The National Archives has officially opened its flagship exhibition, “The American Story,” giving visitors an opportunity to get an up-close look at millions of historical items.
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National Archives show off historical gems in new exhibition
The National Archives has opened its flagship exhibition, “The American Story,” giving visitors an opportunity to get an up-close look at millions of historical items.
From the U.S. Constitution to the Declaration of Independence, the Archives houses some 13.5 billion paper records. But, “that doesn’t count the maps, the photographs, the artifacts,” according to Franck Cordes, campaign project director for the National Archives Foundation.
“We have about 700,000 artifacts in our collections,” he said.
And while not all those will be on display, dozens of important documents and artifacts from the Louisiana Purchase to the Great Seal of the United States appear at the new exhibit, which is located just steps from the rotunda.
The $40 million project is the first major renovation of the National Archives Museum in more than two decades.
How it works
When visitors first arrive, they receive a barcoded ticket to scan at an artificial intelligence portal and proceed to create a profile. They’ll be able to pick things of interest, from the Founding Fathers to national parks to the Civil War.
“Then, throughout the exhibit at our interactives, they can rescan that barcode,” Cordes told WTOP. “The barcode pulls from about 2 million records, and it starts making the connection between the content that’s in the display and your personal interest, and it feeds up documents there that you can then save and retrieve at home later through the microsite.”
Visitors will also see plenty of artifacts, including a display of presidential gifts.
For Cordes, one of his favorite pieces in the collection is a peanut given to former President Jimmy Carter during a foreign dignitary visit.
Other items include a red necktie gifted to President Donald Trump and a crystal drinking boot given to President Ronald Reagan.
Historical gems, plus declassified files
UFO enthusiasts may have a reason to visit, too.
“Some record groups we consciously chose to put in there because of the public interest in that,” Cordes said.
“UFOs are highly popular and a big request for our records to be issued, and a lot of those records were recently declassified. So, it’s an example of our role, doing declassification for the American people.”
On display are also plans for a “flying saucer” aircraft concept that was designed by the U.S. military.
On the declassified front, visitors will also be able to dig into files tied to the Cuban missile crisis.
The gallery also has plenty of film and photographs to round out the collection, including raw footage from the Apollo mission to the moon, and old public service announcements visitors may recognize from their childhood.
From Thomas Edison’s light bulb to the Wright Brother’s “Flying Machine,” a portion of the exhibit is also dedicated to patents that have changed American life.
“I think every visitor who comes is going to find something that’s of personal interest to them, something that they can relate to, something that they’ll want to discover more or look at more,” Cordes said.
Visitors are encouraged to reserve a free general admission ticket, or a $1 timed-entry ticket to visit the museum.
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