Smithsonian marks 250th anniversary with nationwide celebrations amid Trump criticism

Donald Trump has kept up his attacks on the Smithsonian’s museums as the institution prepares a nationwide celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, turning the semiquincentennial into a fight over who defines the country’s past. The Smithsonian says its 2026 campaign, “Our Shared Future: 250,” will reach communities nationwide with exhibitions, events and public programs.

The clash lands on an institution that says it was established by Congress in 1846 as an independent federal trust instrumentality, a structure meant to keep it accountable to the public while preserving curatorial independence. Lonnie G. Bunch III, who became the 14th secretary on June 16, 2019, oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo and multiple research and education units. The Smithsonian’s mission language says it exists to tell the nation’s stories and preserve its collections for the people of the United States.

In Washington, the National Museum of American History is making 2026 its anchor year with a year-long series of programs and a building-wide exhibition, “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness.” The exhibition will use 250 objects spanning the 1700s to the present day to trace how Americans have pursued the promises of the nation’s founding. The museum says visitors can join celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary there in 2026.

The Smithsonian is also pushing the anniversary beyond the National Mall. Its 250th programming is intended to be nationwide, not limited to Washington, and will include exhibitions, events and public programs in communities across the country. That broader reach matters because the national story is being told not just in one capital museum, but across a network that can shape what millions of visitors see, learn and carry home.

The current exhibition schedule shows that work already underway. A new Revolutionary War-era gallery is on view, and a conserved Declaration of Independence diorama opened July 2, 2026. The Smithsonian says the anniversary year will celebrate successes, confront the consequences of history, honor sacrifices and encourage Americans to advance democracy and preserve a shared future.

Two new museums remain in development, the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, adding another layer to the argument over which histories receive permanent space. As Trump’s criticism continues, the Smithsonian’s 250th-anniversary push has become a test of whether the public story of America’s founding will be broadened, narrowed or left to the institution itself.