America on the Move replaces exhibits of road and rail transportation and civil engineering installed when the National Museum of American History opened as the Museum of History and Technology in 1964. These early exhibits were, for the most part, displays of artifacts chosen for their technological interest. Their labels described technological change. They were mostly devoid of human stories.

These exhibitions were very popular. We knew that making our new exhibition popular and also having it tell a broader story would be a good challenge!