library - National Museum of American History in Washington D.C

How do vaccines get to the people who need them? In the 1910s an American pharmaceutical firm developed this mail-order kit to deliver the rabies vaccine to doctors and their patients. (Rabies is unusual in that patients usually receive the vaccine after they have been potentially exposed to the virus). In the early 1900s, patients sometimes needed to travel long distances in order to obtain this multi-week, life-saving treatment. (See the multiple syringes in the kit? T...he full treatment required 21 doses administered over as many days). This vaccine kit is a reminder that even the best medicine is of little value if it’s not available and affordable. What will curators collect this year to remind future generations of what daily life was like in 2020? Find out today at 4pm ET during Curating Crisesa behind-the-scenes, virtual program. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet our curators, ask questions, and learn how they decide what to include in the museum’s collection. The program is free with registration: https://s.si.edu/curating-crises-register Curating Crises is part of 24 Hours in a Time of Change, a full day of digital programs across the Smithsonian on December 11. Visit https://24hours.si.edu/ to learn more!

Today, ten Smithsonian museums and cultural centers are hosting 24 Hours in a Time of Change to take a snapshot of this moment in history. Throughout the day, we're offering free virtual programs centered around contemporary issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic to racial injustice. Visit our Facebook event or 24hours.si.edu to learn more and see the full schedule!

This fake alligator foot-topped pointer wasn't part of a Halloween costume; it was a part of a political campaign. The pointer was used by Texas entrepreneur Ross Perot, an independent candidate in the presidential race of 1992. Perot is credited with delivering the 1st presidential campaign infomercials. From early October to just a day before the election, Perot bought several primetime slots to air 30 to 60 minute programs on the 3 major television networks. Most of thes...e featured him sitting at a desk speaking directly to the American people. Because he believed America needs more than six-second answers, Perot relied heavily on physical charts and graphs, the first presidential candidate to do so. During 2 of his infomercials, he pointed at his visual aids with what he called his voodoo stick with a fake alligator claw. (Perot’s nickname for this pointer was a bit of a play on words. George Bush had coined the phrase voodoo economics more than a decade earlier. Perot said it was appropriate because the country was in deep voodoo). Although he didn’t win, Perot received almost 19% of the popular vote, making him the most successful non-major party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. Interested in learning how you can vote in this year's election in your home state or territory? Visit the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's website and find key dates, polling locations, and other useful information: https://eac.gov/vote

I Voted stickers are a popular visual symbol of civic engagement. They used to be fairly standard, but voting districts are increasingly personalizing them. In 2016 the city of Chicago opted for a very different style using wristbands instead. Typically, curators have met voters in person to ask for their I Voted stickers. This year, COVID-19 has pushed curators to develop and build upon their virtual collecting skills. The 2016 wristband is an example of the new collec...ting techniques curators are using in 2020 as it was first spotted by a curator in a post on social media and later donated to the collection. Interested in learning more about how our curators are reflecting and documenting 2020? Join us tomorrow for Curating Crisesa behind-the-scenes, hour-long virtual program. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet our curators, ask questions, and learn how they decide what to include in the museum’s collection. The event is free with registration: https://s.si.edu/curating-crises-register

What impact have our recent crises had on existing educational inequities, and what opportunities do they present for philanthropy? Next month, join us on November 10 and 12 for the fifth annual Power of Giving symposium. During the free virtual two-day program, philanthropy and education thought leaders and Smithsonian historians will bring historic perspectives to contemporary conversations about education equity and the role of philanthropy. Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, will deliver this year’s keynote, Confronting Education Inequality: The Role of Philanthropy in Achieving a Just Society. Register today to join us and submit a question for panelists to discuss: https://s.si.edu/34J87tr

We’re thinking today of the legendary chef and restaurateur Cecilia Chiang, who died this week at the age of 100. From a privileged upbringing in China, Chiang fled the Japanese invasions during World War II and eventually landed in San Francisco. Her memories of the rich local and regional dishes prepared by the family’s chefs in Beijing inspired her to open the Mandarin restaurant in downtown San Francisco in 1962. While most Americans associated Chinese food with chop suey... and chow mein at the time, Cecilia Chiang offered a more refined and authentic experience to American diners. Her presentation of Chinese cuisine was embraced by James Beard, Julia Child, and other gastronomes who were also redefining the food landscape in the United States. In 2011, museum staff visited Ms. Chiang in her legendary San Francisco restaurant as part of a project called Sweet and Sour: Chinese Food in America. Museum specialist Noriko Sanefuji interviewed Ms. Chiang and collected a selection of objects and archival materials for the museum’s permanent collections, including the menu, dishware, and recipe book pictured here. Sanefuji recalls Chiang’s passion for Chinese cuisine and her enthusiasm for sharing her knowledge about it with others, including a Smithsonian researcher. Cecilia Chiang’s story and her impact on Chinese cuisine in America is worth remembering today and beyond.

Today we officially launch Stories of 2020, a digital storytelling campaign to document how people across the country are coping with change, overcoming challenges, and shaping history. Stories of 2020 is an opportunity for you to add your voice to a digital time capsule of inclusive, wide-ranging, personal records of this unique moment in history. Just as historians today turn to letters, diaries, scrapbooks, and physical objects to understand the past, Stories of 2020 wil...l help future generations and historians understand how we are navigating this year. https://americanhistory.si.edu/stories-of-2020 Los historiadores recordarán el 2020: un año de pandemia, crisis económica, violencia policiaca y protestas. ¿Pero qué se siente ser parte de la historia? Queremos reunir un registro inclusivo, amplio y personal de este momento: una cápsula del tiempo para futuras generaciones y a la vez un espacio de conversación para hoy. Esta es tu oportunidad de dejarte escuchar... por tu museo nacional, por tus conciudadanos y por el futuro. https://americanhistory.si.edu/es/stories-of-2020

Hanukkah Sameach! In 1986, Manfred Anson celebrated the Statue of Liberty's centennial by designing this patriotic menorah. Anson was born Germany, and his childhood came to an abrupt end with the Nazi rise to power in 1933. As conditions for Jews worsened, 14-year-old Anson was enrolled at an agricultural school in the hope that he could secure a visa to emigrate to Palestine. However, just prior to the start of World War II, another opportunity presented itself, and Anson w...as chosen as one of 20 boys rescued by the Jewish Welfare Guardian Society of Australia. He served in the Australian military during World War II. In 1963, Anson immigrated to the United States to reunite with his sister. Visit our blog to learn more about Anson’s journey and his custom menorah: http://bit.ly/libertymenorah

Witches, gnomes, and the headless horseman: we may associate these local legends and folk figures with Halloween, but a century ago, they were also part of Germany's efforts to weather an economic crisis in the wake of World War I.

Take a close look at this dress. Can you tell it's made from feed sacks? During the Great Depression, resourceful girls embraced a culture of DIY fashion, refashioning inexpensive materials into clothing and other items. Feed sacksused to transport animal feed and other commoditieswere a handy source of fabric. With effort, a few bags could become a set of towels, new curtains, or even a dress. Girls' thriftiness helped reshape markets. By the 1940s, many bag manufacturers ...were turning out bags in bright colors and printed design, hoping to boost sales. This particular dress was made by Mrs. Dorothy Overall of Caldwell, Kansas, in 1959 for the Cotton Bag Sewing Contest sponsored by the National Cotton Council and the Textile Bag Manufacturers Association. The dress is made of cotton bag fabric, with an overall design of white flowers on a brown (originally black) background. Though cotton bags were the main material used to make the dress, it has luxury elements that hint that Overall intended it to be a showpiece item, including black organdy lining and silver thread. You can explore all of this dress's details in #3D on the website for our new exhibition, Girlhood: It's complicated: http://s.si.edu/ghood-fashion Girlhood: It's complicated received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. #BecauseOfHerStory

On Friday, December 11 at 4pm ET, join us for Curating Crises, a behind-the-scenes look at how our curators are documenting the history-making events of 2020. During the hour-long virtual program, you’ll have an opportunity to meet our curators, ask questions, and learn how they decide what to include in the museum’s collection. The event is free with registration: https://s.si.edu/curating-crises-register "Curating Crises, is part of #Smithsonian24Hoursa day-long series of digital programs from ten Smithsonian museums and units on Friday, December 11. All of the day’s programs will focus on contemporary issues and how they relate to your personal experiences of 2020. To see the full schedule of presentations, visit https://24hours.si.edu.

In the 1960s and 1970s, girls used clothes to define themselves, build communities, and make a political statement. Fath Davis Ruffins made this dashiki for herself in 1970 when she was 16 years old. Derived from a Yoruba word, a dashiki is a loose-fitting, colorful tunic that was initially worn chiefly by men in West Africa but adopted in the U.S. by men and women alike, worn with either pants, a skirt, or matching headwrap. During the late 1960s dashikis became popular in ...the United States because of young people who wanted to signal their connection with African cultures, Pan-African and Black Power movements. Born and raised in Washington, D.C, Ruffins has been a curator at our museum since 1981. Want to zoom in on the details of the dashiki's design and patterns? Visit the website for our new exhibition, Girlhood: It's complicated, and see this and other objects in 3D: http://s.si.edu/ghood-fashion Girlhood: It's complicated received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. #BecauseOfHerStory