This Exhibit at the Library of Congress Contains Unexpected Memories
The newest exhibition space at the Library of Congress is dedicated to sharing the rarest, most interesting, or significant items from the world’s largest library.
The David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery’s first offering is Collecting Memories. Drawing from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and in forms created across time and continents, Collecting Memories details why and how cultures preserve memory, exploring how cultures memorialize the past, create collective histories, recall the events of the day, or honor a life.
This exhibition has some incredible pieces and a lot of interactive fun. Visitors won’t want to miss seeing the diary of the survivor of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, a golden record of earth sounds for aliens, Madison’s crystal flute, and the actual items in President Lincoln’s pockets on the night he was assassinated.
Collecting Memories is on view through December 2025.