The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, a museum-without-walls on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has launched an augmented reality project called “Unhidden Heroines.” Starting June 18, visitors can use smartphones or computers to view virtual monuments of five influential women—Julia Ward Howe, Polly Cooper, Mary Katharine Goddard, Elizebeth Smith Friedman, and Dorothy Height—paired with existing male monuments like the Lincoln Memorial and MLK Memorial. The project runs through December 31, marking America’s 250th birthday year.
This initiative matters because it addresses the underrepresentation of women in public monuments on the National Mall, using accessible technology to expand historical narratives. It also highlights the museum’s innovative approach as a museum-without-walls, operating without a physical building while Congress works toward establishing a permanent site, a process that began in 2020 and is expected to take at least a decade.