As part of its mission to generate interest and appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of the state and its people, the Society hosts a wide range of engaging and educational events for scholars and community members of all ages.
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Join us for a free screening of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Faye Dunaway (Bonnie) and Warren Beatty (Clyde). Gene Hackman plays Clyde's brother Buck and Gene Wilder makes his film debut as a hapless undertaker. The movie is based on the real-life story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who led a notorious crime spree in the 1930s. Among the couple's hideouts included a small apartment in Joplin, Mo.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
Join the State Historical Society of Missouri as we begin our year-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary Route 66! Missouri comprises just over 300 of the more than 2000 miles of historic Route 66. As the birthplace of the iconic highway, however, Missouri's contributions to the road’s development and history far surpass its size.
Join us as we celebrate Missouri History Day filmmakers and screen several short documentaries produced by one of our Missouri History Day alumni and professional artist Brian Hawkins of Kansas City, along with Rohan Deshpande, who is a current History Day student from St. Louis. Hawkins, who is an award-winning animator and filmmaker, will have some of his art pieces for sale to benefit the National History Day program in Missouri. NHD offers a contest to students in grades 6-12 annually.
Join us for the mid-Missouri premiere of a new short film, Soaring Together: A Tuskegee Airmen Story, inspired by a true story, centered on World War II Tuskegee Airmen James Shipley of Tipton, Missouri, and Harry Stewart Jr. of Queens, New York. Serving as Stewart’s crew chief, Shipley worked alongside him as the two rose above prejudice and war in pursuit of freedom.
Art and educational exhibitions illustrate transformative moments in Missouri and U.S. history. The State Historical Society of Missouri houses exhibition galleries at the Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia. SHSMO also provides materials for display in galleries and exhibition spaces across the state.
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![W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S.](/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/2026-01/warn_1.jpg?h=97b33478&itok=neXckLbj "W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S.")
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, a new exhibition is represented through stories and experiences woven within the fibers of the American military uniform. W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S. is a collaboration with the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Missouri Historic Costume and Textile Collection at the University of Missouri.
In recognition of Black History Month, the State Historical Society of Missouri is curating an exhibition at the Ellis Library Colonnade on the University of Missouri campus through May 15, 2026. It will feature artworks from past and present African American Missouri artists, exploring the conservation of continuum within the realm of African American art. In addition, a pop-up exhibition will be on view at the William Guitar Little Missouri Gallery of Art inside the State Historical Society of Missouri from February 17 through February 27.
In recognition of Black History Month, the State Historical Society of Missouri is curating an exhibition at the Ellis Library Colonnade on the University of Missouri campus through May 15, 2026. It will feature artworks from past and present African American Missouri artists, exploring the conservation of continuum within the realm of African American art.
Join the State Historical Society of Missouri as we begin our year-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary Route 66! Missouri comprises just over 300 of the more than 2000 miles of historic Route 66. As the birthplace of the iconic highway, however, Missouri's contributions to the road’s development and history far surpass its size.
Water structures human life—nurturing crops and commerce, while sometimes unleashing deadly, storms, currents, and floods. In Missouri, the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers serve as vital trade arteries for the entire nation. This exhibition examines artworks by George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton that celebrate the economic vitality of Missouri’s waterways but also suggest that the federal government can play a role in regulating them for the benefit of the American people.
SHSMO has a selection of on demand programs that are freely available to worldwide audiences.
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Former Missouri Senator and Boone County Prosector Joe Moseley looks back on a groundbreaking case nearly 40 years ago where DNA evidence was used to convict Columbia, Mo. resident Ralph Davis of murdering his wife, Susan Davis. On June 10, 1986, Susan disappeared with her red Ford Escort car from her home. Police detectives immediately suspected Susan’s estranged husband in her disappearance due to threats Ralph had made against her. Previously, the court had issued an ex parte order of protection for Susan.
Gary R. Kremer, executive director emeritus of the State Historical Society of Missouri, was the featured speaker at the Society's annual My Missouri lecture on Nov. 22, 2025, at the Center for Missouri Studies, SHSMO's headquarters in Columbia. Kremer served as executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri for over 21 years. He became the "unofficial state historian" to many Missourians during his half century career teaching, preserving, and publishing the state's history.
As the United States reflects on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our history as a nation, join genealogy expert Bill Eddleman for the 19th episode of the Basic Genealogy series produced the State Historical Society of Missouri. Eddleman examines the roles our ancestors might have played in the beginning period of the United States.
In 1928, the International Trans Continental Foot Race, popularly knowns as the Bunion Derby by the American press, was a footrace from Los Angeles to New York. Organized by Charles "Cash and Carry" Pyle, the race included 199 runners. Fifty-five would cross the finish line at Madison Square Garden in New York on May 26, 1928. The 3,423 miles followed the new Route 66, including parts of Missouri. Andy Payne of Claremore, Oklahoma won the race and was awarded $25,000. Historic footage in this video includes runners who came through Springfield, Missouri.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…an airship? In 1897, reports circulated across the United States of mysterious nocturnal sightings of airships of unknown origins. In this recorded webinar, Sean Rost, State Historical Society of Missouri Assistant Director of Research, explores the bizarre arrival of aeronauts to the Show-Me State in 1897.
