Home | National Museum of American History

Museum Opens May 21

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Righting a Wrong

Japanese Americans and World War II

Many Voices, One Nation

How did we become US?

American Enterprise

How does American business affect you?

Activities for Kids

Online activities you can try at home

The museum will reopen to the public on Friday, May 21, 2021. Free, timed-entry passes will be required for entry and will be available beginning on Friday, May 14.

Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

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Screenshot of website for exhibition, "Thomas Jefferson's Bible"

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Our Mission

Empowering people to create a just and compassionate future by exploring, preserving, and sharing the complexity of our past.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions on a range of topics offer firsthand experiences with treasures of American history.

Collections

We collect artifacts of all kinds—from gowns to locomotives—to preserve an enduring record of our past for the American people.

News and Events

The museum will reopen to the public on Friday, May 21, 2021. We will be open Friday-Tuesday, 11:00 AM-4:00 PM. Free, timed-entry passes will be required for entry and will be available for our museum beginning on Friday, May 14.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

See how the museum is marking the heritage month, learn about upcoming programs, and view topical resources.

Explore Learning Resources

Our website offers many ways to explore history, including online exhibitions, museum tours, educator resources, activities for kids, and our online collections.

Selena Photos Acquisition Commemorates Singer’s 50th Birthday

The museum has acquired 18 images of the iconic Tejana singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971–1995), and will release a new video highlighting related items in our collection.

Smithsonian Collects Objects From First Known U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Effort

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From Our Blog

Case showing changes in girls' uniforms in exhibition, Girlhood: It's complicated

Why Girlhood?

Three years ago our museum convened a diverse group of scholars and educators to help a team brainstorm a new exhibition about women's history to mark the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment. After two days of presentations, discussions, and workshopping, we had a bold new idea—we were going to create an exhibition about girlhood.

Detail of ten dollar note showing illustration of an interiror iron foundry with figures working

Rebecca Lukens: A woman of iron

A sudden tragedy thrust Rebecca Lukens into the family business and into history, making her the nation’s first woman industrialist and the only woman to run and eventually own an iron mill in the United States during the 1800s.

Photo of the Capitol Building from the National Mall, with a person in a military uniform walking in the foreground

The cold morning of the day after

On January 6, my wife and I watched the live news broadcasts in disbelief at the scenes unfolding on television, as a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the constitutionally mandated joint session of Congress presided over by the vice president to ratify the 2020 election results.

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Museum Opens May 21

Righting a Wrong

Many Voices, One Nation

American Enterprise