The Molina Family Latino Gallery will explore the diverse stories of Latinos in the United States—past, present, and future—through dynamic, multidisciplinary exhibitions and programming that:

  • Create participatory experiences for individuals, families, and groups.
  • Encourage intergenerational and intercultural conversations. 
  • Celebrate the diversity of the Latino community.
  • Present the Latino experience as quintessentially American. 
Color photograph of Meet Us Interactive Wall showcasing image of Pilsen, Chicago
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Interactive entrance with digital greeter
Aerial view of the National Museum of American History
Jeff Tinsley, Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History, home of the Molina Family Latino Gallery
We want our visitors to connect current events to historical precedents, and to participate in the story. Our exhibits should start conversations around our shared American experience. It is important that we offer a space for visitors to creatively engage with history, culture, and each other.

Eduardo Díaz, Acting Deputy Director, National Museum of the American Latino

Patriot, educator, entrepreneur, laborer, artist, healer, innovator, entertainer, community activist, and leader—native born and immigrant—Latinos have played and continue to play a foundational role in nation-building and shaping our national culture. 

The Molina Family Latino Gallery is part of an ongoing, integrated Smithsonian-wide effort supporting research, exhibitions, public and educational program, web content, collections and archives, and publications about the Latino experience in the United States. 

Color photograph of the Colonial Legacies nook showing inditas regalia in a case with images and video surrounding the regalia.
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Gallery Entrance Nook
Color photograph of the Colonial Legacies case with objects and photographs.
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Large Exhibition Case
Color photograph of case with section: "Puerto Rico: Nation within a Nation" with objects and photographs
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Small Exhibition Case
Artist rendering of the Learning Lounge in the Molina Family Latino Gallery
National Museum of the American Latino.
Learning Lounge

The Latino Gallery presents engaging stories of journey, struggle, discovery, success, identity, and acculturation.

Its future home at the National Museum of American History brings these stories to diverse, intergenerational audiences. Accessing the Smithsonian’s vast collections and employing the latest storytelling technology, the Latino Gallery will offer visitors broad perspectives on this integral part of the American story. 

Bilingual exhibitions, public and educational programs, and robust online offerings will be driven by focused research. The Molina Family Latino Gallery will consult with Smithsonian scholars as well as experts, tradition bearers, and innovators outside of the Institution. In-person and online visitors will be invited to discuss their perspective and play an active role in creating this much-needed, dynamic gateway to the Latino experience at the Smithsonian.

Color photograph taken from back of Molina Family Latino Gallery showing the Foro monitors and Mapping the U.S. Latino Experience projection screen.
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Digital Storyteller Plaza
Color photograph of the Shaping the Nation Case with objects and photographs.
© Tony Powell. National Museum of the American Latino. June 13, 2022
Exhibition Case

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States,” introduces visitors to critical concepts, moments, and biographies that shine a light on the historical and cultural legacy of U.S. Latinas and Latinos

As the Smithsonian’s first gallery entirely dedicated to Latino history and culture, the Molina Family Latino Gallery embodies what we might someday see in the future National Museum of the American Latino.