The Smithsonian’s first YouTube contest was created to dispel the notion that history is boring and to engage people with the story of their flag and national anthem. After being closed for nearly 2 years of renovations, the museum was looking to make a splash with the debut of a state-of-the-art home exhibition for the Star-Spangled Banner. Partnering with USA WEEKEND for marketing muscle, we received over 800 eligible entries and thousands of people rated and commented on their favorite singers. The grand-prize winner performed at the museum and at the Orioles game in Baltimore on Flag Day.

This project won an American Association of Museums Gold MUSE Award for outstanding achievement in museum media in the category “Community.”

Listen to a podcast interview of me by Jonathan Finkelstein of LearningTimes for MuseumTimes.org.