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Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
Sesame Street was an innovative and radical children's television program when it premiered in 1969. In the 1960s, many parents were...
How black Philadelphians fought for soldiers during World War I
Suffering from "shell shock and a general breakdown," Charles Mackall and James Randall arrived in Philadelphia in September 1918 from...
Culture in the colonial classroom: A failed attempt at assimilation
As our Philanthropy Initiative continues to explore the history of giving, we're eager to share stories of success and failure. This story...
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50th Anniversary
12 days in Hue: An American advisor’s Tet Offensive experience, Part 1
A year ago, a visitor to the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War wrote me that an American advisor’s uniform from the Army of...
Words of wisdom from "All in the Family"'s dingbat: The graduation and life advice of Jean Stapleton
February 2018 marks the 70th Anniversary of the professional debut of Jean Stapleton (1923 to 2013) at the Equity Library Theater in...
Lobbying: where money and power meet
Peek through a partially opened door in a new exhibition exploring the grandness, boldness, and complexity of America’s democracy. You’ll...
The dueling designs for the modern x-ray tube in World War I
Twenty years before the start of World War I, a new "light" that could pass through a human body revealing its underlying structures caused...
Rich reds, pretty pinks, and velvety violets: Valentin dyes for Valentine's Day
Valentine is a name not just for a saint, but also for a fabric dyer! I gingerly lifted a stiff cardboard case out of its cold, gray...
Striking it rich: American gold rushes of the early 19th century
This year marks the 170th anniversary of the California Gold rush! On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill...
Your 10 favorite military history stories of 2017
The sound of a cart rolling down my hallway always makes my ears perk up. My desk is near the workspace for the Division of Armed Forces...
Finding new stories in an old house: Chance Bradstreet and "Within These Walls"
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The 10 most-read posts of 2017
2017 was another incredible year on the museum’s blog. More than a few of our most-read posts focused on how the museum continues to grow...
Smart phones: Collecting an electronic montage
New inventions always build on inventions of the past—and sometimes more than one. Few devices demonstrate that more clearly than...
Fire, smoke, and order in a sailor's paintings of Guadalcanal Campaign
The calm Southern Pacific night sky distorts in an instant into a maelstrom of fire and thunder. Torpedoes and gunfire hit their mark....
Everyday philanthropists
A bucket from the Ice Bucket Challenge. A collection box from the 19th century. A toolbelt from a volunteer...
Collecting la fiesta de quince años
Light pink and very full, the organza and tulle gown took up a major portion of the sofa. Beside it, Natalia had placed her glittery high...
The father of our country?
Several decades after the American Revolution, George had come to be known to many of his countrymen as “pater patriae,” or “the father of...
Exploring connections between the U.S. and East Asia through the Howard F. Bowker Numismatic Collection
Imagine a 1,000-square-foot room holding thousands of tiny records of the past. You would probably assume such a room was part of a museum...
Who tells Eliza's story? Philanthropy and "Hamilton: An American Musical"
Lin-Manuel Miranda's award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton: An American Musical turned international attention to the story of founding...
Artifacts of assassination, Pt. 2
The best documented presidential deaths in the Political History collections are those associated with assassinations. In Part 1 of this...
Artifacts of assassination, Pt. 1
The best documented presidential deaths in the Political History collections are those associated with assassinations. Though the nation...
No Shave November could cost you
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Unique souvenirs of death kept to remember U.S. presidents
Collecting souvenirs is often part of happy times in our lives. Who among us doesn’t have a shelf with a shell picked up on the beach, a...
A seven-year struggle to build New York's subway
William Steinway's diary resides in the National Museum of American History's Archives Center as part of the Steinway and Sons...
Commemorating a president's life, in stationery and floral arrangements
When you think about it, funerals and other major life events are not all that different—well, aside from the obvious, that generally...
Coffee cups, chairs, and jackets: Presidential last moments preserved
Last moments of famous people fascinate us. Perhaps as a holdover of the Victorian notion of “making a good death” as a way to ensure...
I Pledge Allegiance
Since October 1892, countless schoolchildren across the nation have begun their school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as a daily...
Advertising photography is more than a thousand words: Al Rendon remembers a photography session with Selena
Advertising agencies have relied on images to engage consumers since the late 19th century. Images convey both information and emotion in a...
The continuing tradition: The Smithsonian receives Mrs. Trump's inaugural gown
Have you heard? We have a new dress on exhibition. It's true. There has been an addition to the First Ladies exhibition. First Lady Melania...
How first families have memorialized and mourned
Just in time for Halloween, your favorite collections managers from the Division of Political History bring you a new blog series: "Death...
Sneaky 1960s rabies prevention inventions
Antibodies are always looking out for us, and this week we're taking a closer look at them. Antibody-based tests, vaccines, and drugs have...
Primary sources provide perspectives on the 50th anniversary of the March on the Pentagon
A note to our readers: This blog post contains imagery that some may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.Between 50,000 and 150,...
Plague hits Mouse Town, USA!
Antibodies are always looking out for us, and this week we're taking a closer look at them. Antibody-based tests, vaccines, and drugs have...
Antibodies are a girl's best friend
Antibodies are always looking out for us, and this week we're taking a closer look at them. Antibody-based tests, vaccines, and drugs have...
Combat Photographer: Vietnam through the lens of Marine Corporal William T. Perkins, Jr.
The Vietnam War was the nation's first televised war. Within hours, combat footage of young Americans in uniform in the jungles of South...
The woman who would be cardinal
In reflecting on National Coming Out Day, Curator Kenneth Cohen was reminded of the fascinating story of Charlotte Cushman that we've...
Contemporary collecting: Creepy costumes and props from "The Walking Dead" join our collection
When my daughter, Katelyn, told me I would like a new TV show that had aired on Halloween night in 2010, I was skeptical. I'm not a big fan...
Great napkins of history: Laffer and Zandman's sketches of breakthrough ideas
Every museum curator searches for that incredible iconic object, a fabulous artifact that is both physically interesting and represents a...
Scrapbooks: troublemakers and treasures in the archives
October is American Archives Month—a great time to flip through the old family scrapbooks and spend time preserving these homemade albums...
Commemorating a LIFE: How one Latino ballplayer remembered his career
Leopoldo “Polín” Martinez was a highly talented semiprofessional baseball player who toured with clubs in Mexico, Texas, and Southern...
The small town sculptor and the American collector
When Janice Hatfield, a collector of Mexican American folk art, first visited Mexico in the 1960s, she had an instantaneous feeling of home...
Looking back on "M*A*S*H," the show and the exhibition
As frightening reports of North Korea's nuclear missile tests fill the news, many of us long for the days when the only television coverage...
Yo Te Sigo Queriendo (I Still Love You): Memories of Selena
From the 1950s to 1970s, U.S. advertising started to shift from mass marketing to recognizing and defining distinct target markets. A...
Ask a Curator Day: Indulge your curiosity, history nerds!
Getting to handle and study treasured artifacts, pursuing fascinating research adventures all day, and building inspirational exhibitions—...
The day I decided not to collect: A curator's view of Ground Zero
About a month after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I received a phone call from a colleague asking if I wanted to take a trip up to New...
Preserving and displaying layers of history: The stock certificate nearly destroyed on September 11
The history behind a single object can often tell many stories. In 2004 the museum acquired a stock certificate from an early Internet...
Greensboro, Charlottesville, and the nation we build together
"I walked away with an attitude that, if our country is screwed up, don't give up. Unscrew it, but don't give up." ...
Shedding light on lantern conservation
Even before they got the vote, young people were historically involved in politics, particularly in the last half of the 19th century. From...
Now you're cooking with electricity!
Before Alton Brown, Rachael Ray, and Giada De Laurentiis, there was Louisan Mamer (1910–2005). An early employee of the Rural...
Pass the syrup and enjoy a slice of history for National Waffle Day
Americans eat a lot of waffles. According to the restaurant chain Waffle House, approximately 145 waffles are sold at the eatery throughout...
10 things to know about exhibition installation
As collections managers and museum specialists, our job is to care, physically and intellectually, for the museum's objects. We research...
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