National Museum of American Jewish History

This museum examines all facets of what it means to be American and Jewish—from 1654 to the present. It tells stories of leadership, resilience and assimilation as it spotlights Jews fighting in America’s wars, as pioneers out West, as gangsters, athletes, entertainers, scientists, civil rights activists and more. The museum engages visitors with a variety of creative, interactive exhibits, documentaries on antisemitism, recording booths to tell your own stories and artifacts including one of Barbra Streisand’s costumes from Yentl, Irving Berlin’s piano and even Albert Einstein’s pipe. Though the original museum opened in 1976 at nearby Congregation Mikveh Israel, its impressive, $150 million sleek new home—right on Independence Mall—opened in 2010.