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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: On the Interstate: I 10: 1956 1990

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the ways that the interstates changed commerce, travel, and where we live. The interstates have profoundly changed American landscapes and lives, and the way business is conducted. I-10 sweeps almost 2,500 miles across the...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Roadside Communities: Ring's Rest, Muirkirk, Maryland

For Students 9th - 10th
The exhibition explores historical moments in the area of transportation. As more people took to the road, clusters of roadside businesses sprang up to accommodate motorists' needs including roadside cabins. Ring's Rest, located about 20...
Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Automobile Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
See the wide range of gas-powered vehicles manufactured in America in the late 19th century. Click on each picture to read a detailed description of the vehicle, how it worked, and the history of its manufacture. From the Smithsonian...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Suburban Strip: Sandy Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 1949

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition focusses on the relationship between transportation and suburbia in the mid 1920s until after World War II when many grocery stores, car dealerships, and other businesses moved out of the city to the suburban strip.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Tending Aids to Navigation

For Students 9th - 10th
Who maintains our maritime infrastructure? Step back to the 1920s and meet some of the men and boats of the U.S. Lighthouse Service while learning about the hundreds of aids to navigation in New York Harbor.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: The Connected City: New York, New York 1920s

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition highlights New York's harbor, with stories of the city as a hub of immigration, manufacturing, and culture.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: The People's Highway: Route 66: 1930s 1940s

For Students 9th - 10th
This section of the America on the Move exhibition explores the substance behind the myth of Route 66, telling the stories of real people who made their living on or beside the road and who traveled on the fabled highway.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: A Nation of Immigrants: Latino Stories

For Students 9th - 10th
While in the year 2000 Latinos were the largest ethnic minority in the United States, their experiences are by no means the same. Explore stories of Latino immigration and migration and see some of the complexities of immigration.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Chicago, the Transit Metropolis

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the role of public transportation in Chicago, from the 1890s through the 1950s.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Transportation History Videos

For Students 9th - 10th
Three short videos from the America on the Move exhibition provide an overview of American transportation history. Click on the icons to see the videos, or just read the scripts.
Interactive
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: The Hall of Arctic People

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the online version of the Smithsonian Institute's exhibit devoted to the people of the Siberian and North American Arctic. The mannequins around the walls represent the peoples of the Crossroads region, dressed in traditional...
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of the American Indian: Perspectives on Thanksgiving

For Students 4th - 8th
Excellent resource for educating students on the American Indian perspective on Thanksgiving using the themes of environment, community, encounters, and innovations. Includes images, quotes, classroom activity ideas, and links to related...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: George and Martha Washington

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portrait Gallery provides this opportunity to view 12 portraits of George and Martha Washington from his Presidential years. Information of each portrait is available.
Graphic
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Roberto Clemente, Baseball Legend

For Students 9th - 10th
Great reference tool from the National Postal Museum online exhibits for learning about the life of legendary baseball star, Roberto Clemente, who was honored twice with a postage stamp in his memory. Includes images of memorabilia and...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Our Story: Life in a Sod House

For Students 3rd - 8th
Imagine moving into a house made out of sod that you and your family had to build in the middle of a prairie! Find great information and activities that will help you understand how it felt to live on the prairie.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Indigenous Saami in Northern Coastal Sweden

For Students 9th - 10th
The Saami people of Sweden are the focus of study for this Smithsonian research team. There are photos of Saami archaeological sites and descriptions of their cultural practices. Links for further research are provided.
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Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Forces of Change:meet Your Atmosphere

For Students 9th - 10th
This superb site has detailed information about the composition of the atmosphere, how it is always changing, how it protects life on earth, and the destructive impact human activity has on it. There is an atmosphere design lab, as well...
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Smithsonian Institution

Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
This exhibition by National Portrait Gallery titled "Let Your Motto Be Resistance" presents photographs documenting notable African Americans and their contributions to American culture. The gallery of portraits offers an impressive...
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Smithsonian Institution

Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical portraits of African Americans involved in the struggle for civil rights and equality, from the time of Frederick Douglass forward. Learn about the contributions of Edmonia Lewis, Sojourner Truth, Edward Bannister, Octavius...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Inventing Marcel Duchamp:the Dynamics of Portraiture

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhibition delving into the life and works of one of the leading Dada artists, Marcel Duchamp. Includes examples of his alter-ego portraits and videos of interviews with the artist and with experts discussing his art. [Videos are...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Presidents in Waiting

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of portraits of fourteen vice presidents who later became president tells the stories of their careers in pictures and words. Includes videos of taped interviews with four former vice presidents. [Exhibition opening: January...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Zaida Ben Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibit documents the life and work of early twentieth-century New York portrait photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf, who broke with many of the conventions of portraiture and, thereby, attracted the attention of prominent artistic, literary,...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Mathew Brady's Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of photographic portraits taken by Civil War-era photographer Mathew Brady, who made portraits of many illustrious Americans on both sides of the conflict before, during, and after the war. Includes an animated explanation of...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture

For Students 9th - 10th
Visit an example-rich exploration of poster art and learn how famous faces have been used to convey meanings and messages across the decades. An excellent resource for discovering how art can be a window into a particular time, Ballyhoo!...