Collected: St. Louis History Brought to Life

For more than 150 years, St. Louisans have entrusted the Missouri Historical Society with countless objects: photographs, diaries, home movies, clothing, books – items that future generations can turn in order to help make sense of the past.

Some of these pieces mark defining moments in the region’s history such as Missouri’s pivotal role in a heated national debate over slavery or the transatlantic flight that changed aviation. Others reflect everyday life, from what we wore and ate to how we worked and played.

Collected, a permanent exhibition at the Missouri History Museum, is St. Louis’ history brought to life, one map, toy, T-shirt and painting at a time.

Collected also features a rotating gallery that explores a different theme or part of the collection every year, so visitors will always have something new to see. The first rotating gallery will draw from an archive of more than 2,000 pieces of clothing worn by children throughout different decades in the 1900s. Dubbed The Life of Kids’ Clothes, the special exhibit will share stories of St. Louis children that speak to childhood experiences, which we can all relate to.