When Watchmen were Klansmen
Note: While history shouldn’t require a spoiler alert, this blog does contain some minor ones regarding the HBO series Watchmen.“You know...
How picturing the Boston Massacre matters
Maybe this painting looks familiar. A long row of red-coated soldiers. A cloud of gun smoke engulfing the street. Falling bodies.Detail of...
The most radical thing about Stonewall wasn’t the uprising
The Stonewall uprising began June 28, 1969, in response to a police raid at The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York, and has since...

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The sazón in hip-hop
A slow disco melody spins on the turntable, interrupted by the metallic sound of symbols. Right after that, the running sounds of bongo...
Place setting and tray used by the Kim family to serve Korean food
Standing at the crossroads of innovation and immigration
Entrepreneurial success and innovative spirit can come in many forms, and emerge from innumerable paths. The same can be said for stories...
Photo from a scene in the television show "EMERGENCY!" with five actors
Reality plus drama equals "EMERGENCY!"
The pre-reality television show EMERGENCY! premiered in January 1972. Health- and medical-themed programs such as the radio and...
Ben Kuroki's blood chit
Ben Kuroki was born on May 16, 1917, in Gothenburg, Nebraska, to Japanese immigrant parents. With the onset of World War II, Kuroki and...
Black and white photo of building
Part 1: A Philadelphia snapshot from when daguerreotypes were new
Guest blogger Sarah Weatherwax, a photography curator at the Library Company of Philadelphia, brings her expertise to bear on several...
Black and white photo of building surrounded by trees
Part 2: A Philadelphia snapshot from when daguerreotypes were new
Guest blogger Sarah Weatherwax, a photography curator at the Library Company of Philadelphia, brings her expertise to bear on several...
Photo of a concert on the museum's stage
Director John Gray shares the joyful moments and lessons learned in opening a new wing
Now that the first floor of our West Wing is open, I was curious what the head of our museum, Elizabeth MacMillan Director John Gray,...
Detail of the cover of "The Quest," which includes illustrations of a baby and a dog
Anti-vaccination in America
In 1926 seven-year-old Belema Siegfried was turned away from school. The reason? Her parents had refused to submit paperwork proving that...
12 kids who helped a doubting public accept the smallpox vaccine
Each year in August, National Immunization Awareness Month provides an opportunity to highlight the value of immunization across the...
Colorful poster with cartoon-like people traveling to be vaccinated in comic-like scenes. WHO logo in center.
The peace gun
At the height of the Cold War, Soviet and American scientists and physicians united to call for a new and very different war—one on...
Photo of round, wooden table
How women's history and civil rights first came to the Smithsonian
You've just won voting rights for the women of America. What do you do next? Go to the Smithsonian!The women of The National American Woman...
Titled sign, knocked over half way. Blue circular sign with arrow saying "HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE." Below that is square sign with AM FM radio stations for information. There is a dirty plastic bag on the ground.
Collecting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
Late curator David Shayt of the museum's Work and Industry division once said, "All museum work in one form or another is digging in the...
Photo of coin with swirly-bodied dragon thing in center
Excavating the National Numismatic Collection
Ever wonder what it feels like to discover an object not seen for over 1,000 years? Ever been curious about the ancient world? Beginning...
Square shaped lace example, white on black background
The delicate "war laces" of World War I
"War" and "lace" are not often part of the same sentence. However, laces made in Belgium during World War I are an exception. About 50 of...
Black and white photo of two dancers, barefoot, wearing black pants. Feet, limbs intertwine.
"body/freedom/art": Rethinking disability through art
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
A photograph of the exhibition's Merchant Era section, featuring a red river cart
Is America exceptional? A business history curator's perspective
How appropriate that the day after a story describing the work culture at Amazon made national news, the Wall Street Journal published...
Dog look at camera, mouth open
Soldiers in fur coats, revisited
In September 2012, I wrote a blog post about a contract working dog, Fausto, and his handler Jimmy Moore. We were introduced to...
Green pocketbook
Discovery in the textile collection
In the colonial era, a certain type of pocketbook was all the rage from 1740 to 1790. Both women and men used them to carry valuables such...
1930s entrée salad molds, metallic containers with decorative designs on black background
Pass the gelatin: A taste of history through mid-century cooking
The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project is a new learning space that explores "everyday things that changed everything."...
Microscope, bronze in color, on small tripod. Small glass in viewer.
Sea-side microscopy, a favorite 19th century summer hobby
"Whoever at the seaside has not had a microscope and an aquarium has yet to learn what the highest pleasures of the seaside are." So said...
Photo of bicycle
Uncovering the silver—and gold—lining of a Tiffany-embellished bicycle
An 1896 women's safety bicycle, currently on view in the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project, has proven to be one of the...
Woman leans over table with white covering and flag in many pieces
Decoding Sherman's flag and conserving a historic treasure
In our textile conservation lab, the final pieces of a million piece jigsaw puzzle have just been put into place. The "puzzle" in question...
Photograph, circa 1958, of four young African American women standing beside a convertible automobile
An atlas of self-reliance: The Negro Motorist's Green Book (1937-1964)
Owning a car expanded people’s physical freedom to move, allowing them to participate in a radical democratization of space in America. In...
Woman sitting on couch with turquoise fabric in her lap, holding some of its folds. Smiling. Gray couch, bookshelf in background.
The AIDS Quilt: A Memorial
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Lobster on a plate
Inside the Demonstration Kitchen: A new way of exploring food history
Our American Food History Project recently introduced Food Fridays, a new cooking demonstration series on the Wallace H...
Yellow bike with front and back baskets leans against a worn white wall, in the grass.
To Junius Wilson, bikes meant freedom
Junius Wilson's history has been told in newspapers, books, and even in this museum's exhibitions. It is the history of a man who had more...
Collage of four ADA buttons described in this blog post
What do disability history and Pinterest have in common?
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Black and white portrait of man in military uniform with two sleeves pinned up.
"Heroes Come with Empty Sleeves"
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Power wheel chair with "yes!" bumper sticker on side
Live blog: #DisabilityStories
Over on Twitter, a lot of people are engaged in #DisabilityStories, an international conversation about disability art, culture,...
Black and white photo from street level looking up at two feet in wheel chair and a high curb.
Smashing barriers to access: Disability activism and curb cuts
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Black and white photo of small, two-story house with balcony and porch. Approx. 20 soldiers in uniform sit and stand outside the house.
From "Invalid Corps" to full active duty: America's disabled soldiers return to war
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
“I can’t even get to the back of the bus”; ADAPT activists protesting for accessible transportation, Philadelphia, 1990
8 ways in which the Americans with Disabilities Act changed everyone's lives
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
3D model of Mt. Vernon with red roof, white walls, green grass. Many columns and windows.
Please touch the objects: Tactile models and alternative approaches to curation
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Yellow button with text saying in capitalized letters "Handicapped Human Rights: Sign 504 ACCD" in bold text.
Sitting-in for disability rights: The Section 504 protests of the 1970s
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
Blue #DisabilityStories logo with pointing hand symbol and the date July 15, 2015
Share #DisabilityStories on Wednesday, July 15
Update: #DisabilityStories was a success! Read the summary.Here's one reason I love my job: I get to read the museum's blog posts before...
Large tube-shaped machine with six legs on rolling wheels. Blue in color with small windows.
From iron lung to independence
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
19th Century Spherometer
Spherometers reveal how round is round
You have an object that is curved and you want to know how round it is. How would you measure it? This may seem like a rather strange...
Violet postage stamp featuring portrait of Patrick Henry, with a simple frame around edge
Patrick and Sarah Henry: Mental illness in 18th century America
Curator Dr. Katherine Ott invited students in Dr. Samuel J. Redman's Museum/Historic Site Interpretation Seminar to explore the museum's...
View of Smithsonian Castle, 1863
Part 2: Alexander Graham Bell's capital addresses
Where does creativity reside? The first place we think of is the mind. But what role do surroundings play in the ideas behind invention and...
Circular white button with bold, capitalized text saying "I [heart symbol] ADA"
Celebrating 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Activist Justin Dart, Jr. called it a "commandment." Some people think of it as a tangle of regulations, standards, and guidelines. Above...
Black and white portrait of bearded young-ish man from shoulders up, looking left.
Part 1: Alexander Graham Bell's capital addresses
In the last days of February 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made his way from his home in Boston to Washington, D.C. Bell's patent attorney...
Photo of display case that says "Consumer Era 1940s-1970s" featuring historic objects. One sign on display says "Sorry! Last car in this line."
American Enterprise: A curator's perspective
On July 1, 2015, we will open a new exhibition: American Enterprise, in the Mars Hall of American Business. It is the...
Consul the Educated Monkey, Smithsonian image AHB2015r00132. Gift of Richard Lodish.
Consul the Educated Monkey, or the inventions of William H. Robertson
Educator Richard Lodish has just given the museum an example of a computing device called Consul the Educated Monkey. This is one of the...
Document listing radio stations
Turning the dial to 1928's Independence Day radio programming
Independence Day is often celebrated with picnics, parades, fireworks, and music. While I can't help with the first three, music is...
Black and white photo of people of all ages exiting through a door, some holding programs. Signage advertises upcoming concerts and shows.
What made Nashville into Music City?
The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation's Places of Invention explores what happens when the right mix of...
For portraits of man seated in chair, wearing jacket and bowtie
The Civil War's final surrender
On June 23, 1865, 150 years ago, the last Confederate general surrendered his arms at Doaksville, Oklahoma, near Fort Towson. Confederate...
Pick pack in circle shape
Packaging the Pill
It's often said that necessity is the mother of invention, but it can be the father of invention too. Here’s the story of an innovative...
Photo of the scultpure featured in the Business of Slavery section
Depicting the business of slavery
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Orders, Number 3, which proclaimed that all...

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