Exhibits
The Sixth Floor Museum's exhibitions support the Museum's mission by creating experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds that stimulate dialogue, foster understanding, and increase knowledge of the life, death, and legacy of President John F. Kennedy.
Permanent Exhibit
John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation
On November 22, 1963, the Texas School Book Depository building was the focus of world shock, grief, and outrage when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. Twenty-six years later, John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation opened on the building's sixth floor, where significant evidence was found. Using nearly 400 photographs, 45 minutes of documentary films, and artifacts, this exhibition recreates the social and political context of the early 1960s, chronicles the assassination and its aftermath, and recognizes Kennedy's lasting impact on American culture.
Special Exhibits
Now Showing
A Photographer's Story: Bob Jackson and the Kennedy Assassination
A Photographer’s Story: Bob Jackson and the Kennedy Assassination features of the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Bob Jackson.
February 17, 2009 - July 31, 2010
Call to Action
President John F. Kennedy's frequent encouragement of public service and responsible citizenship provides the basis for Call to Action. Through photographs, artifacts, narrative, and a visual timeline spanning two decades, visitors discover the issues that influenced President Kennedy's "New Frontier," learn about the social movements that he influenced, and meet the people that he inspired.
April 2006 – October 2006
Covering Chaos
The moments the shots were fired, journalists found themselves in the vortex of an unfolding news story. The assassination of President Kennedy was big, breaking news, and it was the responsibility of the reporters to get the story. Covering Chaos explores the challenges faced by reporters in covering the Kennedy assassination.
June 2005 – January 2006
Dallas Law Enforcement: Voices from History
More than 300 Dallas police officers, about one-quarter of the total force, were assigned to cover President Kennedy's visit to Dallas on November 22, 1963. Their stories, along with those of the Dallas County sheriff's deputies who worked that fateful weekend, are told in Dallas Law Enforcement: Voices from History.
November 2006 – October 2007
Dealey Plaza: The Front Door of Dallas
Dealey Plaza: The Front Door of Dallas explores the 160-year history of Dallas, its major civic leaders, including John Neely Bryan and G.B. Dealey, and the death of a president. Artifacts and photographs document the growth of Dallas from the 1840s to the dedication of the National Historic Landmark District in 1993.
November 2002 – March 2007
Filming Kennedy: Home Movies from Dallas
Showcasing silent moving images of President Kennedy, from his 1960 presidential campaign through his funeral in 1963, this exhibition is highlighted by 11 amateur films shown in their entirety, including what is perhaps the most internationally recognized home movie, an 8mm film taken by Abraham Zapruder. Filming Kennedy: Home Movies from Dallas also features profiles of the men and women behind the cameras and an interactive education area.
November 2007 – October 2008
Jack Ruby: Voices from History
On November 24, 1963, Jack Ruby shocked the world when he gunned down President Kennedy's accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, live on national television. Jack Ruby: Voices from History tells Ruby's story through people who knew him and who had firsthand knowledge of the tragedy and events that followed.
November 2004 – October 2005
Parkland Hospital: Voices from History
Parkland Hospital: Voices from History tells the story of the men and women who had firsthand knowledge of what happened at Parkland Memorial Hospital on November 22, 1963. Through artifacts, photographs and selections from the Museum's Oral History Collection, the exhibition presents eyewitness accounts from that turbulent afternoon.
November 2005 – October 2006
Unfinished Business: Kennedy and Cuba
The chain of historic events that occurred during the presidency of John F. Kennedy continues to shape U.S. perceptions of Cuba today. Unfinished Business: Kennedy and Cuba explores the history of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination in the context of contemporary events, incorporating more than 150 photographs and artifacts.
October 2000 – October 2001
