Experiencing America: A Smithsonian Tour through American History

A tour of national treasures from the Smithsonian; the artifact that inspires the national anthem; the flag that flows over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key pens "The Star-Spangled Banner"; the battle for the fort and the history of the flag.

How some of the country's greatest leaders have seen themselves and been seen by the nation; Washington's uniform, swords and portraits; notable photographs of Lincoln; the history of Eisenhower's distinctive army jacket and his presidential look.

Smithsonian artifacts tell the story of the quest for religious freedom in America; a rare religious portrait from the colonial Southwest; Thomas Jefferson's compilation of the Gospels; the sunstone on the original Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Starting with a set of slave shackles, tracing the history of slavery in the Americas; how the invention of the cotton gin helps expand slave labor; the story of African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman; some of her treasured personal belongings.

Studying relics and documents related to the emancipation of slaves during the Civil War era; General Lee's surrender at Appomattox; poignant stories told by artifacts from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The tale told by a tiny gold flake, which launches the California Gold Rush in the late 1840s. The Colt revolver has a profound impact; the West through the eyes of both settlers and natives in Albert Bierstadt's art; Sitting Bull's drawing book.

Stone points produced at the end of the last ice age by the Clovis culture of early hunter-gatherers in the Americas; the mystery of the birdman carving found in an ancient Native American burial mound; tribal traditions inspire Indian artists.

Four key artifacts that tell the story of America on the move; the Conestoga wagon; the John Bull steam locomotive; the Ford Model T; Charles Lindbergh's airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis; each represents a technology that alters the nation.

Inventions that transform how people communicate; beginning with Samuel Morse's telegraph; a historic telephone used by Alexander Graham Bell; one of his early recording disks; the birth of mass media through the inventions of radio and television.

Objects linked to the experiences of America's immigrants; an original model of the Statue of Liberty; a painting depicting the injustice of internment for Japanese Americans during World War II; two artifacts related to Caesar Chavez and his battle.

The Singer sewing machine, the Kodak Brownie camera, and the Apple Macintosh computer; they exemplify the transformative effects of functionality and good design; early models of these pioneering inventions; the social revolutions they set in motion.

The Smithsonian's many facilities include the National Zoo and its collections; four animals' stories that shed light on the conservation of species in America; Sandy the buffalo, Tioga the bald eagle, Martha the passenger pigeon; a pair of pandas.

Reviewing the rich tradition of innovation in America; two remarkable achievements include the Wright brothers' airplane and the Apollo flights to the Moon; viewing an actual astronaut glove worn on Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the Moon.

Some Smithsonian artifacts that capture the trajectory of the Cold War; a 1930s patriotic union badge worn by labor leader John L. Lewis; the Enola Gay bomber that ended World War II; a 1950s fallout shelter and a piece of the shattered Berlin Wall.

Nothing speaks more powerfully than an object that has weathered tragedy; eloquent relics from the explosion of USS Maine in 1898; the sinking of USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor in 1941; the bombing of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Guided by key artifacts at the Smithsonian, seeing how grassroots efforts, social activism and the care and determination of the American people help fund a cure for polio; birth control for women; combating the bias against those with AIDS.

The struggle for an inclusive role for women in American society; the history of the women's suffrage movement; Helen Keller's miraculous story; Amelia Earhart's heartbreaking career in the air; Julia Child as a television pioneer and cultural icon.

Powerful faces from the past, including those of Pocahontas and Frederick Douglass; the female factory worker apocryphally known as Rosie the Riveter, who appears on an iconic poster from World War II; the signature stovepipe hat worn by Lincoln.

Examples of American style; Benjamin Franklin's cane and Andrew Carnegie's innovative New York mansion; viewing memorabilia from Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Louis Armstrong; closing with Jacqueline Kennedy's simple but stunning inaugural gown.

The Smithsonian is farsighted in acquiring artifacts from America's modern myth machine, Hollywood; viewing some prime specimens: the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz", the costumes for the robotic sidekicks in "Star Wars".

Following the saga of the Hope Diamond, which leads to a storied career since its mining in India in the 1600s; learning about its alleged curse and the unusual way it arrives at the Smithsonian in 1958, where it remains a forever popular exhibit.

Americans always blend politics and song; the rise of three great voices in this tradition; Marian Anderson, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan; other touchstones of their era; the mink coat that Anderson wears at a concert on the National Mall in 1939.

Crossing the expanse of the continent with Lewis and Clark; leaping into space with the Mercury, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs; how Smithsonian scientists continue exploring the limits of the cosmos with the Giant Magellan Telescope.

The Declaration of Independence and its pledge that all men are created equal; the struggle to realize this promise from the turmoil of Reconstruction to a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., the site of sit-ins during the Civil Rights era.