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Museum Closed

Due to COVID-19, all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are temporarily closed.

Girlhood
(It's complicated)

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Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage

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As a public health precaution due to COVID-19, all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are temporarily closed. We are not announcing a reopening date at this time and will provide updates on our website and social media.

Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

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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

Pandemic Perspectives: How Are Museums Collecting Around COVID-19?

This online panel examines the pandemic’s impact on communities and how local museums have approached documenting and collecting around this seminal event. December 1, 4 p.m. Free; registration required.

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.

Even Though the Room Is Full, They Are “The Only One in the Room”

A new museum display and website features eight women achievers in business and entrepreneurship across three centuries.

Smithsonian Curators Collecting 2020 Presidential Election Memorabilia

Opening Day for “¡Pleibol!” To Coincide With MLB 2021 Season

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From Our Blog

Isabella Aiukli Cornell makes prom political

For many high school students in the United States, prom is considered one of the most highly anticipated events of the school year. Teenagers plan months in advance on what to wear to the event, and magazines have devoted entire issues to prom fashion.

Sponges of diverse shapes and colors arranged in a line

Rea Ann Silva: The woman behind Beautyblender

While the iconic egg-shaped Beautyblender sponge is wildly popular and used by makeup professionals and everyday people from all backgrounds all over the world, few people know the story behind the company and how it got its start.

Fighting for country, equal rights, and veterans: Carlos Martinez’s life of service

When he reflected later in life on why, as a young man, he chose to enlist during wartime, Carlos Martinez said that avoiding service was never an option, not for his community and not for himself. In the mid-1960s, the United States had begun fighting the Soviet-supported North Vietnamese as part of its Cold War policy of containing Communism.

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Museum Closed

Girlhood
(It's complicated)

Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage

Explore History Online