Pause and Play: A Pop-Up Gallery

Now - September 3, 2012
1st Floor, West Wing

See popular culture and math-related objects from the collections and enjoy hands-on activities. On view are entertainment artifacts from the 1950s and early 1960s, including a Superman costume; a Howdy Doody marionette; the Lone Ranger’s mask and silver bullet; puppets from Captain Kangaroo; and characters from Sam and Friends, the precursor to the Muppets, including the first Kermit the Frog. Music items on view include one of Patsy Cline’s costumes; fan magazines featuring Elvis, the Beatles, and Alvin and the Chipmunks; and 45-RPM records highlighting Little Richard, the Beach Boys, the Everly Brothers, and Brenda Lee.

A case at the gallery entrance features objects used to teach children arithmetic from the late 1890s to today. Objects include flash cards, early calculators, and other math games and toys.

Visitors can also draw their own comics on a “graffiti” wall, watch 1950s- and 1960s-era commercials, and play with toys from the same era, including Mr. Potato Head and Etch-A-Sketch.

American Stories

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, East Wing

A chronological look at the people, inventions, issues, and events that shape the American story, this bilingual (English and Spanish) 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:

• 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
• Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz 
• Bob Dylan's jacket 
• Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves
• Archie Bunker's chair
• Kermit the Frog

Download the related app for iPhone and Android devices.

New Acquisition: The BMI Archives Confederate Music Collection

Now - July 13, 2012
1st Floor, West Wing (outside the Archives Center)

On view are selections from a recently acquired collection of music published in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Sheet music lyrics and imagery are documentary sources that provide insight into the mindset, values, and beliefs of their creators and consumers. Many of the songs and sentiments involved were common on both sides of the conflict—a tragic reminder of the nature of civil war.

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 costumes worn by Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Clint Eastwood, along with 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.)

Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty

Now - October 14, 2012
African American History and Culture Gallery, 2nd Floor, East Wing (American History Museum)

This exhibition explores slavery and enslaved people in America through the lens of Jefferson’s Monticello plantation. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence and called slavery an—abominable crime,” yet he was a lifelong slaveholder. In an age inspired by the Declaration of Independence, slavery was pervasive—28% of the American population was enslaved in 1790. The exhibition provides a glimpse into the lives of six slave families—the Hemings, the Gillettes, the Herns, the Fossetts, the Grangers and the Hubbard brothers—living at Monticello and reveals how the paradox of slavery in Jefferson’s world is relevant for generations beyond Jefferson’s lifetime.

Museum objects, works of art, documents, and artifacts found through archaeological excavations at Monticello provide a look at enslaved people as individuals—with names, deep family and marital connections, values, achievements, religious faith, a thirst for literacy and education, and tenacity in the pursuit of freedom. The family stories are brought to the present via Monticello’s Getting Word oral history project, which interviewed 170 descendants of those who lived in slavery on Jefferson’s plantation.

Highlights include the following objects:

• The portable desk used by Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence
• Ceramic tableware and wine bottles from Shadwell, the tobacco plantation of Jefferson’s parents, one of four farms (Monticello, Tufton, and Lego were the others) that were part of Jefferson’s agricultural enterprise
• The headstone of Priscilla Hemmings (Sally’s sister-in-law and nursemaid to Jefferson’s grandchildren, ca. 1776–1830)
• Bill of sale for a “negro girl slave named Clary,” for 50 pounds
• Cast-iron cooking pot and kitchen utensils from Mulberry Row (the road encircling the Monticello house). Jefferson provided each family with weekly rations of cornmeal, pork or pickled beef and four salted fish, which had to be supplemented with the food that the enslaved families grew Personal items from slaves such as toothbrushes made with bone handles, combs, metal buttons and shoe and clothing buckles and jewelry

This exhibition is organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and presented in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello.

(image: Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1805)

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, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Four cases provide in-depth looks at Dolley Madison, Mary Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband’s presidential administrations.

Jefferson's Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth

Now - July 15, 2012
Albert Small Documents Gallery, 2nd Floor, East Wing

In 1820, Thomas Jefferson assembled a private text using excerpts from the Four Gospels of the New Testament in Greek, Latin, French, and English. His aim was to tell a chronological version of Jesus’ life, distilling his moral teachings and excluding those aspects which appeared to him “contrary to reason.” On view is Jefferson’s "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth," which was recently conserved, together with two English editions of the New Testament that Jefferson used to clip passages and a copy of the 1904 U.S. Government Printing Office edition of the book. Visitors can explore each page of the bible at a special web kiosk and view short videos about the bible’s history and conservation.

Related book: The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Edition: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth by Thomas Jefferson, $35

AIDS Quilt Panel

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

On view is a panel from the Names Project Foundation's AIDS Memorial Quilt honoring Roger Lyon. Lyon died of complications from AIDS in 1984, shortly after testifying before Congress to appeal for funding to combat the growing epidemic.

Pictures for Everyone

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, West Wing

Nineteenth-century Americans were keen observers of the world around them, and they eagerly sought to acquire all types of pictures. The introduction of photography and improvements in graphic production made printed images much more available for use in family albums, illustrated magazines and newspapers, and as posters for advertising. This exhibition features images (most are reproductions due to light restrictions) that explore how 19th-century audiences received and shared visual information that crossed many barriers, including those of race, class, and language. The display also features related items, including a sheet music printing plate, an illustrated newspaper, and a Kodak camera.

Jazz Treasures

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near Mall Entrance

To celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month in April, this case features Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet, Herbie Hancock's keyboard, Mongo Santamaría's conga drum, and Tony Bennet's oil painting of Ella Fitzgerald.

Sweet & Sour

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

This display case traces the evolution of Chinese food in the U.S. and provides a glimpse into the long history of Chinese immigration. If features images of the first Chinese laborers sharing ethnic meals while working in the mines and modern-day tourists dining at Chinese restaurants in Washington, D.C. 

COBOL

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

COBOL, or Common Business Orientated Language, was one of the first computer-programming languages to run successfully on different brands of computers; it was devised 50 years ago by a committee of programmers to combat the problem of each manufacturer using a different computer language. This display case features parts of two of the first computers -- built by different manufacturers -- to run COBOL, the actual printout from the first successful test of the language, and related documents.

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.

1939

Permanent Exhibit
3rd Floor, West Wing, near National Treasures of Popular Culture

This small exhibition reveals how Americans used entertainment to distract themselves during a turbulent year when the country was recovering from the Great Depression and World War II loomed -- 1939. Heroes, both real and imaginary, were made through radio and such films as The Wizard of Oz, and the New York World's Fair allowed visitors to experience a more hopeful "World of Tomorrow." Featured objects, including Joe Louis's boxing (sparring) gloves, and images from Life magazine demonstrate how entertainment and the arts were used to escape the despair and hopelessness of the era. 

Free flyer

Note: Dorothy's ruby slippers are on view in the new exhibition American Stories. The Scarecrow hat Ray Bolger wore in the film was installed in 1939 on Feb. 24, 2012.

The Mexican Revolution! American Legacy

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

Images, photographs, a timeline, and objects in this case reveal the role of the U.S. in the Mexican Revolution; the war's impact on the American political, social, and cultural landscape; and how the war precipitated a large migration of Mexicans to the United States.

Toys from the Attic

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

Toys reflect changes in both technology and society. This case examines toys produced in 19th-century America, when childhood began to be seen as a distinct stage of life with its own unique needs. Featured are dolls, kitchen and housewares, hand tools, educational games, and other toys intended to entertain, educate, and prepare children for adult work. The case also explores early toy marketing.

Fifty Years of Lasers

Permanent Exhibit
Artifact Walls near the Constitution Ave. Entrance

During 1960, scientists in the U.S. invented three different types of lasers. Since then many other lasers have been developed and adopted for a range of uses. This case features objects from the inventors on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of this important invention. Also displayed are objects representing both practical and entertaining uses of lasers, including a laser disc player.

Invention Case: Hot Spot of Invention

Permanent Exhibit
1st Floor, West Wing

Invention happens everywhere, but sometimes a "hot spot of invention" takes shape when the right mix of creative people, resources, and inspiring surroundings come together. In the 1930s, a hot spot began to form among the industrial labs and universities of New England. As World War II neared, this hot spot matured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This case highlights how three  labs at MIT helped transform Cambridge, Massachusetts, into a dynamic place of invention during this period in history.

Note: This Invention Case features rotating displays complementing the Lemelson Hall of Invention exhibit nearby on the first floor and its case on the third floor.

 

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

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 are an interactive table with a virtual, life-size image of the flag and 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

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

Invention Case: Jerome Lemelson: Toying with Invention

Permanent Exhibit
3rd Floor, West Wing

On view in this case are notebooks with sketches of toy ideas and examples of some of the toys Jerome Lemelson invented. Lemelson earned more than 600 patents; some 70 of them describe toys -- inflatable toys, jumping toys, toys with propellers, toys that run on tracks, target games, dolls, and more. In fact, Lemelson's first patent, issued in 1953, was for a new kind of propeller beanie.

Note: This changing exhibition case complements the Lemelson Hall of Invention on the first floor. 

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.

Highlights include Abraham Lincoln's life mask and top hat, 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), and Bill Clinton's saxophone. To mark the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth, two small cases featuring objects related to his campaign and inauguration were added on February 6, 2011.

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

Note: The lap desk Thomas Jefferson used to draft the Declaration of Independence has been temporarily removed to be installed in Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty.

Communities in a Changing Nation: The Promise of 19th-Century America

Permanent Exhibit
2nd Floor, West Wing

This permanent exhibition explores the excitement and dynamism of American life during the 19th century through the experiences of three communities: Industrial Era Bridgeport, Connecticut; Jewish Immigrant Community of Cincinnati, Ohio; and African Americans living in 19th-century Charleston, South Carolina. Major artifacts include a model of an Eli Whitney cotton gin and an Edison light bulb.

• Owners, Mechanics, and Operatives: The Promise of Industrialization looks at the new world of mills and factories through the eyes of owners and workers at the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., a sewing-machine factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• Jewish Immigrants: The Promise of a New Life considers the experiences of the 200,000 central Eastern European Jews who arrived in the United States between 1820 and 1880, focusing on Cincinnati, Ohio, an important city in the development of American Reform Judaism. Many Jewish immigrants to this area worked as peddlers, merchants, and manufacturers. This section features a fully outfitted late 19th-century peddler's cart.
• African Americans in Slavery and Freedom: Promise Deferred provides insights into the experience of urban and rural slavery and the limits placed on free blacks though the eyes of people who lived in low-country South Carolina in the 1800s. This section features re-creations of an 1840s slave cabin and of the Charleston Market.

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

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.

Landmark Objects

Permanent Exhibit
Main Corridors of each wing

Six 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 Vassar Telescope identifies thescience and innovation wing of the museum (1st Floor, West Wing Corridor).
On view is the telescope used by Maria Mitchell (1818-1889), the first professional woman astronomer in the United States. She gained recognition in scientific circles through establishing the orbit of a new comet in 1847. The following year, she became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and from 1865 to 1888 she served as professor of astronomy at Vassar Female College. In 1963, the president of Vassar donated
Mitchell's astronomical telescope, built by Henry Fitz, to the Smithsonian.

• 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.

• The George Washington Sculpture identifies the American lives wing of the museum (2nd Floor, West Wing Corridor).
On view is the marble statue of George Washington commissioned by Congress in 1832 to commemorate the centennial of our first president's birth. The artist, Horatio Greenough, modeled his figure of Washington on a classical Greek statue of Zeus, but the semi-clothed statue attracted controversy and criticism as soon as it arrived in the city in 1841. In 1908, Congress transferred the statue to the Smithsonian, where it went on view in the Castle.
Then in 1964, it was moved to the museum for its opening.

• Civil War Draft Wheel (installed July 14, 2011) 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. (Replaces Clara Barton's Red Cross ambulance.)

• Disneyland's Dumbo the Flying Elephant identifies the entertainment, sports, and music wing of the museum (3rd Floor, West Wing Corridor).
On view is one of the elephants from the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride from the original Disneyland theme park in Los Angeles, California.

Musical Instruments Gallery

Permanent Exhibit
3rd Floor, West Wing, North Gallery

The Musical Instruments Gallery presents samples of instruments and music relating to the history, performance styles and techniques of European and American music and the development of musical instruments dating from the 17th century. Some have been carefully restored to playing condition.

Included in the Hall are several instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, universally acknowledged to have been the greatest of all violin makers. The Servais Cello (1701) is considered to be one of the best preserved Stradivarius cellos. Also included is the Herbert R. Axelrod Quartet of Decorated Instruments, also made by Stradivari. Among only 11 rare decorated Stradivarius instruments that survive today, the Axelrod Quartet features the following: Violin, the Ole Bull (1687); Viola, the Axelrod (1695); and Violin, the Greffuhle (1709). While generally on display, these instruments also are used for performances of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society.

Notes:
• Because many of the musical instruments are used during special concerts, some instruments may be off view periodically.
• The south gallery remains under renovation.