Rebecca Lukens: A woman of iron
A sudden tragedy thrust Rebecca Lukens into the family business and into history, making her the nation’s first woman industrialist and the...
How one girl helped build a Latinx civil rights movement
As a little girl, Jessica Govea had become accustomed to rising early and making her way to the fields with her family. During the cotton...
Pennies and nickels add up to success: Maggie Lena Walker
Maggie Lena Walker was one of the most important Black businesswomen in the nation, and today too few people have heard of her.Maggie Lena...

Blog Posts in "Intern Perspectives"

4 music-inspiring objects through the eyes of our Making American Music interns
Musical inspiration abounds in the collections and exhibitions around us. As interns in the Making American Music project, we get to follow...
Sheet music cover, 'Get off the track!'
An anti-slavery anthem reimagined for today
Turn right at the Batmobile. Take the elevator behind the John Bull locomotive. If you hit Julia Child's kitchen, you've gone too far. My...
Three books showing different dyes, as well as viles of organic matter.
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...
A pie in a dish that is crustless and looks like cream with pieces of fruit mixed in. In the middle are a number of pieces of fruit (the type that come in a fruit cocktail) piled up and the pie is lined by a ring of Nilla wafers.
More time for the party: A 1960s make-ahead potluck
Although Mad Men is over, we haven't stopped loving the 1960s. But how would our 2016 taste buds fare with 50-year-old recipes?...
A black and white photograph of a man in a patterned jacket and wire-rimmed glasses hovering over a boy with an Afro. The man holds a pair of scissors and a wide-toothed comb over the boy's hair as he looks off.
Three D.C. teens spend an inspirational summer at the museum
This Thanksgiving, education specialist Ariel Gory reflects on an experience for which she is thankful: the opportunity to inspire future...
This October 9, 1944, advertisement for Whitman's chocolate boxes shows a woman embracing a soldier in uniform kissing her cheek. On the bottom right is a box of Whitman’s Chocolate Sampler. The bold font reads, “A WOMAN NEVER FORGETS THE MAN WHO REMEMBERS,” and, “BUY MORE WAR BONDS.” In fine print below the box of chocolates reads, “If you can’t always get your favorite Sampler, remember it’s because millions of pounds of Whitman’s Chocolates are going to all our fighting fronts.”
"Chocolate is a Fighting Food!" – Chocolate bars in the Second World War
"Do you like chocolate?" That's one of the first questions I ask museum visitors during a chocolate program I lead in the museum's Wallace...
A photograph of a circular interactive display showing the journey soybeans take around the world
Media in museums
Usually when I visit museums, I look at objects and read labels while skimming past interactives and video screens. This summer, however,...
A handwritten note hastily scrawled on a large rectangular yellow Post-it
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...
Postcard with photo of two young children wearing ballet shoes. Little boy holds top hat in his raised hand and an over-sized coat. The little girl strikes a pose with a fancy fan and wears a full-skirted tea length dress and a hat with many bows.
Who takes the cake? The history of the cakewalk
Cakewalks, for many, evoke visions of childhood and carnivals. Today, a cakewalk is where dancers promenade around a circle of numbers on...
Cover of comic book. Little boy in tears runs to father. Text: "Dad! They took away my baseball bat!"
Comic book project helps teens discover and share stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II
Comics have historically been used to tell difficult stories and engage youth in important but challenging topics. Martin Luther King Jr....
Museum visitor looks at objects on a table while staff member points out features of historic objects
Reflecting on the Japanese American experience during World War II in film, spoken-word, and discussion
Our National Youth Summit on Japanese American Incarceration in World War II is just around the corner. In this national webcast...
(Detail) Black and white photo of gathering in center of camp with buildings in background. Boy Scouts line up while community watches. In background, high mountains with snow on top.
Barracks and Boy Scouts: Norman Mineta's story
Here at the museum, we're busy preparing for this year's National Youth Summit. The program is an interactive webcast event bringing...
Photo of the actor playing Louise, standing next to her bicycle. Setting is outdoors with tree and bush in background.
Wheelwoman "Louise" rolls into the museum
The year is 1895. Louise Gibson and her bicycle, Sylvia, are at the forefront of the bicycle craze sweeping America in the late 19th...
9-11 pin showing Twin Towers and Salvation Army badge
Salvation Army jacket comes to the collection bearing pins, stories of 9/11
On September 11, 2001, many people watched tragedy unfold on television, dismayed that there was little they could do to help. At her...
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...
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...
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...
Revealing historic sound recordings, with donors' help
What motivates donors to give to museums? As a development intern at the National Museum of American History, I was curious to find out.One...
Ad of Swift's ham and bacon
12-13-14: Celebrating the last sequential date in 90 years with celluloid calendars
I used to eat a lot of expired bread back in 2011. I'd just moved from my home in Singapore to Florida for college and had been used to...
Face to face with Abraham Lincoln: A day in the life of a Political History intern
With the news that the Smithsonian has created the first-ever 3D presidential portrait, Intern Haley Rivero shares a close-up experience...
Man with camera in military uniform
See World War II through the lens of an African American soldier
Using a camera taken from a German officer who had died in battle, Paul Bland documented his experiences across Normandy, Northern France,...
"A Room of Her Own" by Sandra Cisneros at the National Museum of American History
Exploring Día de los Muertos with Sandra Cisneros
If you've ever confused Día de los Muertos with Halloween, you might be surprised to learn how very different these fall holidays are from...
Small folder with red ribbon on black background
The fabric of the frontier: How textiles help us understand the American West
One of the most fascinating objects that came to my attention during my time as a Smithsonian postdoctoral research fellow is a rather...
design interns
5 things I loved about interning with exhibition designers
Museum internships may be more varied than you expect. Intern Emma deVries shares experiences from behind-the-scenes, just in time for you...
Official U.S. citizens with their certificates in hand, waving their flags
My Smithsonian internship, my American identity
Vanessa Chicas, an intern in the museum's Program in Latino History and Culture, reflects on the unique experience she had as a Smithsonian...
Word cloud of words visitor wrote in comments about 9/11 memories, the words "think" and "happen" are biggest
9/11 digital archives: Visitors tell us their stories
Visitors to the museum's 2011 commemorative event September 11: Remembrance and Reflection were invited to share their stories...
Rock fragment labelled "Broken from the Mother Rock..."
A nation of savers: The impulse to connect with history through objects, buildings, and sites
Intrigued by a piece of charred wood in the museum's First Ladies exhibition, intern Auni Gelles explores the story behind this slice of...
An advertisement for Kinney Bros
Four-legged 19th century star athletes: Endorsement deals, paparazzi, and glory
In honor of the running of the Hambletonian Stakes, a major event in American Harness Racing, on August 2, intern and equestrian Ariel...
A gold belt buck with "US" on it is seen in close-up through other costume elements
From the set of "Glory" to the Smithsonian collections
Watching this year's Academy Award-winning movie 12 Years a Slave compelled me to think about my internship research on objects...
Jimmy Carter's FFA jacket, front and back
The search is over! Smithsonian announces the five FFA jacket donors
What do a former U.S. president, a spotted hog raiser, two former teachers, and a librarian have in common? They're all FFA (formerly known...
In a black-and-white photo, a child prunes a cotton plant
Smithsonian discovers moving stories of agricultural education in search for FFA jacket
We recently asked for your help in collecting an FFA (Future Farmers of America) jacket with a great personal story—and you came through!...
A vintage ad features monkeys in human clothing
From electric hairbrushes to toning sneakers: Absurd advertising for over 100 years
Although many of the products that Americans consume today would have been unimaginable to our forebears, the means by which they are...
Female staff member wearing blue gloves prepares to remove a brown Girl Scout uniform from an exhibition case
Where do we go from here? The life and times of temporary exhibitions
Why don't our exhibitions last forever? Where do they go when we take them down? Intern Elisabeth Warsinske reports on the afterlife of a...
War of 1812 re-enactors in white and blue uniforms fire a canon in front of the museum
Cannonfire, music, and tweets: Celebrating a star-spangled anniversary
On Flag Day 2014, the museum kicked off bicentennial commemorations of a great American symbol—Francis Scott Key's song, "The Star-Spangled...
In this 1911 postcard created by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the stars on the flag represent states that have voted for suffrage.
Pointers from the Flag Code, just in time for Flag Day
Hat on or off? Right or left hand? What if it gets dirty? These are some typical questions people have about customs and rules surrounding...
This watercolor by Akio Ujihara depicts snowy Manzanar War Relocation Center in California
A card, a pin, and a painting: Crafts from Japanese American internment camps
As part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Project Assistant Christy Wallover shares three meaningful objects from the museum's...
Man and woman in historic Abercrombie & Fitch camping and fishing outfits
20th century camping with the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog
Abercrombie & Fitch might be best known today for its teen casual clothing and risqué window displays. But the company was once the go-...
Votes for Women button
Traveling for Suffrage Part 4: Riding the rails
Intern Patri O'Gan shares a unique story of woman suffrage for Women's History Month in the final installment of the "Traveling for...
Votes for Women button
Traveling for Suffrage Part 3: Flying by the seat of their skirts
Intern Patri O'Gan shares a unique story of woman suffrage for Women's History Month. Read previous posts in the "Traveling for Suffrage"...
A woman in a yellow sweater prepares a document for digitization
Get money! (Digitized and transcribed, that is)
Have you ever seen a box full of money—well, not exactly, money, but certified plate proofs? What about stacks of boxes? Stacks on stacks?...
Votes for Women button
Traveling for Suffrage Part 2: General Jones and her army of suffrage pilgrims
Intern Patri O'Gan shares a unique story of woman suffrage for Women's History Month. Read Part 1, the previous post in the Traveling for...
"votes for women" pin with stars
Traveling for Suffrage Part 1: Two women, a cat, a car, and a mission
Intern Patri O'Gan shares a unique story of woman suffrage for Women's History Month.Woman suffrage button in the museum's collectionBy the...
Etched in time: Douglas Stiles and Abraham Lincoln
On Abraham Lincoln's 205th birthday, intern Kate Fuljenz shares the story behind an etching on Lincoln's gold pocket watch from the...
Photo of a black purse with a short handle. It is rectangular and bulges in the middle as though it's full. A little worn around the edges. Metal buckle.
From closet to exhibition: Camilla Gottlieb's purse
Intern Peter Olson interviewed Curators Nancy Davis and William Yeingst, whose exhibition Camilla's Purse reveals the previously...
Titanic survivors in black and white photo
An American take on the world of Downton Abbey
Are you one of Downton Abbey's many American fans? With the new fourth season airing here in the U.S. on PBS ...
"With great good nature": an unfamiliar portrait of George Washington
Two hundred and thirty years ago, on December 23, 1783, George Washington willingly resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the...
Elmo and Fozzie Bear wait in the conservation lab before their debut at the donation ceremony
Jim Henson's puppets, reunited in our conservation lab
On the anniversary of Jim Henson's birthday, the National Museum of American History received a donation of more than 20 Henson puppets and...
Photo of white pitcher. In center, black and white illustration of a man wearing high collared jacket.
Jugs and mugs celebrate Oliver Hazard Perry, "Hero of the Lakes"
Two hundred years ago today, Oliver Hazard Perry unfurled his famous "Don't give up the ship" pennant on his flagship, the Lawrence,...

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