iNational Museum of American HistoryNational Mall
In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness
The museum's semiquincentennial blockbuster: 250 objects across all three floors, from Jefferson's writing desk to the 1776 gunboat Philadelphia. Closes at the end of 2026 (exact date not yet announced).
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Somewhere in this building is a deck of playing cards cut from used envelopes, each one pencilled by hand, some still carrying airmail stripes. Freedom Riders made it in Parchman Penitentiary, Mississippi, in the summer of 1961.
It is one of 250 objects, from the 1700s to now, spread across all three floors instead of one gallery. The 76 that are new or rarely shown sit in cases lining the first- and second-floor entry halls. The rest are placed among the permanent galleries, tied together by a thread motif that runs through the building. You pick up the free guidebook and go hunting, past a Western Union stock ticker, a 2016 NRA button and a dress from Transparent.
Entry is free with no tickets, daily 10am to 5:30pm, until the end of December. The catch for repeat visitors: the other 174 live in galleries you may already know, so start in the entry halls. Then find the 1776 gunboat Philadelphia, where conservators work behind viewing windows.
Editor's pick
The museum's semiquincentennial show spreads 250 objects across all three floors, from Jefferson's writing desk to the 1776 gunboat Philadelphia. That's roughly one object per year of the republic.
Look for
The Freedom Rider playing cards
A hand-made deck cut from used envelopes, each card pencilled in, some still showing the red and blue stripes of airmail stationery, played by Freedom Riders jailed at Parchman in 1961.
The gunboat Philadelphia
Built and sunk on Lake Champlain in 1776 after a 24-pound cannonball hit near its bow, it now sits behind viewing windows while conservators treat it in front of you.
The Western Union stock ticker
A circa-1890 printing telegraph under a glass dome, with an ink roller, a small character wheel and half-inch paper tape, the kind later thrown from windows at ticker-tape parades.
The firefighter's MDA boot
A firefighter's boot covered in Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraising stickers, used to collect donations on the street in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The Miracle on Ice gloves
Hockey gloves worn by a U.S. player as he skated toward the underdog Olympic win of 1980.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- First-Timers
- Out-Of-Town Guests
- Rainy Days
Skip if
You know this museum well: only 76 of the 250 objects are new or rarely shown.
With kids
Free for everyone. American Experiments in Unity Square (second floor, west) has eight self-guided activities on voting, negotiation and taking part that kids can do between objects.
Also at National Museum of American History
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Image credits
9
- In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and HappinessCourtesy of National Museum of American History
- Spirit in the Dark: Religion in Black Music, Activism and Popular CultureCourtesy of National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Bison: Standing StrongCourtesy of National Museum of Natural History
- From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural HeritageCourtesy of National Museum of Natural History
- National Museum of American HistoryCarol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- National Museum of African American History and CultureFuzheado, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- National Museum of Natural Historyajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- National Museum of Asian ArtDifference engine, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museumajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0