Centenary icons
Read the stories behind the Centenary Icons
We've chosen ten objects from our incredible collection that changed the future...
Add your own Icon
We want to know what invention or discovery has changed your life... Could it be the iPod, IVF or the internet? What would you choose?
Steam Engine
The Steam Engine changed the future in 1712
What links this massive machine with today's changing climate?
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket changed the future in 1829
It's the most famous steam locomotive in the world... but what makes it so special?
Electric Telegraph
The Electric Telegraph changed the future in 1837
Using only 20 letters, how did this odd-looking machine make the world a smaller place?
X-ray Machine
The X-ray Machine changed the future in 1895
Looking inside the body was tricky before the discovery of X-rays. What did it mean for medicine?
Model T Ford
The Model T changed the future in 1908
Motoring for the masses begins. Imagine swapping your horse for this handsome creature...
Penicillin
Penicillin changed the world in 1928
A life-saving medicine made from mould? Would you have believed it?
V2 Rocket Engine
The V2 Rocket Engine changed the future in 1944
The Nazis built it to fire missiles at London. So why have we chosen a weapon of war to celebrate our centenary?
Pilot ACE Computer
The Pilot ACE Computer changed the future in 1950
In a world where computers could only do one thing, how slow could you bear to go?
DNA Double Helix
The DNA Double Helix changed the future in 1953
Imagine how you'd feel if you thought you had discovered the secret of life...
Apollo 10 Capsule
The Apollo 10 Capsule changed the future in 1969
How far? How fast? How on Earth? Forty years later we ask: would I have been as brave?
