From May to December, The Birthplace of Country Music Museum celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with a Smithsonian Channel Film Series exploring America’s 250th through a variety of subjects. Starting on the first Saturday of the month, each film airs daily at 2 p.m. for a full week (except Mondays), providing multiple opportunities to check it out. These screenings are free and open to the public. July’s film is “A Star Spangled Story: Battle for America.” Did you know “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written when America faced total military defeat? Discover this and other anthem secrets July 4-10 at the BCMM. Visit the Birthplace of Country Music website, birthplaceofcountrymusic.org, for a complete list of films.
This fall, BCMM and the City of Bristol, Virginia, have come together to bring three unique exhibitions celebrating America’s 250th anniversary to Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. The exhibitions, “Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation” and “We The People: The World in Our Commonwealth,” were curated by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and are supplemented with regional research conducted by BCMM to include the Tennessee perspective and local Bristol history. The VA250 Mobile Museum Experience titled “Out of Many, One” was curated by VA250, The American Revolution 250 Commission.
“Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation” explores the unique and essential Virginian people, events and sites that helped bring liberty and democracy to a nation. By highlighting the complex, diverse and inspiring history that is America’s story, the exhibition provides context for the coming of the Revolution and brings visitors into the core of the action from 1774 through 1776, spotlighting how the American Revolution was a war and more than a war. “Give Me Liberty” is on display Oct. 12 through Nov. 23.
“We The People: The World in Our Commonwealth” is hosted by the City of Bristol, Virginia, and is on display at the BCMM Oct. 26 through Dec. 7. The exhibition brings together distinct voices and perspectives on the immigrant experience and presents the deeply personal narratives of individuals born across the world who sought freedom, opportunity and refuge by immigrating to the United States. Pairing historic accounts with contemporary stories, the exhibition highlights the profound way immigrants have both shaped and been shaped by this nation.
“Out of Many, One” is a hands-on, interactive and immersive “museum on wheels” housed in an expandable tractor-trailer that has been traveling throughout Virginia and beyond since 2025. Hosted by the City of Bristol, Virginia, this VA250 Mobile Museum Experience is parked at BCMM from Oct. 27–31. The exhibit explores the true meaning of America’s first motto, e pluribus unum, and demonstrates that the American Revolution isn’t just the story of a war, it is the story of world-changing ideas, courageous men and women, and a belief in the promise of freedom. “Out of One, Many” brings all of these stories together in one place and provides a more complete picture of the American Revolution. The mobile museum is free and open to the public.
Special exhibitions at BCMM are included with general admission to the museum for $13 or can be viewed individually for $5. Discounts are available for seniors, students and military personnel. Children 5 and under are free. A reduced admission of $3 per person for up to four people with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer card is available through Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Association of Children’s Museums. More details about these exhibits and related educational programming will be available on the BCMM website soon.
