The 3 million artifacts in the country's largest history museum explore America's cultural, political, technical, and scientific past, with holdings as diverse and iconic as the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the top hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing the night he was assassinated, and Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. At this writing, the museum is scheduled to reopen in summer 2008 after a two-year $85 million architectural renovation, aimed in part at reconfiguring the museum's infamously labyrinthine layout. (Renovations are frequently subject to delay; check the Web site to confirm that the museum has reopened.)

The original Star-Spangled Banner -- the 15-stripe and 15-star American flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment of Baltimore Harbor in 1814, and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem -- is the centerpiece of the museum's vast collections. Horatio Greenough's statue of the first president was commissioned by Congress in 1832 and intended to grace the Capitol Rotunda. It was there for only a short while, however, because the toga-clad likeness proved distasteful to some legislators, who grumbled that it looked as if the father of our country had just emerged from a bath. Iconic objects of entertainment housed here go beyond Dorothy's slippers: you can see everything from Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet, to the Bunkers' living room furniture from All in the Family, to Julia Child's kitchen. For a more interactive visit, check out the Hands on History Room, where you can try activities like pedaling a high-wheeler bike or plucking an old stringed instrument.

Until the museum reopens, 150 of its star attractions, including Thomas Jefferson's Bible, are on temporary exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum. The museum's "Reel Americans" and "Meet the Author" series of films, lectures, and discussions with filmmakers, actors, and writers, are expected to resume once the museum reopens.