Encyclopedia Smithsonian

This exhibition examines how transportation -- from 1876 to 1999 -- has shaped our American identity.

Learn how business and innovation helped the United States develop from a small dependent agricultural nation to one of the world's largest economies.

Works by 14 contemporary American artists address the unity, variety, and continuity of American culture.

This exhibition starts from the days of contact between Native Americans and European explorers through the struggles of independence to the Gilded Age.

Experience the true flavor, or "sabor," of Latin music in the United States and the influence Latin music genres have had on American popular music.

See more than 100 historic and cultural touchstones of American history from the museum’s vast holdings.

Drawn from the Portrait Gallery's permanent collection, this exhibition features individuals prominent in sports, entertainment, and other fields of endeavor during the last 10 years.

To celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, the museum hosts 10 rare and important documents from the Springfield library and museum.

This exhibition displays multiple images of the presidents of the United States, including Gilbert Stuart's "Lansdowne" portrait of George Washington.

This exhibition traces NASA's manned space program from 1961 to 1972.

Archival materials reveal how individuals and society were affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

See 100 original drawings and artworks that were used to create postage stamps, including entries for the famous Elvis stamp design competition.

Examples from the museum's unique collection of papier-mache anatomical models constructed by French physician Dr. Louis Thomas Jerome Auzoux (1797-1880) are used to explore the history and educational use of such models for the medical and lay person.

A rotating selection of objects from the collection of Jeanette Cantrell Rudy sheds light on the Federal Duck Stamp program.

The life of legendary Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz (1924-2003) is explored through costumes, wigs, shoes, photographs, video, and music.

Featuring 61 pieces from the late 19th century to the present, this exhibition demonstrates how posters function as portraiture.

View photos of European and Native Americans taken by Danish immigrant Benedicte Wrensted in her Pocatello, Idaho studio in the late 19th century.

This gallery provides an overview of mail service in America from colonial times through the 19th century, stressing the importance of written communication in the young nation.