This site examines the job of a president, the balance of power with the Supreme Court and Congress, and ways presidents have communicated with the public. Features include the battle sword of George Washington, the lap desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and the top hat worn by Abraham Lincoln the night he was assassinated.

Find the right vehicles for a new movie from the America on the Move collection, then watch the movie that you’ve created on the big screen. See how much you know about the history of transportation with the interactive games in this online collection. You can find information, artifacts and photographs in the collection as well.

In this activity, learners use simple supplies to build a speaker. After they construct the speaker with adult assistance, learners attach it to a low power radio and test it out. The resource guide includes questions for learners to answer that will help them examine the speaker device and think about how it works. Learners are also encouraged to modify their design and take apart a broken radio to search for the electromagnet coil and permanent magnet inside. Use this activity to introduce learners to how speakers work as well as electromagnetism and sound.

Travel through time and decide how to get from here to there, while assembling your own photo album. See how much you know about the history of transportation with the interactive games in this online collection. You can find information, artifacts and photographs in the collection as well.

This activity “Becoming aware of the Japanese American Internment Camp Experience” is intended to help students become aware of, and sensitive to, the Japanese American interment camp experience. They will develop a sense of empathy by simulating the situations which Japanese American children faced.

This manual provides you with a variety of creative and engaging strategies to help students think about how wars have been defining moments in both the history of the nation and the lives of individual Americans.

This manual provides you with a variety of creative and engaging strategies to help students think about how wars have been defining moments in both the history of the nation and the lives of individual Americans.

Students will be able to cite the origins and outcome of the War of 1812 and be able to place the creation of the Star-Spangled Banner in a chronological framework.

This site puts students in the role of historians as they examine a buffalo hide painting and click on areas that reveal clues to the painting's story. The story helps students understand the role of the buffalo in the lives of the American Indians of the northern plains. Grades 4-12

This site looks at the history and variety of voting methods in the U.S. -- the voice vote, party ticket (paper ballots listing candidates from just one party), Australian ballot, gear and lever machine, and others. Voting reforms of the early 1900s, when the U.S. electorate doubled, are described. Kinds of voting equipment used in counties across the U.S. are shown on a map. Innovative design improvements are discussed.

This site looks at the history and variety of voting methods in the U.S. -- the voice vote, party ticket (paper ballots listing candidates from just one party), Australian ballot, gear and lever machine, and others. Voting reforms of the early 1900s, when the U.S. electorate doubled, are described. Kinds of voting equipment used in counties across the U.S. are shown on a map. Innovative design improvements are discussed.

These activities will have student look at the history of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, its contributions to American history, and accomplishments of selected West Point graduates. Proposed by George Washington in 1783 and created 20 years later, West Point became an important American institution before the Civil War.

Match a variety of vehicles with their destinations and time periods to learn how much transportation in America has changed over time. See how much you know about the history of transportation with the interactive games in this online collection. You can find information, artifacts and photographs in the collection as well.

Match a variety of vehicles with their destinations and time periods to learn how much transportation in America has changed over time. See how much you know about the history of transportation with the interactive games in this online collection. You can find information, artifacts and photographs in the collection as well.

Within These Walls...tells the stories of five families who lived in this house over 200 years and made history in their kitchens and parlors, through everyday choices and personal acts of courage and sacrifice. In this online exhibition from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, students will learn how the Smithsonian acquired the house at 16 Elm Street Ipswich, Massachusetts and saved more than a dozen family stories and 200 years of American social history. They will also learn some of the methods historians and curators used to learn about this house's past, the ways that it changed over time, and the people who lived in it.

This web activity, recommended for grades 5 and up, is designed to teach both content and process.
The content areas addressed in this activity are the science of conservation and the history of the Hispanic American tradition of making santos. Santos are painted woodcarvings of saints in the Catholic Church. Conservators use scientific tools and procedures such as xeroradiography and microscopy to analyze objects. The science behind these tools and procedures is explained in this web activity. What santos are, how they are made, and the importance of their stories can be also discovered. Living santeros from both the New Mexican and Puerto Rican traditions are featured and speak about their work as santeros and the importance of these objects to their cultures. An exercise on iconography enables students to understand the importance of symbols in this tradition.

This site invites students to examine clues and determine what life was like for a family that lived in New Castle, Delaware, during the 1700s. Students also discover what historians in the next century might learn about us if they found our homes the way they are today.