African American history museum launches searchable digital initiative
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on Nov. 18 launched its newest digital initiative, the Searchable Museum. As part of the museum’s fifth anniversary, the history museum continues to engage audiences worldwide with online exhibitions, virtual symposia and digital programs.
The Searchable Museum reaches beyond the walls of the museum to provide a rich digital experience that includes a multimedia presentation of NMAAHC’s historical narratives, collections and educational resources. Over a year in the making, the Searchable Museum initiative is one of the museum’s largest digital undertakings, bringing the museum’s evocative content and immersive in-person visitor experience into homes around the world. The Searchable Museum is made possible through the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Searchable Museum’s use of emerging technologies and scholarly expertise allows NMAAHC to draw from the transformative narrative structure and tone of its gallery experience while offering virtual visitors the flexibility to explore the exhibition content at their own pace. Whether someone has not been able to visit yet or wants to relive their time in the museum, Searchable Museum provides the opportunity for people to engage with the museum’s exhibitions through a deeper dive into African American history and culture.
The project’s first digital exhibition to be shared on the site is the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition, a foundational feature from the museum’s David M. Rubenstein History Galleries, entirely reimagined for the digital space.
“By marshaling the latest technology and harnessing the scholarly and educational experience of the museum’s teams, the Searchable Museum tells the complex story of our nation’s history in ways only the National Museum of African American History and Culture can,” said Kevin Young, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the museum. “This ongoing project provides a chance for Americans to realize our shared past, bringing the unique museum experience to their homes and on their phones.”
The exhibition has been transformed into an online experience combining existing and newly created digital collection assets, digitized exhibition content, multimedia components, such as 3D models, videos and audio podcasts, and state-ofthe-art technologies to deliver an innovative, virtual exhibition. The site will also be responsive to user interests, offering opportunities for inquiry into specific topics via links to related online content and educational resources, making it possible to share new artifacts from the museum’s collections for the first time.
Similar to the in-person exhibition, the virtual exhibition explores the story of slavery and freedom — the core of America’s founding — beginning in the 14th century and concluding with the Civil War and Reconstruction. Through first-person accounts and artifacts, the exhibition examines the economic and political legacies of the making of modern slavery and the concept of freedom, both of which were foundational in the development of the United States. Most importantly, it considers the resistance, resilience and survival of enslaved African Americans as they fought to hold on to their humanity through inhumane conditions and free and enslaved African Americans’ contributions to the making of America.
Throughout the exhibition, users will virtually experience recreations of striking moments and objects from the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein History Galleries, including the History Elevator, slave ships displays, domestic slave trade excerpts from bills of sale and slave auction broadsides, the Tower of Cotton paired with images from the antebellum period, the Point of Pines Slave Cabin and more.
The website also features special content that will take users into the behindthe-scenes work of the museum and share detailed connections among the stories told in the museum’s exhibitions, including lesser-known stories and a resource page.
The museum will continue to update and expand the Searchable Museum with new content, ultimately bringing all of its exhibitions online. In spring 2022, the museum plans to launch the exhibition “Making a Way Out of No Way” on the Searchable Museum platform.
The website is accessible at www. SearchableMuseum.com and is free to use.
Since opening Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed more than 7.5 million in-person visitors and millions more through its digital presence. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history.
For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu follow @ NMAAHC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or call Smithsonian information at 202-633-1000.