Join us for FREE Smithsonian Movie Nights! Throughout summer, we’ll be screening films from the Smithsonian Channel featuring awe-inspiring stories and powerful documentaries that explore history, culture, science, and the world around us.

Grab a friend, sit back, and enjoy a night at the Museum! In July, we’re featuring the film A Star-Spangled Story: Battle for America.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is known by all, treasured for its powerful melody and stirring lyrics. And yet, only about 40% of U.S. citizens know all the words. And even fewer know their meaning. Join us as we travel back to 1814, when Washington D.C. was under British attack during the "Second War of Independence," and the very bricks and mortar of American democracy were reduced to smoking rubble. We examine the battle that inspired witness Francis Scott Key to immortalize its final moments, then reveal how his poem transformed into an anthem.”

TV-PG / 51 min · Programming provided by The Smithsonian Channel.