Exhibitions

The Nation's Attic

April 1, 1980 – February 8, 1981

National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

3rd Floor, Special Exhibits Gallery

See on Map Floor Plan

This wide-ranging exhibit, set in a simulated attic, features 100 legendary technological oddities and near misses from the national collections. The display shows how the collecting process works, how the collections were formed, and how the offbeat items fit into place in the national collections.

Included are the world's largest ocarina, a silk purse made from sows' ears, a 13-foot tall Great Historical Clock, and a glass replica of the Capitol, formerly displayed in the lobby of the cafeterias.