The Museum of American History, originally called the National Museum of History and Technology, was opened in 1964. The museum, renamed in 1982, traces the American heritage through cultural, scientific, and technological exhibitions. These collections are displayed in settings that recapture and interpret the American experience from Colonial times to the present. Its most famous exhibits include the First Ladies' Gowns and the Fort McHenry Flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner."
The site used to be the home of thirty-five public greenhouses, used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to exhibit various flowers, ornamental plants, fruit trees, and other specimens. During World War II, the land was host to temporary war buildings constructed to house an Army Air Force detachment of intelligence officers. They were the home to the U.S. code-breakers of the war. The buildings were razed to make way for the National Museum of History and Technology.
More information on the museum and its exhibits can be found at the National Museum of American History Homepage.
