Calendar of Exhibitions and Events: July 2022
OPENING
Dollhouse, 1898
“Girlhood (It’s complicated)” New Perspectives case
Second Floor, East
Opens July 1
As ideas about childhood changed in the 19th century, dollhouses became a tool for teaching girls about their future household responsibilities, as well as objects of play. This dollhouse was gifted to seven-year-old Beatrice Johanna Johnstone as a present in 1898. She passed it down to her daughter, who played with it in the 1920s and 30s. Decades later, at the highpoint of American interest in dollhouses, Beatrice returned to and renovated the dollhouse in the 1960s.
That renovation and design speaks to the popularity of the toy houses with midcentury furnishings. As houses change over time, so do ideas about girlhood. Visitors can look for and count some of the pets that live in the house.
JUNE PROGRAMS
"A Private Affair" Stories Through Collections
A Free Digital Program on the History of Contraception
June 7, 4 p.m.
Zoom webinar, register here https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QIug52fbSzqLtRqzNOW2CA
Curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Dittrick Medical History Center in Cleveland will host a virtual tour of their historic contraceptive collections. Highlighting items from the era before and just after the Supreme Court rendered its decision about the right to privacy in Griswold v Connecticut (1965) and Roe v Wade (1973), curators Alexandra Lord, Amanda Mahoney and Diane Wendt will explore how Americans routinely broke the law to access information about birth control. Home to thousands of historic contraceptive devices, these two museums preserve the nation’s most important and largest collections related to the history of birth control.
A moderated Q&A will follow the presentation.
REOPENING: DRAPER "SPARK!LAB"
The Draper Spark!Lab located within the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has announced it will reopen to the public at a limited capacity. Beginning Friday, June 10, Spark!Lab will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. For more information, visit invention.si.edu/try/sparklab.
PK-12 VIRTUAL LEARNING
We Built This Activity Guide for the whole family
From Smithsonian Education and the American Women's History Initiative, check out this printable guide featuring stories, objects and activities for the whole family.
Through incomparable collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum of American History seeks to empower people to create a more just and compassionate future by examining, preserving and sharing the complexity of our past. The museum, located on Constitution Avenue N.W., between 12th and 14th streets, is open daily, except Dec. 25, between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. The doors of the museum are always open online and the virtual museum continues to expand its offerings, including online exhibitions, PK–12 educational materials and programs. The public can follow the museum on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more information, go to https://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000.
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