Our Temporary Exhibits
Current Exhibits
Virtual Exhibit: Rutherford B. Hayes and Ohio's Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad is an important piece of America's history where thousands of brave souls escaped the horrors of southern slavery in exchange for freedom in the northern United States as well as Canada. While the Underground Railroad is a national story, Ohio played a central role in its history. "Rutherford B. Hayes and Ohio's Underground Railroad" is a virtual, online exhibit produced by the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums that explores the history of the Underground Railroad, the origins of the Fugitive Slave Act, Ohio's past with both racism and abolitionism, and future President Rutherford B. Hayes's evolving views on the "slavery question" and his efforts to aid runaway slaves. The virtual format of this exhibit allows the museum to expand the scope of its offerings to a worldwide audience that otherwise might not be able to visit Hayes Presidential's physical location in Fremont, Ohio.
We invite you to open our exhibit here from your desktop or laptop computer. Depending on the processing power of your device and the quality of your internet connection, it may take a few minutes for the game to start. A first-person perspective will appear on your screen once the exhibit begins. The exhibit space pays homage to the nighttime journey taken by runaway slaves through the Appalachian Mountains to reach the Ohio River. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard to walk along the road and using your mouse or mousepad to look around, follow the guide lanterns to navigate a series of narrative posters and historic images. It may take a moment for the controls to become responsive.
To download a copy of the virtual exhibit panels, click here. To listen to an audio transcript of the virtual exhibit panels, click here.
Rutherford B. Hayes and Ohio's Underground Railroad was made possible by the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Grant through the National Park Service. This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), funded by 7 the Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
Resolute: The Spirit of Arctic Exploration
For centuries, the Arctic was the ultimate unexplored frontier.
Beginning with ancient quests for ultima thule, the “farthest unknown,” explorers tried to chart the shifting, icy landscape at the top of the world.
Several expeditions set sail during the 19th century in search for the elusive Northwest Passage, some fated never to return. The Resolute Desk, given to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, was built from the timbers of just such a ship and is still used in the Oval Office to this day.
The latest special exhibit at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, “Resolute: The Spirit of Arctic Exploration,” examines the Arctic’s strange, treacherous environment and profiles the adventurers who tried to tame it. The exhibit opened March 11 and will remain on display through Monday, June 30, 2024.
Chasing Totality: The History and Science of Eclipses
On April 8, 2024, Spiegel Grove and the rest of Sandusky County will be plunged into total darkness as the moon completely blots out the sun.
Astronomers have known about the 2024 North American Solar Eclipse for more than a century. It was predicted to the minute in the 1887 book “Canon of Eclipses,” which lists every eclipse through the year 2161.
Throughout the centuries, humanity has been fascinated with eclipses. The Hayes Presidential Library & Museums examines eclipses in its latest special exhibit, “Chasing Totality: The History and Science of Eclipses."
The exhibit looks at the science behind how eclipses work, the history of astronomy’s attempts to understand that science and a look at one particular solar eclipse that drove Americans across the country in July 1878 to the western territories during Rutherford B. Hayes’s presidency.
Rotating exhibits are open during regular museum hours. For updated hours, visit https://www.rbhayes.org/visit-us/visitor-information/.