EDM in the history museum: Steve Aoki gear travels the world and finds a home at the museum
Music blasts toward the audience as concertgoers dance to Steve Aoki's pounding bass rhythms and bright LED displays. The DJ throws cakes...
You're invited to a Bowl of Rice Party
Wartime often catalyzes developments in philanthropy. In 2017, the museum added the Bowl of Rice party banner, from fundraising efforts to...
6 Jewish American objects for Jewish American Heritage Month
In April 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed May to be Jewish American Heritage Month. Jewish American objects in our collections...

Blog

David Baker and the original School of Jazz
During this 10th anniversary celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, Smithsonian Jazz honors educator, composer, musician and longtime...
Finding the Civil War in Washington, D.C.
“You ought to see the scene of the wounded arriving at the landing here foot of Sixth street, at night. Two boat loads came about half-past...
History in 140 characters
Although I’m a member of the online outreach team at the museum, over the last few months I’ve given a number of in-person workshops for...
Found in our military history collections: A Marine Corps tiara
“Where do you keep the tiara?” This was one of the first questions I was asked when I started work on the Military History Collections...
Connections to the past can spark desire to create a brighter future
The date: June 11, 2010. The time: 8:30 a.m. (a shocking hour for a college undergraduate to be anywhere, let alone well-groomed,...
In pursuit of Jewish sampler makers
Mr. Isadore Warshaw began collecting business ephemera in 1928 that would later come to the National Museum of American History under the...
Exploring the Gettysburg Address with kids
Today’s guest post was written by Dr. James Beeghley, who writes the blog Teaching the Civil War with Technology and presents workshops on...
Donor spotlight: Bill and Alice Konze...history is the story
I still remember the day when my seventh grade teacher wrote the word history on the blackboard as two words: “HIS STORY.” Wow, I thought....
108 water meters
The National Museum of American history boasts what may be the world’s largest and finest collection of historic water meters—108 in all...
Close-up photo of fabric texture
Brother Washington’s apron – a Masonic mystery (part 3 of 3)
Editor’s Note: This is the third and final post in the series on “Brother Washington’s apron – a Masonic mystery.” See Part 1 and Part 2...
"If I could just get inside that glass, I could hear the song in there..."
Editor’s Note: Today’s guest blog is written by Kenneth Coultas, a Tennesseean who recently visited the museum with his family and had...
Making room for blossoms and monuments
As a part of a project for an exhibition about the Civil War titled “So Much Need of Service”: The Diary of a Civil War Nurse, I had the...
Moody and Dizzy, side by side
The great James Moody passed away on December 9, 2010. Today, Saturday, March 26, would have been his 86th birthday. In the jazz community...
Science fair contestants gird for battle
We are now at the end of science fair season (the final national prizes were handed out on March 15) and this year’s competitions took...
The problem with storage
Storage at a museum is not a new problem. You collect stuff, and you have to find a place for it. Everyone knows how that works in their...
Mary Lou Williams: Musical and social change agent
Portrait of Mary Lou Williams, CBS studio, New York, N.Y., ca. April 1947. Courtesy of William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin...
Ensuring a bright future for Numismatics
Coin collecting is the most popular hobby in the United States, and the Museum’s National Numismatic Collection (NNC) is one of the most...
Neon signs
Do you like neon signs? I sure did when I was a kid. My family owned a restaurant, and one of my first chores when I was old enough was...
Color photo of apron with symbols on it, including hour glass and columns
Brother Washington’s apron – a Masonic mystery (part 2 of 3)
Late last year, I was speaking with a curator for a museum of Masonic history and our conversation turned to America’s most famous...
A peek inside the conservation of the Jefferson Bible
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of posts about critical conservation work being conducted on the Jefferson Bible, a treasured...
Made in America Redux
Today’s turbulent financial times have created renewed interest in “Made in America” campaigns. Yesterday, Director Brent D. Glass met...
Bringing a museum object to life: The John Bull locomotive
Most history museums face the challenge of bringing objects to life. Most of our artifacts weren’t made just to be on exhibit. People of...
Squishy gunk in tubes
Squishy gunk in tubes. This space food package in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum contains pureed beef...
The Westinghouse Letter: One young Civil War veteran at the crossroads
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.Occasionally the routine of museum work...
Athletes score the Medal of Freedom
On February 15, President Obama honored 15 individuals with the Medal of Freedom. The award is the nation’s highest civilian...
Map
"The Wonderful World of William Steinway"
William Steinway, 1882. Photograph by Carl Borntraeger, Wiesbaden, Germany. Courtesy of Henry Z. Steinway Archive.Editor’s note: In...
Joe Wilder: Celebrating a jazz legend's 89th birthday
Today, the National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Jazz celebrate trumpeter Joe Wilder’s 89th birthday. Born in 1922 in Colwyn...
Photo of fabric apron with textured fabric around edges and scene in center with elaborate architectural design
Brother Washington’s apron: A Masonic mystery (part 1 of 3)
Many of us have the Antiques Roadshow fantasy. You know the one. Some object or work of art, inherited or bought on the cheap (then...
"Race to the Museum": moving day
Last month we asked you to vote on which historic car you’d most like to see on temporary display, and after 24,000 votes, the 1929 Miller...
Donor Spotlight: Honoring a father's quiet patriotism
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is the first in a new series that will profile some of the museum’s generous donors.Each Veterans Day, the...
The "Aha!" moment: A conversation with our museum docents
1,971. Is that the number of stitches in the stripes of the Star Spangled Banner? The minutes it takes to drive from the museum to...
Proposing "Wizard of Oz" style
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is written by guest blogger Kurt R. Bell. In life, we often connect memorable dates with events that had some...
1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition: In color!
The 1915 San Francisco Panama Pacific International Exposition was an international fair held to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal...
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Curator’s note: The following post is the latest from our Sweet & Sour series. Be on the lookout for the opening of our Sweet &...
Learning in public: Developing a business and economic history exhibition
Developing a new exhibition is very exciting. For some time, curators at the museum have been discussing a major new exhibition initiative...
Bringing heroes to the classroom
Recently in the online community run by our partner, Verizon Thinkfinity, an educator asked how members of our history teachers...
Truth and fiction: My connection to American Girl Addy
Editor’s note: To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, the National Museum of American History is partnering with American...
Gold frame containing black and white photo of man in hat showing off some type of instrument in box
Tools never die...do they?
If “matter can neither be created nor destroyed,” as the ancient Greek philosophers postulated, can the same principle be applied to...
The Lemelson Center serves up food for tomorrow
The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center is dedicated to the study of invention and innovation in the history of the United States....
Build a better mousetrap
Legend has it that that Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” The...
Made in America
Lincoln bust sold by Smithsonian store Recently U.S. Senator Bernard Sanders from Vermont wrote to the museum and gently chastised us for...
Benedict Arnold: American history’s most heroic traitor
“Time Trial of Benedict Arnold,” the museum’s new theater program, opened on December 27 to rave reviews! The program explores the...
Behind the scenes in the costume collection
Editor’s note: This essay by guest blogger and maker Allison Thurman is adapted with permission from the Center for the Future of...
And the winners of the Race to the Museum contest are...
We asked you to vote for your favorite of 8 automotive jewels in the Smithsonian car collection, covering 120 years of history . . . and...
Photograph of exhibition exterior.
1939: The year of goldfish gulping
Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1939. "Goldfish Gulping," p. I3.It started out with one. One live goldfish, swallowed up by a Harvard freshman...
In Tribute to Dr. William Taylor, Jr., Jazz Elder Statesman, July 24, 1921-Dec. 28, 2010
Dr. William Taylor, Jr., known as Billy, was an educator, composer, actor, jazz pianist, and elder statesman. He was a cultural advocate...
This is Futurama!
In my last blog post, I took you on a brief tour of the Eco-City scene in China, in the northern area around Beijing. I wish, though...
Fifty years ago, the Kennedys became the first family
Richard Avedon photographed president-elect John F. Kennedy and his family fifty years ago on January 3, 1961. The Museum has just opened...

Pages