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Found 629 Collections


How We Vote

This collection invites users to explore how Americans have voted throughout our history and the innovations that have improved the voting process. Students will closely investigate images from the 19th and 20th century in order to determine potential flaws and improvements in the democratic process. Links to websites for additional reading are included as well as assessments and a possible extension activity.

Guiding questions:

-How has the process of voting changed in the last two centuries? Consider who, what, when, where, why, and how when answering this question.

-How have technological changes enhanced voting? What challenges remain?

Tags: civics, elections, campaigns, vote, ballot, ballot box, democracy, electoral process, change over time, cause effect

Kate Harris

How to Make a Ti Leaf Lei: Demonstration video, children's stories, dances, and contextual images

Lei making is an important part of Hawaiian culture. These twisted strands are worn on important occasions and given as gifts of welcome. In this collection you'll find a demonstration video by Mokihana Scalph, as well as performances of children's stories, dance performances, and images of leis and ti leaves, to give context to the performances.

Philippa Rappoport

From Deer to Dance: How-to Demonstrations and Informational Videos

This collection comes from a family festival at the National Museum of the American Indian that explored uses of leather in Native communities - literally from the hunting and tanning of deer and their hides, to their use in ritual and everyday life. The collection includes demonstrations of deer-hide tanning, moccasin making, bead working, instructions to make a leather pouch and a daisy chain bracelet, and an interview and performance by Lawrence Baker and the White Oak Singers.

Philippa Rappoport

Raven Steals the Sun: A Celebration of Tlingit Culture

This collections comes from an American Indian Heritage Month family festival focusing on Tlingit culture from the northwest coast of America. Included here are music and dance performances by the Dakhka Kwaan Dancers, storytelling by Gene Tagaban, Shelly Laws, and Maria Williams (of her book, "How Raven Stole the Sun"), a moiety game, and hands-on demonstrations by Shelly Laws of how to weave a two-stranded basket and to make Tlingit-style beaded ear loops .

Philippa Rappoport

Carnival Celebrations: Masks (Lesson Plans, Activities, and Background Information)

This collection comes from a set of lessons plans to introduce students to the culture of Puerto Rico by looking at customs and objects - specifically masks - connected to the annual celebration of Carnival. The lessons are split into four levels, covering grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. They were originally adapted from a set of activities that appeared in Our Story in History: A Puerto Rican Carnival, a website produced by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History - also shown in a link inside the collection, along with instructions for students to make their own masks. The lessons include objects from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, and the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History.

Philippa Rappoport

Student Activity: An Exploration of Immigration/Migration Experiences

With this collection, students can explore people's stories of moving to a new country or culture (both forced and voluntarily), and then walk, fly, or sail "a mile in their shoes" to imagine some of the challenges they encountered in moving to their new home.

Then, they can write up their own family stories, using a variety of resources including a "Today I Am Here" homemade book, or PBS Learning Media's resources, "Digging at the Roots of Your Family Tree."


This collection supports Unit 1: Precious Knowledge - Exploring notions of identity and community, Personal history / identit / membership / agency, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course.

This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. 

Philippa Rappoport

The NHD @ NMAAHC Collection Connection Grid 2017: Taking a Stand in History

Welcome to the National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection Grid for the 2017 NHD Theme!

Below are some objects and videos to help you explore the 2017 NHD theme: Taking a Stand in History. These objects will help you consider the perspective of the African American experience in history.

These objects may help you form an idea for a project topic or they may help to expand the narrative of your selected project. Click on the text icon for possible project connections and/or the hotspots to reveal object questions to spark your curiosity.

The artifact questions should encourage viewers to think and explore the history of the object or video on their own!

National Museum of African American History and Culture

What were the causes of U.S. imperialism?

This collection examines the causes of U.S. imperialism at the turn of the century through the lens of two political cartoons. Students will investigate both cartoons and develop a definition of imperialism based on what they find.

Kate Harris

Classroom Activity Using Images of Immigration and Identity from the National Portrait Gallery, the New York Times, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Students can use the "What makes you say that?" and the "3 Ys" thinking routines to explore two modern portraits about identity and immigration from the National Portrait Gallery. The first thinking strategy asks students to look at a work of art for several minutes before answering two questions: "What's going on?" and "What do you see that makes you say that?" (See for more information.)

To further and deepen the discussion, I've included a link to a September 2016 New York Times Op-Doc entitled "4.1 Miles," about a coast guard captain on a small Greek island who is suddenly charged with saving thousands of refugees from drowning at sea. (If it doesn't show up easily, you can view the original video on Times Video at I've also included two sculptures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, an interview with Lisa Sasaki, head of the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center, and resources from the University of Minnesota  Libraries Publishing's Immigration Syllabus - Americans / Immigrants, Weeks 1-4.

You may wish to use the "3 Y's" thinking routine here as well, which asks students to consider the following questions:

1. Why might this [topic, question] matter to me?

2. Why might it matter to people around me [family, friends, city, nation]?

3. Why might it matter to the world?

(See for more information.)

#APA2018, #LatinoHAC, #EthnicStudies 

This collection supports Unit 1: Precious Knowledge - Exploring notions of identity and community, of the Austin ISD Ethnic Studies Part A course.


Philippa Rappoport

What Makes a First Lady?

In this collection, students will answer the question "What Makes a First Lady?" by comparing and analyzing images of various First Ladies. They will also think critically about their definition of the First Lady as compared to that of the President and the differences in medium (painting, photography, video) artists use to represent a First Lady. One of the final activities will require students to find an image of a First Lady not shown in the collection to test their definitions.

This activity is based on the "Reading Portraiture" Guide for Educators created by the National Portrait Gallery. The guide can be found at the end of the collection.

Alexander Graves

Communes, Counterculture, and the Back to the Land Movement

This collection includes a variety of photographs taken by Lisa Law. Students will examine the photographs and a few artifacts and try to draw conclusions about the ways in which the commune or back-to-the-land movement challenged the norms of traditional United States society in the 1960s and 1970s. A link to an exhibit website is include and allows students to check their assumptions, and students are asked to compare elements of the counterculture with that of mainstream 1960s and 1970s culture.

Tags: counterculture, commune, hippie, granola, back to nature, communal living, co-op, cooperative, sixties, seventies, Woodstock, change over time, compare, ashram, silent majority

Kate Harris

Iconic and Ironic? Depression-Era Photographs

This collection includes three photographs by Farm Security Administration artists that use language and image to create an American scene in the late 1930s-early 1940s. The first has become an iconic image of the Great Depression by Margaret Bourke-White, although it has a more specific history that users will learn about. Students will be asked to consider why the first image became so closely linked with the Great Depression, how the artist and author used irony to make a statement, and how different groups may have experienced the Depression in different ways. After reading a passage from Bud Not Buddy (by Christopher Paul Curtis) and answering reflective questions, students will write their own passage about one of the remaining photographs.

Essential Questions:

-How do these artists use images and language to create rich portraits of America?

-In what way do these images suggest divisions or unity within America during hte 1930s and 1940s?

Tags: Bud Not Buddy, Margaret Bourke White, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration, soup kitchen, bread line, hobo, hoboes, comparison, irony, descriptive writing

Kate Harris

American Indians

Paintings and photographs that represent the Lakota, Inuit, Kwakiutl, Pueblo, and Iroquois tribes. This aligns with Virginia SOL USI.3b. Teachers may have students look critically at each image. Students can then create a claim or hypothesis of what tribe they think it represents, along with supporting details. Teachers should use the "what makes you say that" strategy (described on the first image). This is a great check for understanding or formative assessment of student learning.

Michelle Moses

3D Technology and Repatriation of the Kéet-S’aaxw

This student activity introduces students to the concept of repatriation of cultural heritage items to the tribes to whom they belong, and the ways that museums and Native American groups are now using 3D technology to aid in the process. A killer whale hat, or kéet-s'aaxw, was requested to be repatriated by members of the Tlingit tribe. The Smithsonian Institution, under the repatriation provisions of the National Museum of the American Indian Act, did so. In the years following, the clan's leader decided that it might be beneficial to 3D scan the image in order to preserve its details and protect it in case of loss or fire. Having this data allowed the museum to create an accurate replica to be used for educational purposes, and provided the tribe with peace of mind. Learn more about this story and other cases of repatriation and replication in this collection which includes a 3D model and tour, video, website, and images of objects that have been part of the process.

Essential Questions include:

  • How does the current process of repatriation reflect a change in traditional relationships between museums and indigenous groups?
  • What kinds of guidelines should be used to determine which objects should be repatriated?
  • What benefits does 3D technology provide for museums and Native American tribes? Can you envision other scenarios where 3D technology might play a similarly beneficial role?

Tags: Native American, American Indian, Tlingit, repatriation, replication, 3D technology, whale hat, indigenous, rights, change over time, museums, anthropology

Kate Harris

Political Cartoons

Collection of Political Cartoons from the late 1800s/early 1900s (Mostly Imperialism)

Matthew Stagl

Remember Pearl Harbor

"Remember Pearl Harbor" was a call to action, that rallied all Americans to step up and support the war in any way they could. This collection explores the symbolism and impact of lapel pins produced during World War II.


Rodman's Guns

The five years of the Civil War are quite rightly considered a period of ordnance and artillery experimentation, development, and transition. The work of one man led, in fact, to the casting of one of the biggest guns ever built, even to the present day--a monstrous 20-inch muzzzleloader that fired a 1000 pound solid shot

Arthur Glaser

Notable Events in 1939

Ever since their first appearance in the 1939 release of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's ruby slippers quickly became one of the most iconic pieces of pop culture. But, did you know that other notable events also took place in 1939? In the same year that Dorothy walked down the Yellow Brick Road while wearing the ruby slippers, Germany invaded Poland, Batman first appeared in comics, Lou Gehrig retired from the New York Yankees, and much more. Explore this collection of images to witness key moments from 1939.

Alexander Graves

3-D Paper Puzzler: Hermit Crabs

Students at the Hirshhorn ARTLAB+ program have been experimenting with 3-dimensional digital paper craft. One of them even showed her papercraft dinosaur at the White House's first Maker Faire!

This collection includes images and video of hermit crabs, both live and from our art collections, as well as instructions and printable templates to make a 3-dimensional hermit crab shell from three sheets of paper.

Philippa Rappoport

Samuel Langley, Solar Scientist

Samuel Langley was the director of the Allegheny Observatory very near the city of Pittsburgh. Langley focused his telescope on the sun each clear day hoping to find its secrets and energy output.

Arthur Glaser

How Are Robots Changing Human Life?

This collection explores the essential question: How are robots changing human life? Students will lead an inquiry into this question through a variety of resources - objects, videos, articles, and websites - examining the history of robotics from the 16th century to the present, the problems robot designers have attempted to address with their inventions, and how they try to address them. Supporting questions to scaffold students' inquiry include: What problems were these robots designed to address? Have these problems changed over time? Have strategies for addressing these problems changed over time?

Tess Porter

History of Mormons in America

This collection of artifacts, photographs, texts, and historical markers is intended to help students explore the history of the Mormon religion in America.

Each of these items is intended to spark inquiry, following the process below:

  1. Students should choose one artifact on which to focus.
  2. Have them use the artifact analysis PDF (last resource) to begin their study of the artifact.
  3. Next, have students generate questions about the artifact? What do they wonder about? What does it tell them about the Mormon religion or its history within the United States?
  4. Have students complete some general research on their artifact that will help their classmates piece together the story of the Mormon experience.

As a collaborative project, students should use the PBS Forced Migrations map/timeline as a model for a class map/timeline of their own.

  1. Project an image of the map on a class whiteboard or create your own basic outline using large paper.
  2. Have each student present their research findings. The main questions they should answer are: What does it represent about the Mormon experience? Where would the artifact they chose be placed (geographically and in terms of chronology)?
  3. Students should then place place their image on the map with significant dates noted.
  4. After all groups have presented, review the narrative of the Mormon experience with the class. What would they identify as critical moments in Mormon history? What questions do they still have?
Tags: religion, Moroni, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Mormon, New York, Utah, Illinois, gold plates, inquiry
Kate Harris

Albert Bierstadt and the Lure of the West

Easterners heard many stories about the dangers of traveling to the American west. Accounts of the great American desert as an almost impossible place to cross caused many to rethink leaving home. Albert Bierstadt and painters of the Hudson River School traveled the west and sent back their impressions of the landscape and wildlife.

Arthur Glaser

30 Seconds-Fact and Opinion

In this collection, we look at portraiture through the lens of the 30 second look strategy. This looking strategy allows participants 30 seconds to look at a portrait, and then turn away from the portrait and have a conversation about what they saw. This activity challenges participants to first look on their own and then have a collaborative conversation with their peers.

Visually rich portraits, with both objects and setting, are most effective when using this strategy.

The 30 Seconds lesson helps students to use their visual and memorizing skills. The lessons will sentence starters like "I think and I know" to introduce fact and opinion, which will encourage creativity.

The activity can also help to exercises their....


Creative Writing

Focusing on key details

Expressive Language

The activity can be done as a whole group discussion, partner work, or independently. I will use the Kagan strategy Rally Coach on the second portrait with the purpose of building their language skills and taking ownership of their learning. Students will work with a peer what they saw during the 30 seconds of looking at the portrait. Then, they will share in their opinion what they think is happening in the setting and what is the person in the portrait doing and thinking.

This collection was created in conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery, as well as resource and information.

Maria Menjivar
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