Smithsonian Affiliations

Our Smithsonian Affiliate the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is celebrating with an exploration of historic contributions and science innovations from a stellar roster of amazing q***r individuals throughout history! 🔬🧪🏳‍🌈

Join us this Pride Month as we explore historic contributions and science innovations from a stellar roster of amazing q***r individuals throughout history! 🔬🧪🏳‍🌈

Bayard Rustin once wrote, “The only weapon we have is our bodies.” Rustin’s life was not only a testament to the non-violent weaponization of his own body, it was a call for the bodily freedom to live as he deemed and love whom he desired.

As one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Rustin worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. to bring about the boycott of Montgomery’s segregated buses in 1956, during which time he introduced King to Gandhi’s philosophy of resistance. Rustin’s mastery of civil disobedience tactics reached an apex in 1963. That year would see him become a key organizer of the now famous March on Washington, a moment immortalized by the images of thousands of bodies becoming weapons in the fight for jobs and freedom.

But Rustin’s struggle for equal rights was not confined to his race; as an openly gay man, he was attacked and shunned by friend and foe alike. His refusal to hide who he was while he continued to fight on the front lines of the civil rights movement revealed the heart of a hero—one who understood that the only true freedom is complete freedom.

Bayard Rustin was featured in our “Men Of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.” exhibition which traveled from 2019 through 2023.



Image: Courtesy of Smithsonian Affiliations

At noon on Wednesday, June 3, Eric Hintz, director of The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center, will present reflections on regional innovation cultures while highlighting Mississippi’s significant contributions to American industry and innovation, for at the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Visitors are also encouraged to view "Mississippi Made," a special exhibit currently on display at the museums, sponsored by Wayne-Sanderson Farms.

This free event will also stream live on the MDAH page and YouTube channel. This program is part of the "Making History, Making Change Lecture Series" organized by Smithsonian Affiliations as part of the Smithsonian’s "Our Shared Future: 250". It is supported in part by the Dreier Family, Johanna and Ken Kim Family, Vaishali Shah Chadha and Family, and Michael Vu and Meridel Bulle-Vu.

Discover how innovation on Lake Champlain helped shape the American Revolution during this Thursday’s lecture!

Dr. Kenneth Cohen, Chair of Military History and Curator of Early American History at the National Museum of American History, explores the extraordinary summer construction project that played a pivotal role in preserving the Revolution in “Crafting Independence.”

Join in person or online Thursday, June 4 at 12:15pm:
https://springfieldmuseums.org/program/crafting-independence-how-an-unprecedented-construction-project-on-lake-champlain-preserved-the-revolution/

Explore Western Mass Springfield Downtown Smithsonian Affiliations

Image: Gunboat Philadelphia, National Museum of American History.

Hello Pittsburgh! 👋 It’s Kara Blond, director of SITES | Smithsonian Affiliations. I’m here at our Smithsonian Affiliate the Heinz History Center.

Can’t wait to hear Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum curator Rachel Seidman give a talk as part of our “Making History, Making Change” lecture series about women and financial independence. Big thanks to the Heinz History Center for hosting us!

Watch “America in Color” !

As part of our exhibition “Declaration of Innovation”, the Springfield History Theater in the Wood Museum of Springfield History is showing the documentary series “America in Color” all-day, every day throughout the exhibition run!

Presented courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel, the series uses advanced technology to colorize black-and-white archival footage showcasing key 20th-century events, free with museum admission:
https://springfieldmuseums.org/program/america-in-color/2026-05-30/

Smithsonian Affiliations Explore Western Mass Springfield Downtown

Our Smithsonian Affiliate, the Mayborn Museum Complex’s team is looking SAUR-iffic today as they get ready for the opening of “Sea Monsters Unearthed” this Saturday! 🦕

The exhibit, developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, explores the period when Africa and South America—continents that once fit together like puzzle pieces—split apart and "sea monsters" like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs lurked in the newly formed waters of the South Atlantic Ocean. It also showcases never-before-seen fossils from excavations sites in Angola that fill in a missing chapter in Earth's history!

Plan your visit to see !

Attending in Philly? 🔔 Join us in booth #920 in the MuseumExpo for a coffee break! We'll tell you about the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibitions.