Museum Exhibits

On display at the Detention Barracks Museum and Angel Island Immigration Museum at Angel Island State Park.

  • Learn about the history of the US Immigration Station, Chinese exclusion, and the barracks immigrant poetry. 🔗

  • Featuring the detention barracks most well-preserved Chinese poem. 🔗

  • A recreation of the women’s sleeping quarters from 1910-1912. 🔗

  • Dressed as a day room for immigrant women and children held in detention. 🔗

  • Discover rows of steel bunks, historic site photos, and Chinese poetry on the walls. 🔗

  • A room depicting the music, books, and games immigrants had to help pass the time.

  • Used by US Army soldiers during WWII for guarding Japanese and German POWs.

  • The former day room used by immigrants during the Immigration Station era. 🔗

  • The quarters for men from Europe, Russia, South Asia, Japan, Korea, & Oceania. 🔗

  • Learn about the detention of Japanese Americans on Angel Island during WWII. 🔗

  • Designed by architect Julia Morgan, the small room was converted to a restroom in WWII.

  • Learn about immigrant detention and exclusionary laws from the 1860s to today. 🔗

  • Discover the Public Health Service’s role in shaping America’s immigration policy. 🔗

  • Read about the people and laws that have helped immigrants come to the US. 🔗

Online Exhibits

Featured
ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION POETRY FINDER
ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION POETRY FINDER

For the first time, over 150 Chinese poems and inscriptions are available to view with the Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry Finder. Explore, read, listen to, and reflect on the experiences of Angel Island’s immigrants. Discover the barracks’ carved poetry from home or enhance your next visit to the site.

JAPANESE AMERICANS’ CONFINEMENT 3D TOUR
JAPANESE AMERICANS’ CONFINEMENT 3D TOUR

CyArk presents a new Tapestry experience that gives visitors a guided experience through the Immigration Station grounds and inside the detention barracks and mess hall. Based on AIISF’s Taken From Their Families, you’ll learn about the 700 Japanese American men who were detained on Angel Island during World War II.

ANGEL ISLAND MOSAIC
ANGEL ISLAND MOSAIC

Angel Island Mosaic uplifts the individual stories of immigrants who were detained on Angel Island. Their diverse stories reveal how race, class, and gender intersected with historical events in the early 20th century to shape both the immigration process and life in the US after.

LIGHTING THE DARKNESS
LIGHTING THE DARKNESS

In recognition of the 140th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Lighting the Darkness displays 140 LED candles installed in the Detention Barracks Museum on Angel Island. It is an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2022 display that offers visitors a chance to reflect on the historic and ongoing impacts of exclusionary immigration policies.

TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES
TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES

Taken From Their Families: Japanese American Incarceration on Angel Island During World War II reveals the lesser-known history of Angel Island. The exhibit explores the events and policies that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and presents stories from 24 individuals whose lives were forever changed after December 7, 1941.

ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION MUSEUM
ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION MUSEUM

Angel Island represents the complexity of Pacific Coast immigration. Those who came to the U.S. across the Pacific Ocean or through the southern border, are featured here in the Angel Island Immigration Museum Virtual Exhibition. Learn about policies that impacted immigrants during the early 20th century and the laws that affect immigration today.

CYARK'S 3D BARRACKS TOUR
CYARK'S 3D BARRACKS TOUR

Now, you can explore the Detention Barracks Museum from home! Casey Dexter-Lee from Angel Island State Park will guide you through 24 points of interest around the U.S. Immigration Station site. Discover immigrant poetry on the tour, view a short exhibition on Angel Island’s history, download lesson plans, and more with CyArk’s 3D Barracks Tour.

TASTES OF HOME
TASTES OF HOME

From “breaking bread” with friends to providing a route to financial stability — food has played an important role in the stories of many immigrants from around the world. Tastes of Home is an online exhibition where visitors can feel an increased sense of appreciation and connection to the immigrants in our communities and the foods that sustain them.

VOICES OF RESILIENCE
VOICES OF RESILIENCE

Fifty years ago, Alexander Weiss found long-lost poems carved into the detention barracks walls. This discovery led to the Immigration Station’s rebirth as a National Historic Landmark. To commemorate this golden jubilee, we present Voices of Resilience, an online exhibition celebrating poems from the site’s history as well as poems submitted by the public.

AN IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY
AN IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY

Presented on Google Arts & Culture, An Immigrant’s Journey lets you follow in the footsteps of Angel Island immigrants to uncover what it was like to arrive in San Francisco between 1910 and 1940.

Traveling Exhibits

Available to rent for your museum, library, or school. Contact AIISF for more information on how you can host one of our traveling exhibits.

Featured
TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES
TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES

Host Taken From Their Families: Japanese American Incarceration on Angel Island During World War II at your school, gallery, library, museum, or next event.

A CAGE BUILT OF JADE
A CAGE BUILT OF JADE

Step inside the men’s detention barracks for A Cage Built of Jade: Detention and Determination at the Angel Island Immigration Station.

ANGEL ISLAND MOSAIC
ANGEL ISLAND MOSAIC

Angel Island Mosaic: Exploring the Lives of Angel Island Immigrants poster exhibition is a portable teaching resource that provides a platform for dialogue and civic engagement.

For questions about exhibitions and related content, please contact Russell Nauman at rnauman@aiisf.org.