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.

Fact Sheets

The following fact sheets were compiled for use by the media.

Collections

Apple artifacts in the Museum's collections
Early Sound Recording Collection and Sound Recovery Project
Protest and Political History Collecting
Spanish Language Broadcast History
The Electricity Collections
The First Ladies Collection
The National Quilt Collection
“My Computing Devices” select object list

Exhibitions

Julia Child's Kitchen
Meet Addy Walker, An American Girl
Spark!Lab, “Invention at Play,” and the New Lemelson Hall of Invention
Titanic artifacts in the Museum's collections

General

Fact Sheet: National Museum of American History
“Sweet Stuff: An American History of Sweeteners from Sugar to Sucralose”
“The Changing Face of Portrait Photography: From Daguerreotype to Digital”
“Treasures at the Museum”

Initiatives and Programs

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"
75 Years of Auto Safety
American Food History Project
Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, The Rhymes, The Life
Lecture Series: Inventing American Photography: Smithsonian Collections
Museum-inspired merchandise available on QVC
National Museum of American History Strategic Plan: 2020-2030
Smithsonian Supplies American History Posters to Armed Forces in Iraq
Stories of 2020—A Digital Storytelling Initiative
Sweet and Sour Initiative
The Star-Spangled Banner Campaign Donors

Objects

A Hidden Message
Artifact Walls and Landmark Objects: Part One
Artifact Walls and Landmark Objects: Part Two
Civil War Draft Wheel
Clara Barton’s Red Cross Ambulance, 1898
Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Google "Corkboard" Server, 1999
Landmark Object: George Washington Statue, 1841
Landmark Object: John Bull Locomotive
Phyllis Diller’s "Gag File"
Plymouth Rock
Portrait of Stephen Colbert
Teddy Bear
The Bunkers’ Chairs
The Gunboat Philadelphia
Vassar Telescope

Renovations

Crating Collections for Safe Keeping
John Bull under Wraps for Renovation
Making a Modern Museum: Part One
Rigging Crew Does the Heavy Lifting
Sneak Peek into the Construction Zone
The Abstract Flag
The New Skylight
Transforming the Museum: Part Two
We’re Picking Up (Bad) Vibrations
What Happens Behind Closed Doors? The Preparation of Caroline Harrison's Inaugural Gown