traveldk.com

The flag that inspired the national anthem is strikingly large – originally 30 by 42 ft (9 by 13 m) – but sadly worn. Created by Baltimore flagmaker Mary Pickersgill in 1813, it is being painstakingly repaired in a preservation laboratory, which is open to public view.

A two-story colonial house from Massachusetts has been rebuilt within the museum, to explore the 200-year history of the families who lived there.

This gallery explores the depiction of the nation’s military history, from the French and Indian War in the 1750s to recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The exhibition features a restored Vietnam-era Huey helicopter, and a World War II jeep.

The First Ladies’ gown gallery has long been a favorite exhibit. In dim lighting to protect the fabrics, visitors experience a voyage back in time through changing women’s fashions.

Telegraph, telephone, radio, television, computers: this thread of technological development is key to the shape of contemporary life. From Samuel Morse to Seymour Cray, the entire story is here.

Multimedia presentations and other theatrical techniques bring ships, trains, and automobiles to life, telling the story of America’s transportation from 1876 to 2000.

This exhibit explores the ever-changing world of 19th-century America, revealing the everyday experiences of workers in new factories, of Jewish immigrants, and of enslaved and free African Americans.

On February 1, 1960, four African-American students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat at this lunch counter of the Woolworth store and tried to order food. When they were told to leave, their “passive sit-down demand” energized a powerful movement challenging the segregationist laws of the southern states.

The portable desk Thomas Jefferson used to write the Declaration of Independence and the hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing the night he was assassinated are highlights of this history of the presidential office.

Visitors here can use outdated technology, such as sending a telegraph message, pedaling a high-wheel bicycle, and hand-turning a cotton gin.