Artifacts
Sitting Bull's Legacy
The Lakota Sioux leader's relics return to his only living descendants
October 31, 2007 |
By Jess Blumberg
The Flight Stuff
Amelia Earhart brought her own special style—even to her outerwear
July 2007 |
By Owen Edwards
Die Hard Donation
Bruce Willis gives John McClane's blood-smeared undershirt to the Smithsonian. Yippee-ki-yay...
July 01, 2007 |
By Amy Crawford
The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner
How the flag that flew proudly over Fort McHenry inspired an anthem and made its way to the Smithsonian
March 01, 2007 |
By Cate Lineberry
Second Time Around
Invented by Ben Franklin but lost to history, the glass harmonica has been resurrected by modern musicians
February 01, 2007 |
By Catherine Clarke Fox
Gathering Rosebuds
Did a Native American actress inspire one of Hollywood's most celebrated symbols?
January 2007 |
By Owen Edwards
The Shadow Knows
Why a leading expert on the history of timekeeping set out to create a sundial unlike anything the world has ever seen
January 2007 |
By Dava Sobel
The Treasures of Timbuktu
Scholars in the fabled African city, once a great center of learning and trade, are racing to save a still emerging cache of ancient manuscripts
December 2006 |
By Joshua Hammer
Time Capsule
A riverboat's telltale contents included 133-year-old pickles. Want one?
December 2006 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Refined Palette
Scholars say this 19th-century artifact could have belonged to the celebrated American painter
April 2006 |
By Owen Edwards
West African Gold: Out of the Ordinary
The inventive goldwork and royal regalia of Ghana's Akan people on display in a new exhibition are drawn, strikingly, from daily life
December 2005 |
By Doug Stewart
Christmas Cards
When orbiting pranksters Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford launched into "Jingle Bells," Mission Control almost lost control
December 2005 |
By Owen Edwards
John Lennon's First Album
A recently acquired stamp collection opens a new page on the teenage Beatle-to-be
September 2005 |
By Owen Edwards
The Shirt Off His Back
Jerry Seinfeld's silly, frilly prop takes its place in television history
March 2005 |
By Owen Edwards
Salem Sets Sail
After the Revolutionary War, ships from a little Massachusetts seaport brought the new nation wares from China and the mysterious East
June 2004 |
By Doug Stewart
Magical Mystery Tour
In 1964 a psychedelic placard heralded the arrival of counterculture guru Ken Kesey and his entourage to America's cities
June 2004 |
By Owen Edwards
Titanic Sank This Morning
An artifact from the doomed ocean liner evokes that catastrophic night in April 1912
April 2004 |
By Owen Edwards
