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Smithsonian wants to hear your 2020 story

The coronavirus pandemic and related quarantine, nationwide protests for racial justice and the economic crisis were all major events that happened in 2020. Now, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History wants to know what last year meant to you. The museum is collecting first person accounts of last year for Stories of 2020. “We’re assembling a digital time capsule filled with messages to future generations about life today, and want to hear your story, big or small,” the museum said. The museum tweeted that it wants an “inclusive portrait” of 2020, but it can’t make that happen without “your story.”

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The museum suggested questions on its website aimed at sparking ideas for submissions. Some of the examples are:

  • How did you experience protests in your town?
  • How was your daily life changed by the pandemic?
  • What does the “new normal” at work look like?

The online submission form allows participants who are at least 18 years old to submit up to five photos, plus a video.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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