Some of the most exciting memorabilia in the American History Museum belongs to popular culture. These items tell our story as a nation as thoroughly as any historical artifact. They also provide a bridge to other cultures so that visitors from almost anywhere in the world can find something familiar in our history.
Favorite pop culture items include the dress worn by Carol Burnett in her spoof of the famous Gone with the Wind scene in which Scarlett O’Hara made a dress from the drapes. Many visitors are drawn to Dorothy’s ruby slippers, memorabilia from favorite Disney films and Disney parks, and a Harley used by Evel Knievel. Other costumes and film props thrill museum guests as well.
Your travel guide knows the Smithsonian museums well and will point you to the highlights of the museum or to exhibits you most want to see. You’ll find tributes to fashion, architecture, tools, health and medicine, sports, and more. The largest artifact in the museum is two stories tall. The exhibit is called Within These Walls, where an original American home is decorated to show decades of American trends in home furnishings and interior design.
An exhibit on our First Ladies displays a rotating collection of Inaugural gowns and other iconic fashions worn by the wives of US presidents through the years. Other presidential memorabilia includes Abraham Lincoln’s famous tall hat and a lap desk used by Thomas Jefferson, no doubt to pen some of the beautiful words by which our nation was shaped for years to come.
In that patriotic spirit, step inside a dimly lit room to the music of our famous Star Spangled Banner, and view the tattered flag that flew the night those words were first put to paper. Few exhibits are quite so moving as this one.
Just one of the many amazing Smithsonian museums, the American History Museum is perfect for educational tours and any kind of group travel. Choosing a professional guide for the Smithsonian experience helps you travel with ease between museums and navigate each delightfully unfamiliar one as though you’ve been there a hundred times before.