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...
Why did the Smithsonian collect a handwritten note from September 11, 2001?
In moments of crisis, our first thoughts are usually to get in contact with the people we love. September 11, 2001, was a day when many...

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Food for thought
When the museum reopens, visitors will clamor to see the Star-Spangled Banner (the flag that inspired the national anthem), they’ll admire...
Moments of fame on The Today Show
Within hours of the museum announcing our grand reopening date of November 21, the staff got this email message: “This is your chance to be...
History in the making
Welcome to the National Museum of American History’s new blog!  As the director of the museum’s New Media Program, and “editor-in-...
Behind the Scenes with Director Brent Glass
Museums change lives. When I was ten, my parents brought me to the Smithsonian for the first time.  They were children and...

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