See Familiar Monuments in a New Way as Five Women Who Shaped American History Come to Life Through Augmented Reality on the National Mall

Use this guide to plan your Unhidden Heroines experience on the National Mall, with tips on what to expect, where to go and how to get the most from each stop

Planning a visit to the National Mall with a class, group, family, or friends? Five of its familiar monuments can become starting points for discovering women whose stories are less visible.

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum launched Unhidden Heroines, an augmented reality experience that brings to life the stories of five women who shaped American history. Through geolocation, original illustrations, custom sound, and interactive elements, visitors can step into the worlds of Mary Katharine Goddard, Dorothy Height, Julia Ward Howe, Elizebeth Smith Friedman, and Polly Cooper.

Plan Your Visit

Unhidden Heroines includes five experiences located at monuments throughout the National Mall. You can visit all five or choose the stops that work best for your group, schedule, and interests. There’s no required order.

Visit unhidden-heroines.com to scan the QR code on your smartphone to begin. Once the experience loads, move your phone around the space to see the women and related artifacts come to life in augmented reality. No app download is required. Each individual experience takes approximately five minutes to complete.

The experience is available on-site and remotely from anywhere in the country through December 31, 2026.

Mary Katharine Goddard

In January 1777, Congress decided to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence with the names of the signers included—the first time their identities were made public. They turned to respected Baltimore postmaster and printer Mary Katharine Goddard.

At great personal risk, Goddard added her own name to the bottom of the document: “Baltimore, in Maryland: Printed by Mary Katharine Goddard.” She is the only woman whose name appears on any copy of the Declaration of Independence.

As the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and Goddard were both dedicated to American independence and willing to risk everything by putting their names on the founding document. Step into Goddard’s story at the Jefferson Memorial and explore her role in the Revolutionary effort.

Look for: The Declaration of Independence printed by Goddard and a printing press
Collect: A printing block
Consider: What risks can come with putting your name behind an idea?
Related Reading: Every American Knows the Declaration of Independence. Almost Nobody Knows the Woman Who Printed It.

Dorothy Height

As Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, Dorothy Height was seated on the stage, only a few steps from the podium. The only woman on the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership, Height worked alongside King and other civil rights leaders to help plan the march by organizing complex transportation and crowd logistics. She was also president of the National Council of Negro Women, the only women’s organization recognized on the march’s program. Despite her involvement, Height was not invited to speak.

Her work continued long after the march, including mobilizing women during Freedom Summer. Presented alongside the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Height’s story expands our understanding of the people who organized, mobilized, and advocated for equality during the Civil Rights Movement.

Explore: The many causes Height supported
Collect: A hat
Consider: How does our understanding of a historical event change when we look beyond its most famous leaders?
Related Reading: Excluded at the March on Washington, Dorothy Height Went on to Become the “Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement.” See How She Built a Movement with Women at the Center.

Julia Ward Howe

At the Lincoln Memorial, listen as the words and sounds of Julia Ward Howe’s famous “Battle Hymn of the Republic” fill the space. Howe wrote the hymn following an 1861 trip to Washington, DC, where she met with soldiers and President Abraham Lincoln in support of the abolitionist cause. The song became a rallying cry for the Union.

Howe later used her literary voice to advocate for women’s rights. She helped found the New England Woman Suffrage Association, served as its president, and became one of the leaders of the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

Listen for: The “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
Collect: A quill and inkwell
Consider: How can writing, music, and other forms of creative expression become tools for change?
Related Reading: Meet Julia Ward Howe, the Remarkable Poet Who Wrote the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and Fought for Women's Suffrage

Elizebeth Smith Friedman

Practice your codebreaking skills and watch airplanes soar over the National Mall as you discover the story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a pioneering cryptologist who became known as the “mother of cryptology.”

In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt’s newly appointed Coordinator of Information William Donovan wanted a codebreaking unit created quickly. To do so, he needed Friedman’s expertise and skill. Friedman first established herself as an expert codebreaker during Prohibition, when she cracked more than 12,000 encoded messages sent by rum runners illegally smuggling liquor. She later worked for the Coast Guard and Navy and led a counterespionage operation against Nazi spy networks in the Western Hemisphere. The full extent of her work supporting President Roosevelt’s war effort has only recently come to light through declassified records.

At the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, learn how Friedman cracked Nazi codes and helped save more than 8,000 lives as you see code deciphering in action.

Try: Cracking a code
Collect: A pencil
Consider: What does Friedman’s story reveal about how work done in secret can shape history?
Related Reading: Elizebeth Smith Friedman was the U.S. Government’s First Woman Codebreaker. She Cracked Nazi Codes, Saved 8,000 Lives, and Pioneered Modern Codebreaking.

Polly Cooper

During the winter of 1777–78, George Washington’s Continental Army faced exposure, starvation, and disease, and nearly 2,000 soldiers died. Knowing that his troops needed help, Washington appealed to the Oneida Nation. Among the group of Oneida who came to the army’s aid in April 1778 was Polly Cooper, who made the more than 200-mile journey to bring corn and other food to the starving soldiers.

Set against the Washington Monument, Cooper's narrative expands the story America tells about how independence was won. Follow her journey to reach the Continental Army, learn about the foods she taught the soldiers to cook, and discover a story the Oneida Nation has remembered for generations.

Follow: Cooper’s more than 200-mile journey
Collect: Cornbread
Consider: What does Cooper’s story reveal about the many kinds of knowledge it took to win independence?
Related Reading: She Walked Over 200 Miles in the Snow to Feed a Starving Army. The Oneida Nation Has Remembered Polly Cooper for 250 Years.

After Your Visit

The monuments on the National Mall commemorate people, events, and ideas that shaped American history. Unhidden Heroines offers another way to experience those familiar places by bringing additional voices and perspectives into the stories they tell.

After your visit, think about which woman’s story surprised you most and whether encountering her story changed the way you see the monument where it appeared. What other stories might be hidden in plain sight at the places we think we know?

Whether you visit one stop or all five, Unhidden Heroines invites you to look again at the National Mall and discover more of the women who shaped American history.

Related Reading:

• Women Who Changed the Laws Shaping Economic Independence
• Before Computers Were Machines, They Were Women—Here Are Six Places Where Human Computers Built Modern Science
• What Does Women’s Equality Day Really Commemorate? The Answer Goes Beyond 1920

Meredith Herndon | Read More

Meredith Herndon is the writer and editor for the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.