Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Satellite Lunch Box"

Taking America to Lunch

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:11:53 GMT

Taking America to Lunch is an online exhibition that includes a sampling of illustrated lunch boxes and beverage containers dating from the 1890s through the 1980s. Students will learn how television changed the metal lunch pails carried by industrial workers and students a century ago into an important commercial vehicle for popular culture.

Mobilizing Minds: Teaching Science and Math in the Age of Sputnik

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:22:29 GMT

In this online exhibition, students will learn how fear of Soviet domination galvanized reform in science and math education during the 1950's and 60's. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. In order win the "Space Race", the United States urgently needed both a select group of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers; and a general population of mathematically and scientifically informed citizens.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:47:53 GMT

In this lesson plan students will examine primary sources to determine the level of threat caused by the buildup of Soviet nuclear missiles and weapons sites in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and will analyze President Kennedy’s response. This resource was produced to accompany the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Cold War

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:53:27 GMT

Students will learn how a "cold war" between the United States and the Soviet Union began after World War II in this section of the online exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War. Americans led Western efforts to contain Communism. The Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, the origins of NATO and the arms race that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis are all discussed. A non-flash version of this site is available: The Cold War.