Abby Epplett, Historian

Back in July, I visited Washington, DC. This is the fourth installment to my miniseries on the National Museum of American History , and the final post about my adventure in the capital. I will be taking a two week break during the holiday season but will be back in the New Year with more history-themed posts. Quickly reviewing my in-depth tour of the museum, I covered second floor of the museum plus “Entertainment Nation” in Part 1 ; “First Ladies”, “American Presidency”, and “The Price of Freedom” in Part 2 ; and “Food” and “American on the Move” in Part 3 . For this last part, I will visit “Lighting A Revolution & Power Machinery”, “Change Your Game”, “American Enterprise”, and “The Value of Money”.

I return once again to the National Museum of American History , which I visited back in July during my adventure in Washington, DC. This is part three of a four part series. The first part covered the second floor of the museum plus “Entertainment Nation”. The second part covered “First Ladies”, “American Presidency”, and “The Price of Freedom”. This third part will cover “Food” and “American on the Move”, both located on the first floor.

During my trip to Washington, DC back in July, my final stop was the National Museum of American History (NMAH) . This series looks to be four parts long and will finish up this week. The first part covered “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “Within These Walls”, “Many Voices, One Nation”, “American Democracy”, a temporary exhibit about Latina reporters, and “Entertainment Nation”. This next part will include “The First Ladies”, “The American Presidency”, and “The Price of Freedom”, all located on the third floor.

My final stop on my trip to Washington, DC was the National Museum of American History (NMAH) , part of the Smithsonian. I had visited the museum as a child about twenty years earlier and remembered the thrill of seeing famous artifacts throughout American culture. However, my memory did not prepare me for the 7-hour, 700-photo adventure that was my experience at NMAH. From the Star-Spangled Banner to presidential china to more cars and trains than I could have ever imagined, my final posts of this year (number of parts to be determined) will feature the wonders of this extraordinary museum.

Back in July, I visited the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington, DC . During the first part of my hike around the Mall , I visited many memorials dedicated to political leaders and veterans. During the second part, I visited even more memorials along with passing Smithsonian museums with distinct architecture.

During my trip to Washington, DC back in July, I visited the National Mall & Memorial Parks . Maintained by the National Park Service, this massive urban park contains monuments to Americans who made a difference to the country, especially political leaders and soldiers. The Mall is so big that I am dividing this adventure into two sections. Additionally, since most of my readers know about the Mall and have likely visited, I will keep the text more brief than usual and allow you to enjoy a selection of my many pictures.

Back in July, I visited my friend Jenny who lived near Washington, DC. During our trips around the capital, we toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture located on the National Mall . I had previously talked about the creation of the museum during my book review of A Fool’s Errand by founder Lonnie G. Bunch III , and I had learned more about the collection during the first day of the Smithsonian Education Summit in 2023 . I was excited to visit in person and see what I had long heard about.

This post was supposed to launch yesterday, but I spent longer than expected at a delightful Christmas party, so you will get the post today. A quick content warning: the National Museum of Health & Medicine is dedicated to the preservation of human remains for conducting research and to raise public awareness. I have included two images with human remains at the bottom of the article; there is an extra paragraph of text before these pictures, allowing you space to click away if needed. Additionally, I will be describing human remains, injuries, and medical inventions throughout the post. If you do not enjoy this topic, consider reading one of the many other articles on my blog.

Back in July, I took a trip to the Washington, DC area to visit my friend Jenny and see historic sites. I spent a day in Silver Spring, MD, where I visited the National Park Seminary and local religious buildings . During that day, I also hiked the extensive trails connecting Silver Spring to neighboring Chevy Chase. As an aside, this town is named for medieval English folk hero Chevy Chase, who was immortalized in a once-popular ballad . While I did not see any minstrels on my trip, I did cross pedestrian bridges, view historic buildings, and enjoy nature.

On the same day I walked through National Park Seminary , I visited two vastly different religious buildings in Silver Spring, MD. I visited the massive Washington DC Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly called Mormons) and the much smaller Knox Orthodox Presbyterian Church . I enjoyed meeting the people at both locations and comparing the differences between faiths.

In July, I visited Washington, DC and saw an astonishing range of historic sites. On the first day in the area, I visited Museum of the Bible, which took an entire day of exploring. The next day, I traveled to Silver Spring, MD, which has many hidden history gems. My first stop was National Park Seminary , a historic district in the village of Forest Glen, to see unique architecture. Despite its name, the site is not associated with the National Park System and has instead been transformed from a resort to a women’s college to an army medical facility to residential housing. With plenty of informational signage and easy walking, this was a pleasant visit.

This is the third of three posts in a miniseries about my visit to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, which I visited back in July with my friend Jenny. During the first post , I talked about several high-tech interactives and a few historic Bibles. During the second post , I showed more of the same, along with impressive reproductions, in sections known as “Bible in America” and “The History of the Bible”. For this post, I will finish up “The History of the Bible”, describe a fascinating exhibit about translation, and talk about a few others must-see stops before giving my conclusion.

This is the second of three posts on my trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which I visited with my friend Jenny back in July. During the first post , I talked about several high-tech interactives and a few historic Bibles. In this section, I show more of the same, along with impressive reproductions, in sections known as “Bible in America” and “The History of the Bible”. Since this fits nowhere else, I want to note the creative names giving to the three different dining experiences at the museum: Milk+Honey Cafe, Manna Restaurant, and Creations Cafe; Jenny and I packed our lunch.

This post begins a series that will take us to the end of the year: my trip to Washington, D.C. to visit my friend (and body double?) Jenny, learn even more about American history, and walk long miles around the nation’s capital. My first stop in Washington was the Museum of the Bible , a massive collection of Bibles and Christian publications on display in a state-of-the-art facility. While marketing towards a Christian audience, the museum does an excellent job of navigating the heterodoxy of the religion, a fancy way of saying that Christians have a wide range of beliefs, some of which conflict with each other. The museum has been open since 2017 and regularly hosts new exhibits, along with collaborating with other organizations. I will preface this three-part review by saying if you are an American Christian, or if you want to better understand the mindset of American Christians, this is the best one-stop source to comprehend the culture.