Network with peers in the cultural property protection field and enjoy private access to galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Location: The National Museum of American History (NMAH)
Tour of Gallery: 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Reception: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
1300 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20560
View in Google maps. Museum entrances are located on Constitution Avenue on the first floor and Madison Drive (National Mall) on the second floor. The easiest way to get there is is by public transportation and the closest Metro stations are Federal Triangle and Smithsonian (Mall exit), and you can view walking directions to the museum via Google Maps or Citymapper. For more information about traveling by Metro, please visit Metro Trip Planner.
Private Access to Entertainment Nation & the Molina Family Latino Gallery
Entertainment Nation
From its red carpet entryway to a yellow brick road, the new “Entertainment Nation”/“Nación del espectáculo” exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will immerse visitors in the dramatic arc of the nation’s story as told through the power and influence of theater, television, film, music, and sports. With approximately 200 objects, the 7,200-square-foot, multimedia exhibition in the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Hall of American Culture will be the Smithsonian’s first dedicated exploration of entertainment history. It will also be the largest long-term bilingual exhibition on the National Mall. Through iconic objects from the museum’s renowned collection and graphics, video and compelling stories, “Entertainment Nation”/“Nación del espectáculo” will showcase how Americans have long used entertainment to both elicit delight and understand different viewpoints. Visitors to the open-concept gallery can examine how various types of entertainment, from the 19th century to the present, provoked conversations. Three “micro-galleries” within the space will illuminate complex topics on comedy, music, and television through artifacts and multimedia.
The Molina Family Latino Gallery
The Molina Family Latino Gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will be the Smithsonian Latino Center’s first physical presence on the National Mall. Created in 1997, the Smithsonian Latino Center collaborates throughout the Smithsonian and beyond to promote national dialogue on the role of museums and cultural centers in advancing Latino-community cultural development.
Exhibitions in the Molina Family Latino Gallery will present bilingual stories for multigenerational and cross-cultural audiences featuring multimedia, physical objects, and first person voices. An introductory entry point will provide a framework for the histories and concepts presented in the gallery and foster a dialogue with the core history exhibition. The inaugural exhibition, “Making Home: Latino Stories of Community and Belonging,” reveals how Latinos have shaped the nation since before its founding. Visitors will be invited to reexamine what they know about Latinos and U.S. history through digital immersive elements, such as interactive timelines and maps.
About NMAH
Opened in January 1964 as the National Museum of History and Technology, the museum was renamed the National Museum of American History in October 1980 to reflect its scope of interests and responsibilities more accurately. The museum began renovating the 120,000-square-foot west wing of its 53-year-old McKim, Mead, and White-designed building in 2012. Each floor has a central theme: The first floor focuses on innovation and opened in 2015. The second floor, with 30,000 square feet of exhibition and program space, explores the founding principles of the nation and how they have evolved over time; it opened summer 2017. In 2008, the museum completed a two-year, $85 million renovation of the building’s center core, transforming the museum’s architectural appeal.
Collections
The museum is responsible for the acquisition, care, and preservation of more than 1.8 million objects and 3 shelf-miles of archival collections, representing the nation’s heritage in the areas of science, technology, society, and culture. The collections include the Star-Spangled Banner, First Ladies gowns, a Samuel Morse telegraph, locomotives, tools, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, an Alexander Graham Bell telephone, flags, American-made quilts, Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, Duke Ellington’s sheet music, and presidential artifacts. The museum is participating in the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative with new exhibitions and collecting.
