America 250: From Independence to Discovery
Follow the Story from 1776 to the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Smithsonian Museums 

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

📍 Location: National Mall
🟢 Free|
What to do & see:

• At the National Museum of American History, explore artifacts from the nation’s early years and westward expansion.

• Discover how tools, technology, and innovation supported exploration and helped shape America’s growth during the era of Lewis and Clark.
   

Why it matters to Lewis & Clark:

• The expedition stands at the crossroads of innovation, diplomacy, and national growth—key themes explored through the collections at the National Museum of American History, where the story of Lewis and Clark is placed within the broader context of a young nation defining its future.
   

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

📍 Location: National Mall
🟢 Free|
What to do & see:

• Explore Indigenous histories that long predate 1776 and shaped every western encounter. View artifacts from the early republic and expansion era that illuminate Native cultures, diplomacy, and the realities of frontier exploration.

Why it matters to Lewis & Clark:

• In his “Object of Your Mission” instructions, Thomas Jefferson encouraged Meriwether Lewis to seek peaceful, respectful relations with Tribal Nations, emphasizing diplomacy, trade, and mutual understanding.

Smithsonian American Art Museum-National Portrait Gallery

📍 Location: Penn Quarter
🟢 Free|
What to do & see:

• Explore portraits of the people who shaped the United States—presidents, explorers, artists, reformers, and cultural leaders.

• The galleries reveal how leadership, identity, and influence have been recorded over time through art.

• Visitors will find portraits connected to the nation’s founding era, westward expansion, and the evolving story of America’s diverse peoples.
   

Why it matters to Lewis & Clark:

• The National Portrait Gallery provides human faces to the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

• Portraits of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark place the expedition within its national leadership context.

• Just as importantly, the museum’s broader collections encourage reflection on whose stories were recorded—and whose were often overlooked.

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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

📍 Location: Washington, DC
🟢 Free|
What to do & see:

• Explore the natural world through exhibits on geology, plants, animals, fossils, and human cultures.

• Highlights include the Hall of Mammals, Hall of North American Indians, Ocean Hall, and exhibits on biodiversity and ecosystems.

• Together, these galleries reveal how landscapes, wildlife, and people are interconnected—and how scientific observation helps us understand and protect the natural world.
   

Why it matters to Lewis & Clark:

• The Lewis and Clark Expedition was one of America’s earliest scientific endeavors.

• Along their journey, the Corps of Discovery documented and described more than 170 plants and over 120 animal species previously unknown to American science, including prairie dogs, pronghorn, coyotes, and numerous western plant species.

• Their careful notes, specimens, and maps laid the foundation for the very disciplines—botany, zoology, geology, and anthropology—represented throughout this museum.

• The National Museum of Natural History brings the expedition’s discoveries to life, connecting modern visitors to the landscapes, wildlife, and Native cultures first recorded by Lewis and Clark as they explored the continent from river to river.