William Clark’s pocket compass. Alexander Graham Bell’s experimental telephone. Duke Ellington’s music stand. Sandy Koufax’s baseball glove.

While all of these items may seem like a random assortment of items, they are all uniquely important to American history. And all of them are on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History beginning Thursday as part of the museum’s new exhibit, “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness.”

“In Pursuit” is the culmination of nearly a decade of planning by museum leadership, which admitted that narrowing the scope of such an exhibit proved to be challenging.

“When you have over two million objects and three shelf miles of archival material, choosing 250 objects is a real task,” said Anthea Hartig, the director of the museum. “We hope that everyone who comes in can see themselves reflected [in this exhibit].”

On display through the end of the year, the exhibit consists of 250 objects throughout the museum’s 250,000 square feet. Seventy six of the items have rarely been seen before, including what Hartig said is one of her favorites: Abigail Adams’ “pearls,” which were a gift from her husband, President John Adams.

“They’re blown glass covered in fish scales to look like pearls, probably from the 1760s, 1770s it’s hard to date,” said Hartig. “I love the fact that she probably wore these for fancy dress, she wore them, probably for church. She wore them for I’m sure, many state affairs, both in Massachusetts and in the nation, but yet they couldn’t afford pearls. So that we actually have them is just a remarkable gift.”

Another showstopper on display: Thomas Jefferson’s self-designed portable desk, upon which he drafted the Declaration of Independence. While it has been part of the government’s archives for decades, it made its way to the Smithsonian for its debut in 2001. While visitors can normally see the desk up close, Hartig said that she hopes people appreciate it even more so with the nation’s 250th birthday upon us.

“There’s only one in the world, and it’s here!” she gushed.

Visitors to the museum will find a little bit of everything in this exhibit, from a bandana commemorating George Washington’s farewell address to a guitar used by Prince. Each item is paired with a verb, which project director Theo Gonzalves said was an important part of the planning of the exhibit. 

“The idea of titling it ‘In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness,’ was to emphasize this idea of action, the idea that 250 years of history is really about 250 years of people doing things, acting on their dreams, acting on their visions,” he explained. “Oftentimes, history gets frozen into something that’s about the past. And we wanted to make sure that history is really something that’s alive.”

Connecting the exhibit throughout the museum’s three floors are colorful ribbons of red, yellow, and blue, reminding visitors as Gonzalves said, “that even though these stories might seem a little disparate or sometimes even disconnected, that we’re really all connected through 250 years of history.”

Not only is the exhibit intended to connect visitors with the nation’s history, but with each other. There are eight interactive displays, including “Agree to Disagree,” “Head to Head” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” which aim to get visitors across generations talking.

“We’re just trying to help people build empathy and to see each other as full people,” explained Megan Howell Smith, who chairs the museum’s 250th coordinating committee. “It’s a really warm and inviting way to experience the museum.”

At a time when museum displays and the retelling of America’s story have become mired in the culture wars, the Smithsonian hopes this exhibit will bring people together. 

“We are, have always been, and always will be, a museum for all Americans,” said Howell Smith. “We want people to see themselves here. We want to reflect that complicated and wonderful, and inspiring history, and we want people to have a good time.”

“I’m hoping that folks will be able to find ways that they can connect to these stories, even if they don’t see themselves in it directly. I hope that they’ll be able to see a kind of a glimmer in a particular object,” added Hartig.

In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness runs through the end of the year at the Smithsonian, and can also be viewed virtually beginning May 14.