Reading the rainbow: The origins of the pride symbol
In 2017, in response to a slew of racist incidents in the Gayborhood, Philadelphia added black and brown stripes to the traditional six-...
Queer coins: LGBTQ rulers through history
With Pride Month celebrations recognizing LGBTQ history and culture throughout the country this June, what better way to highlight the...
Spinsters, confirmed bachelors, and LGBTQ collecting
As objects representing Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning history enter the museum's collection today,...

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Dole pineapple ad in very saturated color with can, fruit, and ukulele
5 things you probably didn't know about the ‘ukulele
The ‘ukulele, or ukulele, as it's spelled in American English ("uke" for short), is one of the first things that many people associate with...
Installation of the vault door
1.5 ton vault door to greet visitors in the new Gallery of Numismatics
Ellen Feingold is the curator of the National Numismatic Collection and The Value of Money. She explains why visitors will enter...
Portrait of Caroline Jones at the start of her career as an advertising executive
Caroline R. Jones: Trailblazing adwoman
A fedora, Lucky Strike cigarettes, and a set of cocktail-ready tumblers: all the hallmarks of a 1960s ad agency were on display Thursday...
Musical device with Dolby system
The Cheshire innovation
"'I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: you make one quite giddy.'"'All right,' said the Cat; and this time it...
Photograph of the museum's exterior
Donors support their daughters' favorite museum, help build new learning spaces
The museum is excited to be opening its transformed first floor of the west wing this summer, including the Patrick F. Taylor...
Microscope
The oldest microscope in the museum
In the store-rooms of the museum, we recently discovered a small microscope made around 1750. The "I. CUFF Londini Inv. & Fec."...
Chair made of 50 yellow pencils
Reinventing the chair, a pencil sketch in three dimensions
The humble chair has long been the subject of invention and reinvention. From reclining and office chairs to today's ever-shrinking airline...
The Cycle Parade March sheet music
Cruising through America’s cycling history with a digital scrapbook
It's that time of year when many D.C. commuters forgo their usual Metro rides and haul their bicycles out of storage or rent a bikeshare...
Kubla Khan Chicken Chop Suey
From the wok to the frozen food aisle
In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, archivist Cathy Keen explores how a Chinese-American entrepreneur helped introduce new...
Remember the Lusitania: 3 pieces of World War I propaganda
One hundred years ago on May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 1,195...
Supermarket sushi bar
5 big questions behind American sushi
Where can you find the sushi capital of Japanese America?In downtown Los Angeles, the five-block-wide neighborhood known as "Little Tokyo"...
Victorian trade card advertising Tabasco sauce, 1900
Tabasco and the war against bland military meals
Object Project new media assistant Caitlin Kearney explores the history behind how American soldiers have used Tabasco sauce to spice...
1920s icebox
Keeping your (food) cool: From ice harvesting to electric refrigeration
If you haven't done your spring cleaning yet, think about starting with the fridge. Thanks to electric refrigeration, we're able to store...
Detail crop of Neiman's "Big Band" painting
Meet the Titans of Jazz: A guide to LeRoy Neiman's fantasy jam session, Part 2
Can't tell your Dizzys from your Dukes? Whether you're new to jazz, or just looking for a quick and easy way to remember jazz history's...
Pres. Johnson dressed as super hero
Did we "win" the War on Poverty?
Last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson declaring what would come to be known as the War on Poverty. In...
Pin with child's face and "I gave my tooth to science"
The Tooth Fairy goes scientific
Who collects baby teeth? Most of us would say "the Tooth Fairy." But in the late 1950s and 1960s, the Tooth Fairy had a competitor in both...
Detail image of LeRoy Neiman's "Big Band" painting, featuring 3 of the jazz artists
Meet the titans of jazz: A guide to LeRoy Neiman's fantasy jam session
When serious jazz fans namedrop their favorite musicians (and their copious nicknames), it can be a bit intimidating for those of us who...
A historic record
"How is that for high?"
What do you do after recovering sound from 130-year old recordings? For the museum, the next step was trying to understand that sound. In...
Soldier sits posed in grass with fellow soldiers, wearing uniform and looking at camera
A mother's solace: A letter from a World War I enemy
In 1922, four years after her American son was killed in action in World War I, Sallie Maxwell Bennett received a letter from Emil...
Students show off their letters on a bulletin board
4th graders' notes made a difference to Vietnam War soldiers
My main memory as a fourth grader in 1972-73 was playing "Little Willy" by The Sweet on the classroom's record player while waiting...
Lincoln's hat
A closer look at President Lincoln's silk hat
April 15 marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln. Across the country, there will be numerous remembrances and...
The surrender at Appomattox Court House: 150th anniversary
Thursday, April 9, marks the 150th anniversary of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. In recognition of this...
Photo of Pat Murphy's Chicken House by Ansel Adams
Chickens, eggs, and the changing American diet
In getting ready for our next American History After Hours event, we've been looking at the history behind America's love of...
An early self-portrait of inventor and businessman Robert Cornelius, taken in 1839. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
A tour through storage brings an innovator to light
We often rely on our colleagues who have expertise in specific areas to guide us in our selection of objects for the American Enterprise...
"America" airplane and two men beside it
Admiral Byrd's "America" landed on my desk
Ya just never know what you will be offered at the National Museum of American History!A few weeks ago, I accepted a small collection of...
Detail of image: two men with camera and hats
Photographer slices heads!
Boston-area photographer George K. Warren, with studios variously in Lowell, Cambridge, and Boston, started as a daguerreotypist in the...
Roy Rogers and Trigger yo-yo, yellow and red
Throwing ourselves into Yo-Yo Heritage Month
April Fool's! It is not Yo-yo Heritage Month, so we unfortunately will not be sharing yo-yo facts all month. But...
Watercolor of Strayhorn in progress
Discovering the cool: Creating a visual identity for Jazz Appreciation Month
April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), with a variety of events and programs throughout the museum and country designed to...
Midwife tools
Midwives on horseback: Saddlebags and science
In 1931, the documentary The Forgotten Frontier asked, "Do you know that America is still a frontier country for about fifteen...
Teachers look at historic books
Remembering A. James Clark and a legacy of active learning
We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of A. James Clark, the driving force behind Clark Construction Group, LLC. The story...
Curator preparing “Abigail” doll for display in the “American Enterprise” exhibition.
From "rag" doll to community riches
A small, 11" cloth doll might seem like an incongruous object for discussing the issues of the American Great Depression. Yet enduring the...
Watercolor image of woman with red flowers
Ethel Reed and the poster craze
During the 1890s, just about any flat surface in the public eye might be covered with simple, bold, and colorful posters. They advertised...
Baseball players group photo
Baseball behind barbed wire
The year was 1944. A playoff series between two all-star baseball teams generated ample excitement. Gila River fought Heart Mountain...
Jefferson's Bible, open
Exploring religion in early American history
What was the significance of religion in the early history of the United States? In the summer of 2017, we will open a new exhibition...
Boxing belt with Irish and American symbols
When Irish American eyes are smilin'
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, staff members have selected four objects that reveal facets of the Irish American experience.Dan Gifford,...
Illustration of an ambulance-style van with a red cross and text: "U.S.A. X-Ray Car No. 4"
The abstract artist and his World War I "X-Ray Car"
In 1897, at the age of 22, Henry Lyman Saÿen's career in scientific instruments seemed to be set. Little did he know that his talents would...
Two women wearing hats in WWI photo
Embroidery under fire
The scream of incoming shells would send French peasant women dashing to their cellars for safety, but then they would pick their...
Campaign badge with a photo of Grant and gold-colored frame
A General's coins and a Japanese restoration
As an intern in the National Numismatic Collection, Chelsea Hansen has been working with General Ulysses S. Grant's collection of...
Six different Square readers, white
In numismatics, it's cool to be Square
As new monetary technologies emerge, how are they changing the way individuals and small businesses make transactions? Collections Manager...
Sheet music cover
O say can you sing a different patriotic song?
On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act that made Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner" the...
Apparatus
Carbon-14 is 75±0 Years Old
February 27, 2015, marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the radioactive carbon isotope, carbon-14, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben...
Alyea in lab with mechanism
Finding modern meaning in 130-year old sound
I'm willing to bet most people would agree that hearing some of the earliest recorded sound is pretty cool. But what exactly makes it so...
Measles sign
Outbreak! On the front lines of a measles epidemic
In 1904 C. A. Lindsley, the secretary of the Connecticut State Board of Health, complained that "measles is still prevailing in an epidemic...
Blue poster announcing year of innovation
A new home for innovation on the National Mall
Do you ever wonder how your National Museum of American History conceptualizes and then creates the exhibitions and programs that so many...
Touring Ralph's workshop
Ralph Baer: The inventor I knew
I love being around inventors. I love the quality of their imaginations, but most of all, I love the kind of people they are, their...
Etching of Dr. Craver
Intriguing images of Dr. George Washington Carver
Several years ago, the museum acquired this striking portrait of Dr. George Washington Carver, the famous African American scientist and...
Valentine card with phone lines
Love on the lines
Sending warm and fuzzies to a special someone this Valentine's Day? If you're not able to convey your affections in person, you'll probably...
G. Yamazawa
Day of Remembrance event brings reflections on home, Japanese American imprisonment through film and a poetry slam
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the imprisonment of 120,000 Americans of...

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