National Museum of American History

06/17/2025

Join us this Thursday for the official launch of Civic Season!

What is Civic Season? Each year, from Juneteenth to the Fourth of July, communities across the country come together to explore their local history, participate in activities, and volunteer to make their community and the nation a more perfect union.

At the museum, we'll have "Ask a Curator" days, tours, programs, and much more!

Check it out here: https://s.si.edu/3HJhvTU

Each year, from Juneteenth to the Fourth of July, we recognize Civic Season.

06/10/2025

Born on June 10, 1922, Judy Garland was just sixteen when she starred in the MGM musical film “The Wizard of Oz.”

While her role as Dorothy wasn’t her first foray into singing and acting, the performance earned her critical acclaim and helped to cement her as a Hollywood icon.

These objects – including a costume she wore in the 1946 musical “The Harvey Girls,” sheet music from that film and “For Me and My Gal,” a Richard Avedon photograph of Garland at the Palace Theater in New York, and, of course, the incredibly famous Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, are just a few in our collection that speak to her storied career in entertainment.

06/09/2025

🌇 On June 21, the Smithsonian will observe the first Saturday of summer by staying open late and hosting free programs and performances.

We look forward to seeing you at the Molina Family Latino Gallery inside the National Museum of American History from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. to enjoy !

Learn about all our family-friendly activities here: https://www.si.edu/solsticesaturday.

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🌇 El 21 de junio, la Smithsonian celebrará el primer sábado del verano con un horario extendido y programas y presentaciones gratuitas.

¡Te esperamos en la Galería latina de la familia Molina en el Museo Nacional de Historia Americana de 10:00 a.m. a 9:00 p.m. para disfrutar del sábado de solsticio!

Conoce acerca de todas nuestras actividades familiares aquí: https://www.si.edu/solsticesaturday.

06/04/2025

This jacket belonged to Ensign George H. Gay, Jr., a pilot of a Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber assigned to Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) aboard the carrier USS Hornet (CV-8).

On June 4, 1942, Gay and fourteen other aircraft from his squadron took off to attack the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier battle group approaching Midway Island. This was the squadron’s first combat mission and the first time the men carried torpedoes.

When the squadron located the enemy carriers, Japanese Zero fighter planes swarmed the slow, cumbersome torpedo bombers. Despite a mortally wounded rear gunner, Gay managed to release his torpedo, though it failed to hit. He was subsequently shot down, suffering bullet wounds and burns. Of the 30 men in Torpedo Squadron Eight, Gay was the sole survivor.

06/02/2025

Wilson Jermaine Heredia wore this jacket as Angel in the original Broadway production of the critically acclaimed musical “Rent.”

One of the most resonant characters, Angel crafted the jacket from a shower curtain decorated with photographs cut from magazines.

"Rent” follows a group of struggling artists and intellectuals living in Manhattan in the 1980s as they navigate work, drugs, sexuality, identity, the HIV/AIDS crisis, the cost of living, and the meaning of life. The show premiered on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996, following a successful off-Broadway run at the New York Theatre Workshop that began in 1993.

05/28/2025

Every May 28, Menstrual Hygiene Day highlights a by showcasing how access to menstrual hygiene products increases education and economic opportunities. Today, we’re sharing 20,000 new images from our Menstrual History Collection.

Menstruation is both a physical and cultural experience for half of the world’s population, but historically it’s been mostly kept out of sight. Preserving and making these collections accessible enables researchers and the public to explore a fuller picture of American history and culture. Browse the newly digitized collection to discover thousands of ads, booklets, ephemera, and over 500 menstrual products. We even opened product boxes, so you can see what’s inside. Check out this package from around the 1930s, complete with (yes, you read that right) safety pins.

View the object records: https://s.si.edu/4kCsYCL

View archival material: https://s.si.edu/4jlogZ6

This digitization work was possible thanks to support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

05/26/2025

Since 1971, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday of May.

However, the roots of Memorial Day, then known as Decoration Day, date back to the Civil War era. Local commemorations, the first of which were organized by women and African Americans, would lay flowers on the graves of soldiers who perished during the war.

More on the origins of Memorial Day: https://s.si.edu/3Vei4JM

📷: Memorial Day Celebration postcard, Archives Center, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

05/23/2025

Harrison Ford wore this weathered leather jacket and fedora-style hat as the title character in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” released in May 1989.

Armed with his trusty whip—and his whip-fast humor— Indiana Jones is a globe-trotting archaeologist and reluctant hero who battles evildoers and rescues cultural treasures in far-flung corners of the world. The Indiana Jones series, conceived by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg, is an homage to classic Hollywood adventure films and among the most successful movie franchises in American history.

The jacket and hat are now on display in “Entertainment Nation”/“Nación del espectáculo.”

05/22/2025

🎶 Here comes the bride. All dressed in a parachute that saved her husband's life. 🎶 That’s how that goes, right?

In 1947, Ruth Hensinger walked down the aisle in a dress made from a nylon parachute that her husband used to glide to safety during World War II. A B-29 pilot, Maj. Claude Hensinger was returning from a raid over Japan in August 1944 when his engine caught fire.

When he proposed to Ruth after the war, he offered her the material from the parachute that saved him. She worked with a seamstress to create the bodice and used the strings on the parachute to shorten the front of the dress and create a train in the back.

The dress was also worn by their daughter and by their son’s bride before being donated to our National Museum of American History.

05/21/2025

These signed ice skates were worn by Kristi Yamaguchi as a member of the “Stars on Ice” tour, which she performed with from 1992 to 2002.

A native of California, Yamaguchi became the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating, placing first in women’s singles at the 1992 Winter Games.

She also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992, and earlier in her career, earned two U.S. championships in pairs skating with partner Rudy Galindo in 1989 and 1990.

05/19/2025

From Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic to Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade,” Malcolm X’s legacy endures as a symbol of Black power and self-determination.

Alternating between playful, self-deprecating humor and impassioned appeals for Black empowerment and self-reliance, Malcolm X was an electrifying orator. He captivated crowds and greatly expanded the Nation of Islam’s membership during his time with the Black nationalist organization in the 1950s and early ‘60s. To his critics, Malcolm X was considered radical for his skepticism of nonviolence and, earlier in his career, of racial integration. To his supporters, he was a champion for equality and self-love.

He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, 100 years ago today.

These pins are in the collections of Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

05/19/2025

These lanterns were once used to help vessels navigate the treacherous waters of the Kasilof River in Alaska. As the only passageway to the town of Kasilof, the river was the lifeblood of the community.

Installed in 1929, the lanterns lit the way for over three decades before being replaced by electric lighthouses in 1963.

Recognizing their significance to Alaskan and maritime navigation history, the U.S. Coast Guard sent them to the museum.

In 2022, the museum received an intriguing letter asking if the lanterns could return home.

Read more about the lanterns’ history and journey on our blog:

In late 2023, two museums, 4000 miles apart, celebrated as a pair of 100-year-old lanterns arrived on the shores of Alaska to begin their next chapter. The lanterns had just traveled from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) in Washington, D.C. to the Kasilof Regional Histo...