NMAAHC Mobile Stories

Gr 3 Up-If distance or ticket availability has prevented people from visiting the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC, the museum's free app will allow those with iOS or Android devices a peek inside.The museum, located on the National Mall in Washington, DC, a place once bordered by "pens for enslaved people bound for the Deep South," houses a number of collections, including those focused on African American and African diaspora culture, slavery and freedom, the African American military experience, and the visual arts, among others.The app is organized by "Exhibition Stories," "Stories for Families with Children," "Building Stories," "Outdoor Stories," and "Stories with Multimedia and AR Experiences." Viewers can delve deeper into each of these topics through a selection of images; a tap on an object or artifact brings it to full-screen view along with a caption and a few lines of descriptive text (also available in audio). Below the selected images are related objects or artifacts. A touch to one of these photos will elicit content on the item's origin, date, dimensions, subject, and medium. Information is available in English, Spanish, and French.Among the many objects and artifacts visitors will see are Nat Turner's Bible, Woolworth's Sit-In Stools, 1972 "Shirley Chisholm for President" poster and pins, a Pullman Porter cap, and a panel from the corona designed for the museum's exterior.Occasional videos are embedded, such as the one of the restoration and installation of a segregated railway coach, offering viewers a look at some of the challenges encountered when opening this historic and long-awaited monument to African American history and culture.