Pennsylvania Germans near the Conestoga River first made Conestoga wagons around 1750 to haul freight. By the 1810s, improved roads to Pittsburgh and Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) stimulated trade between Philadelphia, Baltimore, and settlers near the Ohio River. Wagoners with horse-drawn C

This allegorical print displays hopes for reconciliation through the federal program of Reconstruction. The nation and government are symbolized by an enormous canopy-like structure, upon which is emblazoned with a map of the United States. An eagle holding a crest and American flag sits atop the ma

This exhibition is about Clotilde Arias, a Peruvian immigrant who came to New York City in 1923 at age twenty-two to study music. Decades later she translated the national anthem into the official Spanish version at the request of the U.S. government. Arias died in 1959 in Manhattan at age fifty-eig

Are the tactics used by suffragists to fight for political power still effective?  Suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment marked an important moment in the progression of women’s participation in our democracy and civic life. Yet it was an imperf

The National Youth Summit brings middle and high school students together with scholars, teachers, policy experts, and activists in a national conversation about important events in America’s past that have relevance to the nation’s present and future. Mark your calendars for the next

View the American Revolution through a global lens in The American Revolution: A World War, which examines the 1781 victory at Yorktown and the Franco-American partnership that made it possible.  The American Revolution was far more than an uprising of discontented co

In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids-R2-D2 and C-3PO-have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are costu

In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are cos

Custom-made in 1989 by the Minneapolis, Minn., firm of Knut-Koupee Enterprises, this Yellow-cloud electric guitar was designed and used by Prince. The musician's distinctive personal symbol adorns both the top and the side of the fingerboard. Custom work for famous instrumentalists and musicians

Where Do You Stand? asks students to formulate opinions on fundamental American rights while listening to and learning from the ideas and experiences of their peers. The learning begins with the guiding question: What would you do to support what you believe in?