Past Exhibits

The Cold War dominated every facet of postwar 20th century Western life. Bomb shelters, air raid drills, and draft cards were as American as apple pie. Spies infiltrated the highest levels of government on both sides, while the superpowers stockpiled nuclear weapons. Would the United States and the Soviet Union be able to keep the Cold War from getting hot? This exhibit was originally curated by the Nixon Presidential Foundation.

The 19 & '52: Women Unite for Ike exhibit connects President Eisenhower to the 19th Amendment. Women secured the right to vote throughout the United States in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified. This exhibit explores the connection between the woman suffrage movement and women’s contribution to the 1952 Presidential campaign. Learn about the instrumental women who influenced Dwight Eisenhower. Discover how women’s roles expanded during his Presidency. Find your piece of the puzzle that is American democracy.
 

French photographer Fabrice Bourge, a native of Normandy, has witnessed over 25 years of D-Day commemorations beginning with the 50th anniversary in 1994. While the events have grown larger, yet fewer and fewer veterans who landed that fateful day attend, Bourge has concentrated his eye and his lens on the fringes of these events. Captured on black and white film, and individually printed on silver gelatin paper, more than 40 photographs comprise this exhibit. His carefully and reverently selected photographs share the stories of the grateful compassion that contemporary Normans continue to feel for the allied veterans who began the liberation of Europe on these beaches 80 years ago. 

This small, interactive exhibit helps to address one of our more commonly asked questions -- where are the books? A presidential library is not like your typical public lending library. We house the documents related to Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Eisenhower Administration. Researchers from around the globe visit us each year to work on a variety of projects ranging from school project to published works. The exhibit includes a mock research table with scanned documents to get a hint of our research process. It may inspire you to research a project yourself!

Political leaders traditionally exchange gifts when visiting foreign countries. These gifts often have cultural significance and range widely in their level of extravagance or simplicity. Eisenhower traveled extensively during his administration and met with world leaders that he and Mamie considered friends. Ike and Mamie received Head of State gifts from around the globe. The Global Gifts exhibit showcases a wide range of artifacts that are part of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum collection.