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Smithsonian African American museum launches online interactive access

The new ‘Searchable Museum’ will bring a trove of artifacts, stories and images to the Internet

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November 18, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. EST
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture launched a sophisticated digital platform Thursday that brings a trove of interactive stories, images and video about the Black experience out of the museum and onto the Internet.

Called the Searchable Museum, it is designed to present the treasures of the five-year-old landmark on the National Mall in Washington to a broader audience, said museum director Kevin Young. The museum, which opened to the public on Sept. 24, 2016, has 40,000 artifacts.