Summer at the Smithsonian

Helen Hope Evans, a young woman from Minnesota, had this custom two-piece set made in the late 1940s. Today, it’s one of more than 175 pieces of swimwear in the collection of our National Museum of American History.

Curator Hal Wallace takes us back in time with this commercial-grade, 20th-century hot dog cooker. Created by the Sani-Way Sales Company, this machine cooks hot dogs by zapping them with a 110-volt current of electricity.

Our Horticulturist Erin shares some helpful information for differentiating between the different types of strawberries.

Every year, visitors at the Iowa State Fair line up to see the life-size butter cow, sculpted by Sarah Pratt and her daughters, Hannah and Grace. They traveled to Washington, DC, to create this udderly charming bovine beauty at the Renwick Gallery.

State Fairs: Growing American Craft is the first exhibition dedicated to artists’ contributions to the great U.S. tradition of state fairs with more than 240 artworks on view, dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Each gallery .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Developed in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, ¡Pleibol! examines how generations of Latinos/as have helped make the game what it is today.