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The National Museum of American History is devoted to the exhibition, care, and study of artifacts that reflect the experience of the American people. The Museum also offers a variety of scholarly and public programs which interpret that experience. Among the objects on view are national treasures such as the original Star-Spangled Banner; scientific instruments; inventions; implements of everyday life, from spinning wheels to steam locomotives; memorabilia of our national pastimes; coins; musical instruments; and a selection of first ladies' gowns. Together they illustrate America's ethnic, cultural, scientific, technological, and political history. In addition to its collections, the Museum offers such scholarly resources as the Dibner Library, a collection of rare books relating to the history of science and technology; the Afro-American Communities Project, researching the history of antebellum free black communities; Technology and Culture, the international quarterly of the Society for the History of Technology; and the American Quarterly, the journal of the American Studies Association. One of the Museum's largest installations - "1876: A Centennial Exhibition" -- is located in the Arts and Industries Building (across the Mall). This exhibition revives the spirit and ambience of the 1876 Philadelphia centennial fair. |
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