American Treasure

Welcome back to the National Museum of American History, which reopens on Friday, November 21. America’s largest and most popular history museum has completed a two-year, $85 million renovation and is ready to show off a jazzy new interior and innovative exhibits and programs. To celebrate, all are invited to reopening activities this weekend, but the exploration of America’s culture and traditions will continue well into the future.

The 44-year-old museum, located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, “will resume its central role in telling the story of America and providing a critical link between the past and the present,” according to Brent Glass, the museum’s director. Blockbuster displays will include the Woolworth’s lunch counter from Greensboro, North Carolina, where four black students sat to protest racial segregation; the preserved Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem; and Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address.

The grand reopening starts Friday at 8:30 am, and the first 1,814 visitors to the ribbon cutting and through the museum doors will receive a special gift in honor of 1814, the year of the Battle of Baltimore when a waving flag inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. Other reopening festivities continue through Sunday when visitors will be able to enjoy family-friendly activities, musical entertainment, living history, giveaways and refreshments.

To find out more, visit www.americanhistory.si.edu. For information on upcoming programs call 202.633.1000.