History

Data@Museums

Anacostia Museum

The Anacostia Museum used census data about Panamanian Migration
in its exhibit "Bridging the Americas."

Photo courtesy of the Anacostia Museum.

The Anacostia Museum in Washington, DC, uses census data in many forms to guide visitors through local history. For the exhibition "Bridging the Americas: Community and Belonging from Panama to Washington, DC," census data is used to tell the story of migration by quantifying the number of Panamanians in the United States and in the Washington, DC, metro area and demonstrating the population growth over time. Through visuals and storytelling, visitors learned about the intertwined history of the United States and Panama and how the Canal Zone was part of the census until 1980. The exhibit also addressed Panama as a destination for Americans living abroad, sparking conversations about how the census should count Americans living overseas.

To learn more about the exhibit "Bridging the Americas: Community and Belonging from Panama to Washington, DC," visit the Anacostia Museum.