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Past Exhibitions

At the Maryland Center for History and Culture, we have so many stories to tell. Our rotating exhibitions help us share these stories in continuously new and engaging ways. For questions about past exhibitions, including ones not listed here, contact the museum department at museum_dept@mdhistory.org.

Discover Maryland

January 26, 2021 – January 6, 2024

Who Are Marylanders? As visitors enter Discover Maryland beside a floor-to-ceiling photograph of the Maryland flag — where selfie photos…

 

The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited

May 26 – December 30, 2023

From May through December 2023, the Maryland Center for History and Culture is hosting the traveling show The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited. Developed by Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), this 5,000-square-foot, Muppet-filled multimedia exhibition is full of hundreds of objects, including puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, costumes, and film and television clips.

 

Resilient

June 17, 2022 – March 12, 2023

In honor of Ellicott City’s 250th anniversary, this exhibition will highlight the evolution of industry in the town of Ellicott City over the past two and half centuries, and the city’s remarkable resilience in the face of floods and fires.

 

Flickering Treasures

July 16, 2020 – March 12, 2023

Resurrecting Forgotten Movie Palaces From the very first purpose-built movie theater on East Baltimore Street, which opened in 1905, cinema…

 

Wild and Untamed

July 17, 2020 – March 5, 2023

Meet Dr. Dunton Dr. William Rush Dunton Jr. is known as the father of occupational therapy. He was also among…

 

Visions of Night

April 29, 2022 – February 19, 2023

Visions of Night will showcase photographs taken at night in the city from the collections of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, as well as contemporary photography, including the work of Sydney Allen, J.M. Giordano, John Clark Mayden, Webster Phillips, and others.

 

Losing Winter

July 21, 2021 – February 19, 2023

More About the Exhibition Visitors to the exhibition will walk through the decades of winters past, from images of Maryland’s…

 

Woman of Two Worlds

The Dramatic Life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, born in Baltimore in 1785, was the oldest daughter of…

 

Intimate Expressions

June 16, 2021 – May 30, 2022

Intimate Expressions: Personal Diaries of Maryland Life is now open and highlights eight diaries from the 18th-20th centuries, as well…

 

Paul Henderson

The early civil rights movement was an era of ardent activism and turmoil in Maryland. Paul Henderson’s remarkable photographs offered a vivid glimpse into the daily lives of African Americans at this time.

 

Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War

January 1, 2011 – July 31, 2021

New Stories Revealed The Maryland Center for History and Culture opened the permanent exhibition Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil…

 

The Hutzler’s Experience

December 12, 2019 – May 31, 2021

Evoking Nostalgia for “The Hutzler’s Experience” Hutzler’s department store was a Maryland icon for more than a century. Starting as…

 

In Full Glory Reflected

January 1, 2012 – May 1, 2021

Explore Early Baltimore This exhibition showed life in the early 19th century and allowed visitors to follow Baltimore’s evolution from…

 

Spectrum of Fashion

October 5, 2019 – March 28, 2021

A Time Capsule Waiting to Be Reopened For nearly four decades, the Fashion Archives at MCHC remained in boxes, locked…

 

Inventing a Nation

January 1, 2011 – February 1, 2021

Iconic life-sized portraits by Charles Willson Peale complemented the swords, uniforms, and other personal items of America’s Revolutionary heroes. Artifacts…

 

Hometown Girl

March 23, 2019 – March 23, 2020

Hometown Girl tells Mimi Dietrich’s story as a life-long Marylander and Baltimore native, and draws inspiration from the many students she taught over 35 years.

 

Reflections

June 19, 2019 – March 22, 2020

The History of Photography Reflections opened in 2019, the 180th anniversary of the invention of photography, and the exhibition celebrated…

 

Indelible Ink

June 1, 2018 – June 1, 2019

A Peek into a Restricted Archive Indelible Ink: Discovered Stories of Famous People displayed more than 1,400 autographs and documents…

 

Activism and Art

May 1, 2018 – May 1, 2019

Civil Disobedience In 1968, nine Catholic peace activists protested the Vietnam War in a fiery blaze in Catonsville, Maryland. They…

 

Voyage of the Deutschland

September 1, 2016 – April 1, 2019

The Voyage of the Deutschland In July 1916, the German submarine Deutschland arrived in Baltimore. Its voyage and presence in…

 

Structure and Perspective

October 1, 2017 – March 1, 2019

Present-day Perspectives and the Structures of the Past The installation brought together commissioned works by Maryland-born artist David Brewster with…

 

Unscripted Moments

November 1, 2017 – May 1, 2018

An Unabashed View of City Life Saved from the landfill and sent to the Maryland Center for History and Culture…