Past Exhibits

California--Siskiyou National Forest, May 1972 (Detail), National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency, 542848

Featured Document Display: Earth Day: 50th Anniversary
Fri, 04/17/2020 - Wed, 04/29/2020
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day with artist Robert Rauschenberg's iconic Earth Day poster.

Featured Document Display: National Inventor’s Day: Marjorie S. Joyner
Thu, 02/06/2020 - Fri, 04/17/2020
Celebrate African American History Month and National Inventor's Day (February 11) by exploring the records of inventor and activist Marjorie S. Joyner.

Former prisoners at Wobbelin Concentration Camp after its liberation by the 82nd Airborne, May 4, 1945.

Featured Document Display: Never Forget: Remembering the Holocaust
Thu, 01/16/2020 - Wed, 02/05/2020
On the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, historic records and footage is presented in memory of all Jewish victims of the Holocaust and other victims of Nazism.

Comic strip showing flying saucers over Washington, DC

Featured Document Display: 50 Years Ago: Government Stops Investigating UFOs
Thu, 12/05/2019 - Wed, 01/15/2020
The U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book concluded its investigation into unidentified flying objects 50 years ago, but American fascination with UFOs endures. These records are presented in recognition of this anniversary and Americans' ongoing curiosity.

Special Featured Document Display: #FIGHTFINISHED: Celebrating the Washington Nationals' 2019 World Series Championship
Fri, 11/01/2019 - Mon, 11/11/2019
Celebrate the Washington Nationals' 2019 World Series Championship with a special document display in the West Rotunda Gallery.

Photograph: “Corporal George Miner, a Winnebago from Tomah, Wisconsin; standing with rifle, on guard duty, January 2, 1919, German Niederahren region.”

Featured Document Display: Honoring Native American Soldiers' World War I Service
Thu, 10/10/2019 - Wed, 12/04/2019
In honor of National American Indian Heritage Month and Veterans Day, a collection of World War I records will be exhibited to highlight one of the unique ways that Native American soldiers used their language and cultural heritage to serve the country.

Life Magazine Cover of the Woodstock Festival

Featured Document Display: Woodstock 1969
Thu, 08/08/2019 - Wed, 10/09/2019

The 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair featured some of the greatest performers of the time and attracted an audience of 400,000.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 on the surface of the Moon

Featured Document Display: 50th Anniversary of Apollo XI Moon Landing
Wed, 07/03/2019 - Wed, 08/07/2019
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong made one small step that forever changed history. In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo XI moon landing, view National Archives records that detail the mission’s “giant leap for mankind."

Photograph of American soldiers landing off the coast of France under heavy Nazi machine gun fire, June 6, 1944 (detail)

Featured Document Display: 75th Anniversary of D-Day
Thu, 05/23/2019 - Tue, 07/02/2019
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched the greatest amphibious invasion the world has ever seen. This collection of documents reveals the dogged determination and endurance of the Allied forces that made D-day the triumph we celebrate today.

Mother’s Day; May 12 1918 Cartoonist Clifford Berryman captures the spirit of Mother's Day. Here, amidst the chaos of battle, a soldier writes a letter to his mother, her image clearly in his mind.

Featured Document Display: Write to Mom. That’s an order!
Wed, 04/17/2019 - Wed, 05/22/2019
Celebrate Mother's Day with this World War I-era telegram ordering all soldiers to write home for the holiday.