<p begin="00:00:00.00" end="00:00:02.10" style="1">[MUSIC PLAYING] </p>
<p begin="00:00:02.10" end="00:00:04.31" style="1">NARRATOR: Deep in the Smithsonian's American History</p>
<p begin="00:00:04.31" end="00:00:07.84" style="1">Museum there's a room that's rarely seen,</p>
<p begin="00:00:07.84" end="00:00:11.05" style="1">a place where the public has never been able to go,</p>
<p begin="00:00:11.05" end="00:00:13.27" style="1">the Gun Room. </p>
<p begin="00:00:13.27" end="00:00:17.60" style="1">It houses the weapons that have shaped the American experience.</p>
<p begin="00:00:17.60" end="00:00:20.48" style="1">DAVID MILLER: Guns are very important in American history.</p>
<p begin="00:00:20.48" end="00:00:22.93" style="1">Without the firearms, there wouldn't even</p>
<p begin="00:00:22.93" end="00:00:25.13" style="1">be a United States. </p>
<p begin="00:00:25.13" end="00:00:27.74" style="1">NARRATOR: Now, Smithsonian curator, David Miller,</p>
<p begin="00:00:27.74" end="00:00:31.12" style="1">has opened the room to filming for the very first time.</p>
<p begin="00:00:31.12" end="00:00:32.89" style="1">He'll lead a behind-the-scenes tour</p>
<p begin="00:00:32.89" end="00:00:36.24" style="1">to share the amazing stories behind these guns,</p>
<p begin="00:00:36.24" end="00:00:39.74" style="1">a fire-powered journey through American history.</p>
<p begin="00:00:39.74" end="00:00:41.62" style="1">DAVID MILLER: It's kind of fun coming in here</p>
<p begin="00:00:41.62" end="00:00:44.61" style="1">and working in a room full of guns every day,</p>
<p begin="00:00:44.61" end="00:00:47.26" style="1">and I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning.</p>
<p begin="00:00:47.26" end="00:00:50.22" style="1">NARRATOR: David is the keeper of the Gun Room,</p>
<p begin="00:00:50.22" end="00:00:53.44" style="1">or as it's officially known, the National Firearms Collection.</p>
<p begin="00:00:53.44" end="00:00:54.90" style="1">DAVID MILLER: It covers the breadth</p>
<p begin="00:00:54.90" end="00:00:57.13" style="1">of the history of firearms. </p>
<p begin="00:00:57.13" end="00:01:00.37" style="1">NARRATOR: The collection, which contains 7,000 pieces,</p>
<p begin="00:01:00.37" end="00:01:02.74" style="1">features guns from all over the world.</p>
<p begin="00:01:02.74" end="00:01:04.32" style="1">DAVID MILLER: This rack here is mostly</p>
<p begin="00:01:04.32" end="00:01:06.98" style="1">Austrian and Belgian-made military</p>
<p begin="00:01:06.98" end="00:01:09.09" style="1">muskets from the mid-19th century.</p>
<p begin="00:01:09.09" end="00:01:11.97" style="1">Over here, these are some North African muskets.</p>
<p begin="00:01:11.97" end="00:01:15.23" style="1">These were presented to Thomas Jefferson by the dey of Morocco</p>
<p begin="00:01:15.23" end="00:01:17.32" style="1">at the end of the Tripolitan Wars.</p>
<p begin="00:01:17.32" end="00:01:19.06" style="1">And here's a hunting rifle that belonged</p>
<p begin="00:01:19.06" end="00:01:20.97" style="1">to Catherine the Great. </p>
<p begin="00:01:20.97" end="00:01:23.46" style="1">It has a velvet cheek piece for the royal cheek</p>
<p begin="00:01:23.46" end="00:01:27.40" style="1">and lots of gold inlay for decoration.</p>
<p begin="00:01:27.40" end="00:01:29.70" style="1">NARRATOR: The Gun Room's most famous firearms</p>
<p begin="00:01:29.70" end="00:01:32.86" style="1">are also a unique window into American history,</p>
<p begin="00:01:32.86" end="00:01:35.36" style="1">as well as the people that once owned them.</p>
<p begin="00:01:35.36" end="00:01:38.27" style="1">DAVID MILLER: Firearms have been a part of American history</p>
<p begin="00:01:38.27" end="00:01:39.55" style="1">since the beginning. </p>
<p begin="00:01:39.55" end="00:01:42.28" style="1">They've been used by the American military</p>
<p begin="00:01:42.28" end="00:01:47.42" style="1">and American heroes, of course, American villains as well.</p>
<p begin="00:01:47.42" end="00:01:49.60" style="1">NARRATOR: Joseph Henry, the first secretary</p>
<p begin="00:01:49.60" end="00:01:51.97" style="1">of the Smithsonian, started the gun collection</p>
<p begin="00:01:51.97" end="00:01:55.78" style="1">over 100 years ago as part of an exhibition celebrating</p>
<p begin="00:01:55.78" end="00:01:57.60" style="1">the American Centennial of 1876. </p>
<p begin="00:01:57.60" end="00:02:04.34" style="1">[MUSIC PLAYING] </p>