OPENING
Invitation: Media Open House
“Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage”
March 4; 10 a.m. – noon
Nicholas F. and Eugenia Taubman Gallery
Second Floor, West
Media is invited an open house to view the new exhibition (below): "Creating Icons: How We Remember Women's Suffrage." Curators will be available for interviews.
Creating Icons: How We Remember Women's Suffrage
March 6, 2020 - May 2, 2021
Nicholas F. and Eugenia Taubman Gallery
Second Floor, West
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote, the museum will open “Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage.” Highlighting women’s achievements in winning suffrage, it invites audiences to explore how the country celebrates milestones, what people as a nation remember, what (and who) has been forgotten or silenced over time and how those exclusions helped create the cracks and fissures in a movement that continue to impact women’s politics and activism.
“Who Pays for Education?”
A Display Within “Giving in America”
Opens March 18, 2020; closes TBD
Third Floor, Center
Philanthropy to support education is the focus of the updated exhibition “Giving in America,” which looks at the historical role of philanthropy in shaping the United States. Since the nation’s beginning, Americans have grappled with who gets educated and who pays for education. The update will feature objects from women educators like Nannie Helen Burroughs, who founded the National Training School for Women and Girls in 1909 in Washington, D.C., and an Oklahoma teacher who made headlines for her roadside fundraising sign in 2017.
EVENTS
“Cooking Up History: Cookbooks and the Women’s Suffrage Movement”
March 27; 1 p.m.
Wallace H Coulter Plaza Performance Kitchen
First Floor, West
Did suffragists care about cooking? The food history team will delve into the role of cookbooks in supporting the Women’s Suffrage Movement. The cooking demonstration will also illuminate the museum’s exhibition, Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage, sharing powerful stories of women activists who helped secure the right to vote for women in 1920.
Please join us on the Coulter Plaza before the program for a special Objects Out of Storage event with rarely seen materials from the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
LEMELSON CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF INVENTION AND INNOVATION
“Innovative Lives: Jogbra inventors”
March 4; 6 p.m.
Wallace H Coulter Performance Plaza
First Floor, West
Registration required: https://2020innovativelives.eventbrite.com
Join the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on Wednesday, March 4 for the second program in its award-winning, Innovative Lives program series, "Innovative Lives: Jogbra Inventors Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith," which features the three 2020 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees who created the very first commercial sports bra. Registration is required for the free event, visit https://2020innovativelives.eventbrite.com for more information.
PERFORMANCES
“Women in Jazz: On and Off the Concert Stage”
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
March 28; 7:30 p.m.
Wallace H Coulter Performance Plaza
First Floor, West
Purchase tickets here: https://americanhistory.si.edu/smithsonian-jazz/concerts
To kick off Jazz Appreciation Month, the SJMO will highlight contributions to the field of jazz by select women, including Mary Lou Williams, the Sweethearts of Rhythm, Amy Shook, Leigh Pilzer, Jennifer Krupa and Amy Bormet, along with those who have contributed off the concert stage.
The Smithsonian Chamber Players
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
March 7; 7:30 p.m.
Nicholas F. and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music
Third Floor, West
Purchase tickets here: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/246231
The Smithsonian Chamber Players—Kenneth Slowik, fortepiano and Mark Fewer, violin—will perform Schubert’s Fantasy in C Minor and Quintet in A Minor (“The Trout Quintet”).
The Smithsonian Chamber Players
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
March 28; 7:30 p.m.
Nicholas F. and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music
Third Floor, West
Purchase tickets here: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/246232
The Smithsonian Chamber Players—Kenneth Slowik, violoncello; Vera Beth, violin and Steven Dann, viola—and Fellows—will perform Schubert’s Quartet in A Minor “Rosamunde” and Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht.”
History Alive! Theater Programs
INTERACTIVE SPACES
"Wegmans Wonderplace"
Open daily, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed Tuesdays
First Floor, West
The museum’s early learning gallery for children 0–6 connects important themes of the museum’s collections with children’s play and learning. Wonderplace provides young children with open-ended play opportunities that allow them to explore and learn at their own pace and interest level. For more information, please visit: https://americanhistory.si.edu/wonderplace.
"Draper Spark!Lab"
Open daily, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed Tuesdays
First Floor, West
Draper Spark!Lab reveals the real story behind inventors’ work through hands-on activities infused with historical content that help kids ages 6-12 explore the history and process of invention. Hosted by the museum’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Spark!Lab’s interdisciplinary activities appeal to varied learning styles and abilities and combine traditional STEM with art and creativity. For more details about current Spark!Lab activities, please visit http://invention.si.edu/current-sparklab-activities.
Interactive Carts
Daily; 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Throughout museum
Interactive carts throughout the Museum allow visitors to interact with history and learn more about our collections. Carts are available most days; daily schedules are available at the museum's Welcome Center on the second floor and the Information Desk on the first floor. More information on daily programs and events is available at http://americanhistory.si.edu/events.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
Through incomparable collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum of American History explores the infinite richness and complexity of American history. It helps people understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. The museum is located on Constitution Avenue N.W., between 12th and 14th streets, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. For more information, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000.