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From the Director

Memories of a museum are often populated by places and things: a favorite exhibition, an unforgettable object, and spots for quiet contemplation or conversations with friends. We have good reason to be proud of the National Museum of American History's places and things, but we have an even more enduring impression in mind. This Museum holds the key to American Identity—the discovery of that complex, changing, sometimes elusive concept that brings the American people together. We can open the doors into citizenship, into active commitment and responsibility for America.

This year's achievements suggest the kind of "place" the Museum can be:

The Museum can be a place where learning is accessible, both physically and intellectually. The universal design of The Disability Rights Movement exhibition sets a standard for welcoming visitors who have many different abilities.

The Museum can be a place for frank dialogue, such as the three-day conference that explored perceptions of American slavery and was the first in an annual series on ethnicity, race, diversity, and American Identity.

The Museum can be a place for exuberance and creativity, as we saw in the Lemelson Center's theme for the year, "Invention at Play."

The Museum can be a place without boundaries: From our award-winning Web site for the Star-Spangled Banner preservation effort to our active outreach and resource sharing in communities throughout the nation, we are redefining the Museum in exciting new ways.

Above all, this Museum can be a place to celebrate America. In this presidential election year, we met the challenge of organizing The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden, an exhibition that is sure to become a popular destination for museum visitors on the National Mall, in cyberspace, and eventually through a traveling component.

We are indebted for the commitment and support of each of our donors as we pursue the continuing renewal and transformation of the Museum into a place without boundaries, a place of engagement, inspiration, and learning.

Spencer R. Crew