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National Museum of American History

illustration of a woman handing a musket to a militiaman at the doorway of a home while a child stands nearby and soldiers gather in the background.

How Did It Feel to Be an American Colonist in 1776? Probably Itchy, Achy and Slightly Nauseated

bow section of the wooden boat

Museum Happenings This July: Exhibits, Music and More at the National Museum of American History

eggs nestled in straw

Eggs, Luck and the 1957 Bird Flu: Will History Repeat Itself?

The interior of the Forensic Science on Trial exhibition. Several large cases with objects and text panels are visible.

Going Behind the Scenes With 'Forensic Science on Trial'

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MUM’s the Word: Milestone Menstruation Collection Chronicles Women’s Health

The Magnavox Odyssey system arrayed in front of its cover box. The box is decorated with the system's name and small images of various games and children using the Odyssey's controller

How the Magnavox Odyssey Predicted the Future of Video Games

Pocket sundial

How Did a 17th-Century French Sundial End Up Buried in a Field in Indiana?

Cosmo ad copy.jpg

When Computer Programming Was 'Just Like Planning a Dinner

Robert Abbe's hourglass (NMAH)

Curing Cancer with a Single Gram of Radium

This glass tube, part of the museum’s collection, once contained a sample of helium. Its paper label reads, “HELIUM / SIR W. RAMSAY, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. / THOMAS TRYER & CO., Ltd. / STRATFORD, LONDON, ENGLAND.”

The History of Holding Helium

Title page to Garrard Conley's workbook from the gay-conversion camp Love in Action (NMAH)

The History of Getting the Gay Out

Transgender flag designed by Monica Helms (right), and friends. The flag's stripes represent the traditional pink and blue associated with girls and boys and white for intersex, transitioning, or of undefined gender. Helms served in the United States Navy and became an activist for transgender rights in the late 1990s in Arizona where she grew up. She designed the flag in 1999. (NMAH)

Can an Object Be Gay? LGBTQ Collecting

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