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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Making Sense of "Failed" Car Technology

For Students 9th - 10th
America on the Move explores the role of transportation in American History highlighting its role as a vital part of our business, social, and cultural history. Learn about the auto industry's experiments, dead-ends, and temporary...
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Learning Resources

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity guide accompanies the exhibition America on the Move and provides documents and activities that students can use to build a deeper understanding of how transportation shaped American commerce, communities, landscapes, and...
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Lives on the Railroad: Salisbury, North Carolina 1927

For Students 9th - 10th
Replica of the Salisbury, North Carolina railway station teaches about riding and working on the railroad in the 1920s when railroads were a central part of American life. Railroad lines crisscrossed the country. They carried people,...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Marine Patent Models

For Students 9th - 10th
View the Smithsonian's collection of patent models that demonstrate marine inventions from the 1770s to the 1950s that attempted to change and improve the challenges Americans encountered working and traveling on the water.
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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 Natural History: Ptarmigan

For Students 9th - 10th
This Smithsonian website has a brief, but thorough, article on the Ptarmigan. It also includes pictures and an extensive quote from 19th Century naturalist Edward Nelson.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Wildlife Portfolio

For Students 9th - 10th
The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center offers a portfolio of arctic animals. A page dedicated to each animal provides a physical description, personal observations of the animal in the wild, and several pictures.
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: The Presidency and the Cold War: Harry Truman

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portrait Gallery explores presidendtial actions in regard to the Cold War. Click on Harry Truman to see what actions and decisions he made during his term of office. Read about his meeting with Joseph Stalin at Potsdam, the...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: The Presidency and the Cold War: John F. Kennedy

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portait Gallery explores the actions of presidents during the Cold War. Here find President Kennedy's decisions during the Berlin Crisis, the building of the Berlin War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Watch a video of...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: The Presidency and the Cold War: Richard M. Nixon

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portrait Gallery explores the actions of presidents in regard to the Cold War. Read about the so-called anti-Communist warrior, Richard M. Nixon, and his opening of relations with Communist China. Watch Nixon's speech about...
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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.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: A Brush With History

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of portraits of American heroes, statesmen, writers, artists, scientists, and historical figures draws on the paintings in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery to consider the story of America. View portraits from...
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...