Instruments of American Excellence

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — At first glance, a new museum exhibit in Kentucky seems to be an assortment of ordinary stuff: a hammer, shoes, scientific instruments. On closer inspection, these unassuming items achieved the extraordinary. The collection at Western Kentucky University features more than 140 common items used by luminaries in entertainment, politics, art, literature, sports and science. There's equipment used by explorer Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic; a film splicer from documentarian Ken Burns' editing room and dance shoes worn by Liza Minnelli in a Tony Award-winning...more »