Smithsonian to receive items from Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy will live on at the Smithsonian, with some of the late Supreme Court justice’s items being donated to the Washington institution.

A “significant selection of artifacts” representing Ginsburg’s career will be given to the National Museum of American History in a March 30 ceremony, the Smithsonian announced Monday.

The museum will also award Ginsburg a posthumous honor with its Great Americans medal. The award recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals” and those who “have not only made a lasting impact in their fields, but whose philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors set them apart.”

The liberal leader of the Supreme Court, who is being honored by the Smithsonian for her “groundbreaking commitment to gender equity and human rights,” died in 2020 at age 87.

Ginsburg’s children, Jane and James, will accept the Great Americans medal on their mother’s behalf, the National Museum of American History said, and will donate her items during the virtual gathering. The awards ceremony next month will serve as the “first public reveal” of exactly which objects will join the Smithsonian’s collections.

—Updated at 2 p.m.