of the exhibition labels are available for loan at the information desks.

Download the related app for iPhone and Android devices.

Snowboarding

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

Snowboarding first appeared in the 1960s through the efforts of a few American surfing, skateboarding, and skiing enthusiasts. This History Highlight case examines the history of snowboarding and features the Snurfer, one of the earliest snowboard prototypes; a Backhill snowboard made by Burton; and objects from recent Olympians Shaun White and Hannah Teter.

You Must Remember This

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

Coinciding with the grand opening of the museum's new Warner Bros. Theater, this display case features 20 feet of Hollywood memorabilia, including Bette Davis's costumes from Dark Victory and Now, Voyager; the press book and producer's script from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?; Bruce Lee's martial arts costume from Enter the Dragon; and Harry Potter’s robe. Also on view are such historical objects from Warner Bros. Studio as Jack Warner’s silver telephone and Bugs Bunny animation drawings.

(photo: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone © 2001 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R.)

The First Ladies

Permanent Exhibit
Rose Gallery, 3rd Floor, Center, enter from American Presidency

Learn how first ladies have shaped the role of first lady as the role of women in society evolved. On view are more than two dozen gowns, including those worn by Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Four cases provide in-depth looks at Dolley Madison, Mary Todd Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband’s presidential administrations.

Two Key Smithsonian Figures: Leonard Carmichael and Frank Taylor

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Mall Entrance

Images and objects in this case reveal the role of two Smithsonian leaders who championed the creation of the National Museum of American History (originally known as the Museum of History and Technology): Leonard Carmichael (1898–1973), Smithsonian Secretary between 1953 and 1964, and Frank Taylor (1903–2007),  the Museum of History and Technology’s founding director from 1958 to 1968.

Stories on Money

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, East Wing

Through objects from the museum's National Numismatic Collection, this exhibition explores the development and meaning behind American coinage and currency and demonstrates the interplay among people, money, and history from the earliest times to the present.

• America's Money shows what money looked like in colonial America and at pivotal times in the nation's history, including the gold rush, the Great Depression, and the current era. It also compares coins from the 19th century with those produced during the renaissance of American coinage in the early 20th century.
• The Power of Liberty features an array of coins from the U.S. and around the world depicting Liberty, the feminine personification of freedom, as well as coins featuring real and mythological women.

Interactive stations allow visitors to view enlarged images and learn more about numismatic history.

On the Water: Stories from Maritime America

Permanent Exhibit
American Maritime Enterprise, 1st Floor, East Wing

Marine transportation and waterborne commerce underlie American history like a strong and steady ocean current. Maritime trade established major cities, created connections between people and places, and opened the continent. This exhibition traces American maritime history from 18th-century sailing ships, to 19th-century steamboats and fishing craft, to today's huge container ships. Items featured include rigged ship models, patent models, documents, and images from the Smithsonian's National Watercraft Collection. American maritime history is brought to life through the stories of whaling crews, fishermen, shipbuilders, merchant mariners, passengers, and many others who work on the nation's waterways.

Audio and video components
Interactive stations

Artifact Walls: Mall Entrance Corridor

Permanent Exhibit
Madison Dr. Entrance Corridor

On view in floor-to-ceiling, glass-fronted walls on both sides of the Mall entrance are objects highlighting the depth and breadth of the museum's permanent collection and our nation's rich and diverse history. The objects are organized around the following themes:

• Arts
• Popular Culture
• Business, Work, and the Economy
• Home and Family
• Community
• Land and Natural Resources
• Peopling America
• Politics and Reform
• Science
• Medicine
• Technology
• America's Role in the World

Artifact Walls: Constitution Ave. Entrance Corridor

Permanent Exhibit
Constitution Ave. Entrance Corridor

On view in floor-to-ceiling, glass-fronted walls on both sides of the Constitution Avenue entrance are objects highlighting the depth and breadth of the museum's permanent collection and our nation's rich and diverse history. The objects, which are occasionally  rotated, are organized around the following themes, along with special themed cases:

• Arts
• Popular Culture
• Business, Work, and the Economy
• Home and Family
• Community
• Land and Natural Resources
• Peopling America
• Politics and Reform (temporarily off view through summer 2012)
• Science (temporarily off view through summer 2012) 
• Medicine
• Technology
• America's Role in the World

The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, Center

The nation's flag, which underwent an 8-year conservation period from 1998 to 2006, is today the centerpiece of the museum. Soaring above the entrance to the gallery is an architectural representation of a waving flag -- approximately 40 feet long and up to 19 feet high and composed of 960 reflective tiles made of polycarbonate material.

An introductory section in the entry corridor sets the scene for the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Around the corner, the 30-by-34-foot wool-and-cotton flag is on view in a new dramatic display behind a 35-foot-long, floor-to-ceiling glass wall in a climate-controlled gallery that re-creates the dawn's early light, similar to Francis Scott Key's experience the morning of September 14, 1814, when he saw the flag flying over Ft. McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, inspiring him to pen the famous lyrics. The first stanza of the national anthem is projected prominently on the wall above the flag. Sections in the exit corridor trace the flag's history, including its safekeeping by Major George Armistead and his descendants, the Smithsonian's efforts to preserve it for more than 100 years, and how both the flag and the national anthem have come to represent diverse ideas of patriotism and national identity.

Also at the exit is a tactile panel with an outline of the flag and a full-size star for visitors who are visually impaired.

No photography permitted

Related publications:
- The Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon: $29.95 (cloth)
- Book of 33 postcards:$7.95

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War

Permanent Exhibit
Armed Forces History Hall, 3rd Floor, East Wing

This exhibition surveys the history of America's military from the Colonial Era to the present conflict in Iraq, exploring how wars have been defining episodes in American history. Through more than 800 artifacts, images, and interactive stations, the exhibition reveals how Americans have fought to establish the nation's independence, determine its borders, shape its values of freedom and opportunity, and define its role in world affairs. It also explores the social impact of America's wars, presenting the link between military conflict and American political leadership, social values, technological innovation, and personal sacrifice.

The exhibition is arranged chronologically into the following 10 sections:

• Introduction, including the French and Indian War
• Revolutionary War, featuring George Washington's uniform and commission from Congress as commander in chief of the Continental Army.
• Wars of Expansion -- including the Indian Wars, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American War -- featuring the buckskin coat worn by George Custer while he was stationed at frontier Army posts in the West during the Western Indian War.
• Civil War, featuring the chairs Civil War generals Lee and Grant used during the surrender ceremony at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
• World War I, featuring a doughboy uniform, gas mask, and carrier pigeon Cher Ami.
• World War II, featuring a Willys Jeep used for transporting troops and supplies.
• Cold War and Korean War
• Vietnam War, featuring restored UH-1H Huey Helicopter.
• Recent conflicts -- including the 1991 Gulf War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- featuring Colin Powell's uniform from Operation Desert Storm.
• Medal of Honor, featuring videos in which recipients recount their experiences.

Free brochure
Catalogue: $17 (paper)

Satellite Museum Store

Taking America to Lunch

Permanent Exhibit
Lower Level, near entrance to Stars and Stripes Cafe, south wall

On view are more than 50 children's and workers' illustrated metal lunch boxes and beverage containers dating from the 1890s through the 1980s to celebrate the history and endurance of American lunch boxes. After reaching the height of their popularity at the dawn of the television era, lunch box sales became barometers for what was current in popular culture.

America on the Move

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, East Wing, Transportation Hall

This major exhibition examines how transportation -- from 1876 to 1999 -- has shaped our American identity from a mostly rural nation into a major economic power, forged a sense of national unity, delivered consumer abundance, and encouraged a degree of social and economic mobility unlike that of any other nation of the world.

Arranged chronologically and through 19 sections, historical moments explored include the coming of the railroad to a California town in 1876, the role of the streetcar and the automobile in creating suburbs outside of cities, and the transformation of a U.S. port with the introduction of containerized shipping in the 1960s.

Among the 300 objects on view, highlights include:

• Electrifying Cars (October 27, 2011-January 2012) explores the history of the electric car from the early 20th century to the present and showcases two cars—a 1904 Columbia electric runabout, the best-selling car in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, and a 1913 Ford Model T touring car, a gasoline car equipped with an early type of electric starter and electric headlights.
• "Jupiter," a steam-powered locomotive built in 1876 for the Santa Cruz Railroad
• 260-ton "1401" locomotive, which pulled President Franklin Roosevelt's funeral train on part of its journey to Washington, D.C.
• 1903 Winton was the first car driven across the U.S. -- by H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker, with Bud the Dog as a passenger
• 1926 Ford Model T Roadster; the Ford Motor Company ceased production of the Model T in 1927
• 1942 Harley-Davidson motorcycle
• Chicago Transit Authority "L" mass transit car built in 1959
• a piece of U.S. Route 66, the "People's Highway," that connects Chicago to Los Angeles

Hands-on stations
Videos
Free brochure: America on the Move TripTik
Bilingual (English/Spanish) Family Guide
Companion book: $35 (cloth) 

Within These Walls...

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, West Wing

This exhibition tells the history of the re-created, 2 1/2-story, Georgian-style house that stood at 16 Elm Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and five of the many families who occupied it from the mid-1760s through 1945. The exhibition explores some of the important ways ordinary people, in their daily lives, have been part of the great changes and events in American history. Walking around the exterior of the house, visitors can view -- through open walls, windows, and doorways -- settings played out against the backdrop of Colonial America, the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, the industrial era, and World War II. Near the exit is a list of all the families who lived in the house through the 1960s.

Free brochure "House Detective: Finding History in Your Home"

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden

Permanent Exhibit
Views into the Collection Gallery, 3rd Floor, Center Corridor

This exhibition of more than 900 objects related to the 43 men who have held the nation's highest office explores the public, personal, ceremonial, and executive boundaries of the presidency. Composed of 11 thematic sections, the exhibition addresses such topics as inaugural celebrations, presidential roles, life at the White House, limits of presidential power, assassinations and mourning, the influence of the media, and life after the presidency.

The following highlights are on view:
- the portable desk used by Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence
- Abraham Lincoln's life mask
- Lewis and Clark compass
- the horse-drawn carriage that carried Ulysses S. Grant in his second inaugural parade in 1873 
- a radio microphone used by Franklin D. Roosevelt to give his fireside chats during World War II 
- an early teddy bear (named after Theodore Roosevelt) 
- Bill Clinton's saxophone. 

Videos, including an introductory video welcoming visitors to the exhibition
Interactive Stations
Catalogue: $50 (cloth); $24.95 (paper)
Satellite Museum Store 

Outdoor Sculptures: Gwenfritz and Infinity

Permanent Exhibit
Near Madison Dr. entrance (Mall entrance) and on Northwest grounds

• Gwenfritz, a mammoth stabile by Alexander Calder, is on the northwest museum grounds (installed 1968).

• Infinity, a stainless-steel sculpture by Jose de Rivera, is at the Mall entrance (installed 1967).

Electricity: Lighting a Revolution

Permanent Exhibit
Electricity Hall, 1st Floor, East Wing

This exhibition reveals -- through five interwoven stages -- how Thomas Edison's incandescent electric light bulb and other inventions began to transform our world and examines the similarities and differences between the process of invention in Edison's era and today.

Highlights include:
• several of Edison's early light bulbs

Landmark Objects

Permanent Exhibit
Main Corridors of each wing

Three large, iconic artifacts in the main corridor of each wing highlight the key themes of the exhibitions in that wing:

• The John Bull Locomotive identifies the transportation and technology wing of the museum (1st Floor, East Wing Corridor).
On view is the steam locomotive John Bull and a section of the first iron railroad bridge in America.The John Bull was built in 1831 and ran for 35 years, pulling trains of passengers and cargo between the two largest cities of the time, Philadelphia and New York. The locomotive propelled trains at 25 to 30 miles per hour. The John Bull, which was ordered from England by Robert Stevens for his railroad company, was named after the mythical gentleman who symbolized England. It was assembled by Isaac Dripps, a young steamboat mechanic who had never seen a locomotive before.

• The Greensboro Lunch Counter  identifies the American ideals wing of the museum (2nd Floor, East Wing Corridor).
This section of the Woolworth's lunch counter with 4 stools from Greensboro, North Carolina, represents the February 1, 1960 sit-in that challenged segregated eating places. On February 1, 1960, four African American students -- Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel  Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond -- sat down at this counter and politely asked for service. Their request was refused. When asked to leave, they remained in their seats. They were all enrolled at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College. Their "passive sit-down demand" began one of the first sustained sit-ins and ignited a youth-led movement to challenge injustice and racial inequality throughout the South. See February 2010 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 28-29.

• Civil War Draft Wheel identifies the American wars and politics wing of the museum (3rd Floor, East Wing Corridor). This Civil War draft wheel demonstrates the beginning of conscription (military draft) in the United States; it functioned as part of a procedure to select men for military service. The names of men eligible for the draft were written on slips of paper and dropped into holes inside the wheel. An official pulled out names to fill the ranks of the Union army. 

 

Celluloid: The First Plastic

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

This case examines celluloid, the world's first commercially successful plastic, which was invented by John Wesley Hyatt in 1869. Initially made to imitate natural materials, celluloid was mainly used to manufacture inexpensive yet stylish goods -- ranging from beauty accessories and housewares to postcards and advertising keepsakes -- proving that inexpensive but durable products could be made from plastic. Though celluloid was no longer a popular material by the 1940s, it remains the primary material for Ping-Pong balls.

The Miniature World of Faith Bradford: The Dolls' House

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, West Wing

This dollhouse represents a romantic view of the life of a large and affluent American family in the early 1900s. Its 23 rooms contain more than 800 miniature items, including furniture, linens, toys, and other household items. The late Faith Bradford, a records expert at the Library of Congress, spent more than a half century designing and building the miniature furnishings; it was donated to the museum in 1951. Also on view is Ms. Bradford's scrapbook, which shows her methods of creating the house.

Gunboat Philadelphia

Permanent Exhibit
3rd Floor, East Wing

Built in 1776, the gunboat Philadelphia is the oldest American fighting vessel in existence. She sank on October 11, 1776, in Lake Champlain during the battle of Valcour Island, when an American flotilla commanded by General Benedict Arnold was defeated by a British fleet. The gunboat Philadelphia was raised in 1935 and came to the museum in 1964, complete with the 24-pound ball that sent it to the bottom.

Historical video footage of the 1935 raising of the gunboat Philadelphia from Lake Champlain (runs continuously)

Power Machinery

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, East Wing

By the late 19th century, America's Industrial Revolution was moving full steam ahead. This hall follows the development of the increasingly efficient power machinery that helped the United States become a world leader in industrial production during this time. Full-size engines and models illustrate attempts to harness atmospheric force (1660-1700), the early age of steam power (1700-1770), the development of high-pressure and high-speed engines (1800-1920). The exhibition also shows the evolution of steam boilers and the steam turbine and progress in the techniques of harnessing water power. A number of pumps, waterwheels, and historic internal combustion engines are also on view.