As COVID-19 deaths spiked in 2020, Suzanne Firstenberg’s public art installation "In America: How could this happen…"
Museum Artifacts
Grade Range:
5-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
11/30/2010
General Edward Braddock gave this pistol to George Washington. In 1777 Washington mislaid the gun. A letter was sent to Captain Charles Morley on July 2, 1777. It read: "Sir, His Excellency Gen. Washington desires you to look among his effects for a pistol which was mislaid or possibly lost. You
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/18/2008
This is a Bata Cubana, or Cuban Rumba dress, donated to the Smithsonian by Celia Cruz, the great Cuban salsa singer in 1997. An adaptation of the traditional Cuban rumba dress, it was made in the United States by Cuban-born designer José Arteaga. The Bata Cubana has its roots in the 19th century
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/17/2010
Gold coins fused by heat.
Specific History
This pile of five-peseta coins was fused together by the fire aboard the Spanish ship Infanta Maria Teresa, flagship of Admiral Pascual Cervera.
General History
Infanta Maria Teresa led the so
Grade Range:
5-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/22/2010
A match safe, lantern, frying pan, and cup would have been part of a soldier’s equipment. Hardtack is the name given to a thick cracker made of flour, water, and sometimes salt.
Grade Range:
5-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/28/2010
Chess set used by Major General George McClellan during the Civil War.
Grade Range:
9-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
11/22/2011
After the December 7, 1941, bombing of the military base at Pearl Harbor, Americans rallied around the war effort with the patriotic cry, "Remember Pearl Harbor." Thousands of buttons or lapel pins were distributed to remind Americans of the tragic event and to solidify the war efforts.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
5/3/2012
This apparatus was designed by Catherine Stern, a physicist by training and the founder of a Montessori school in her native Germany. Stern and her husband were of Jewish descent, and emigrated to New York City in 1938 to avoid persecution by the Nazis. There she developed these materials, descri
Grade Range:
5-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
6/10/2009
United States Mint, Philadelphia. Obverse: Young head of Liberty, facing right; date below. Reverse: Eagle, facing left; denomination below. The piece was designed by George T. Morgan, and, while no more successful than any of his other designs, stands in marked contrast to them. Because of the y
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
4/4/2016
Part of the appeal of Coca Cola has always been cultural not just taste. In the early 1900s Coca Cola expanded to international markets creating a Foreign Department in 1926. This ad promotes the notion that consuming Coca Cola is sophisticated and modern. Close inspection of this “Shanghai lad
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
5/1/2018
The term “ballot” is derived from the Italian ballotta, meaning “little ball.” This ballot box was not used in a U.S. election. It was used by members of a Washington, D.C., social club.
