Current Exhibits
First Floor
Leaders in Literacy:
First Ladies as Teachers, Educators, and Librarians
presented by Huntington Bank | May 2024 - April 2025
The right to an education is a foundational principle of our nation’s history, and so many of our First Ladies have taken this cause to heart throughout the course of the American journey. From one-room schoolhouse teachers such as Abigail Fillmore and Lucretia Garfield, to Eleanor Roosevelt’s Arthurdale experiment, to Barbara and Laura Bush’s literacy initiatives, to current First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s college teaching, these powerful women have provided opportunities for empowering the young minds of our country to learn, grow, and thrive through education.
The Leaders in Literacy exhibit showcases numerous personal artifacts from the National First Ladies Library & Museum collection that highlight the work of our First Ladies in the areas of education and literacy. The exhibit also features an extraordinary loan from the Arthurdale Heritage Museum featuring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s efforts to create a New Deal-era “homestead” that would provide a new chance at life and an education for impoverished residents in this West Virginia community. In addition, the exhibit will include artifacts from the George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush Presidential Museums related to First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush.
To engage younger audiences, the “Leaders in Literacy” exhibit also features programs including “Reading Reimagined” — a replica one-room schoolhouse in our children’s interactive area, as well as the launch of our “Little Leaders” reading and activity program for children ages Pre-K to 4th grade.