Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Continuity and Change: Fifty Years of Museum History

Explore the museum's transformation from a history and technology museum to one devoted to American history through images of key exhibitions and activities.

May 16, 2014 – August 22, 2016

American History Museum

Frank Sinatra at 100

This small display showcases Frank Sinatra’s contributions to America’s songbook and film history through photographic portraits by Herman Leonard and archival photos from Director George Sidney’ s collection, sheet music, album covers, and posters.

November 20, 2015 – July 10, 2016

American History Museum

Ray Charles: The Genius

Ray Charles was one of the most innovative and influential musicians of the 20th century. This display explores his ability to overcome blindness, poverty, and segregation, as well as the musical talent and flair for performance that made him an icon of American music.

February 22, 2016 – July 4, 2016

American History Museum

The Blue Note Photographs of Francis Wolff

This Archives Center case features photographs of jazz musicians. Francis Wolff was the co-founder of Blue Note Records as well as the photographer who created most of the company’s record album cover images. Large photographic prints on display depict such luminaries as Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis in the 1950s-1960s.

April 1, 2016 – June 30, 2016

American History Museum

Hart-Celler Act

The display marks the 50th anniversary of the Act with a selection of Latino-related artifacts. The Hart-Celler Act had far-reaching effects upon immigration to the United States by opening the possibility of coming to this nation for many people from around the world.

October 2, 2015 – May 5, 2016

American History Museum

George Sidney: Creativity and Innovation in Golden Age Hollywood

This Archives Center case explores the career and innovation of award-winning Hollywood director George Sidney, whose classic films include Bathing Beauty, Anchors Aweigh, and The Harvey Girls.

January 19, 2016 – March 31, 2016

American History Museum

The Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990-2015

As part the Smithsonian's commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this display features objects from the national collections that capture the significance and legacy of the ADA through the stories of four people.

July 20, 2015 – January 31, 2016

American History Museum

Hear My Voice: Alexander Graham Bell and the Origins of Recorded Sound

See and hear some of the earliest sound recordings ever made, by Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in the 1880s.

January 26, 2015 – January 24, 2016

American History Museum

Billy Strayhorn: A Lush Life

This Archives Center case commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of William “Billy” Strayhorn on November 29, 1915. Drawn from several collections in the Archives Center, it examines the pros and cons of his musical partnership with Duke Ellington as well as his career apart from Ellington.

October 2, 2015 – January 18, 2016

American History Museum

EV1 Electric Car

The EV1 was the first modern electric car designed for a mass market. Beginning in 1996, General Motors built 1,117 of the cars and leased most of them to consumers in California, Arizona, and Georgia. The EV1 became the focal point of a national discussion about innovation and the promise of reducing air pollution and dependence on oil with electric cars.

June 10, 2015 – December 31, 2015

American History Museum

Lego American Flag

As part of our Innovation wing opening day celebration, visitors to the museum (with the help of Lego Master Builders) built an American flag out of Lego. And not just any flag: it's constructed with 156,000 bricks and is the largest Lego American flag ever built!

July 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015

American History Museum

You Must Remember This

See costumes worn by movie stars and other memorablia from Warner Bros. Studio.

February 1, 2012 – November 16, 2015

American History Museum

Mr. Wizard

Personal papers, files and other items belonging to the late Don Herbert—Mr. Wizard—the well-known TV science educator from the 1950s-80s, recently acquired by the museum, are on display.

July 1, 2015 – October 2, 2015

American History Museum

A Room of Her Own: My Mother's Altar, an installation by Sandra Cisneros

Acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros has created an installation in the tradition of "Dia de Muertos" to honor her mother, Elvira Cordero Cisneros.

October 31, 2014 – September 7, 2015

American History Museum

The Early Sixties: American Science

See some cutting-edge technology circa 1964, the year the National Museum of American History (originally the Museum of History and Technology) opened.

April 25, 2014 – August 23, 2015

American History Museum

The Early Sixties: American Culture

Experience the culture of the early 1960s, the era in which the National Museum of History and Technology, now the National Museum of American History, opened.

April 25, 2014 – August 23, 2015

American History Museum

Celia Cruz Portrait by Robert Weingarten

See a composite "portrait" of legendary singer Celia Cruz (1924-2003) made up of images of objects in the museum's collection that represent her.

October 3, 2012 – July 5, 2015

American History Museum

Lincoln's Carriage

A special display of the carriage that transported the President, Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.

March 23, 2015 – May 25, 2015

American History Museum

Rising Up: Hale Woodruff's Murals at Talladega College

Six murals by Atlanta-based artist Hale Woodruff for Talladega College, Alabama, trace the rise of African Americans from slavery to freedom.

November 7, 2014 – March 1, 2015

American History Museum

Preview Case: American Enterprise

This sneak peek at the museum's renovations features a Google Cork Board server.

September 14, 2013 – January 13, 2015

American History Museum

Making a Modern Museum: Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Museum of American History

Retrace the history of the museum from its origins in the 1960s as the Museum of History and Technology to today's National Museum of American History.

May 16, 2014 – January 4, 2015

American History Museum

1965 Ford Mustang

An silver-blue 1965 Ford Mustang evokes 1964, the year the museum opened to the public.

April 25, 2014 – January 4, 2015

American History Museum

Marian Anderson: Artist and Symbol

See Marian Anderson's orange-and-black velvet ensemble, which she wore during her historic Easter Sunday performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on April 9,1939.

April 8, 2014 – November 11, 2014

American History Museum

Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963

Learn how two events 100 years apart changed the course of the nation.

December 14, 2012 – September 7, 2014

American History Museum

Renee Fleming's Super Bowl Gown

See the gown Grammy award-winning opera singer Renée Fleming wore when she sang the national anthem during the 2014 Super Bowl.

June 14, 2014 – July 6, 2014

American History Museum