November 2013
Smithsonian magazine delivers trusted and incisive reporting on history, science, nature, culture and travel.
Features
101 Objects That Made America
Pulled from the Smithsonian collections, these items range millennia, from pre-historic dinosaurs to the very first supercomputer
American Buffalo
Whether roaming free or stuffed, this symbol tells a thousand stories
Audubon Plate
An amateur naturalist’s unparalleled artworks still inspire conservationists and collectors alike
Life Preserver
Explorer John Wesley Powell filled in “great blank spaces” on the map
Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit
A wearable spacecraft let humans take one giant leap away from Earth
Burgess Shale
Famed fossils are a link to some of the first complex creatures on earth
Walt Whitman Photograph
A haunting image captures America’s quintessential poet
Chavez’s Jacket
A farmworker’s initiative improved lives in America’s fields, and beyond
Justice O'Connor's Robe
A traditional garment symbolizes a commitment to the rule of law
Lincoln’s Top Hat
It defined the great president in life—and now links us to his final hours
Predator Drone
Unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft changed the character of war
Clovis Points
Beautifully crafted blades point to America’s first successful culture
Singer Sewing Machine
A homemaker’s convenience clothed a nation
Eniac Computer
A look back at the room-size government computer that began the digital era
Ration Ticket
Forced onto reservations, Indians gave up a traditional way of life
AIDS Quilt
A patchwork of talent and grief traced the course of a plague
John Deere Plow
A steel blade turned Midwestern mud into the nation’s breadbasket
Negro League Baseball
Segregated teams opened the national pastime to African-Americans
Barbie
Wildly popular with girls, a new doll irked the women’s movement
Richard Petty's Stock Car
The chariot of the King
Spirit of St. Louis
A daring flight shrank the world and created the first global celebrity
Pocahontas Engraving
The Indian princess saved Jamestown colony—and spawned fairy tales
Giant Panda
Millions adore the furry exemplars of China’s “soft power”
Stained Glass Shards
A church bombing killed four girls and galvanized the civil rights movement
The Pill
A new birth control method gave women unprecedented power and revolutionized daily life