Exhibitions

Power Machinery

January 22, 1964 – Permanent
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National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

1st Floor, East Wing

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By the late 19th century, America's Industrial Revolution was moving full steam ahead. This hall follows the development of the increasingly efficient power machinery that helped the United States become a world leader in industrial production during this time. Full-size engines and models illustrate attempts to harness atmospheric force (1660-1700), the early age of steam power (1700-1770), the development of high-pressure and high-speed engines (1800-1920). The exhibition also shows the evolution of steam boilers and the steam turbine and progress in the techniques of harnessing water power. A number of pumps, waterwheels, and historic internal combustion engines are also on view.