"This black t-shirt, which says “Silence = Death” with a pink triangle, symbolizes the struggle against AIDS.
Museum Artifacts
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/25/2009
The evolving civil rights movement of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s revolutionized the consciousness of young people across the United States. As in African American communities, a new sense of mobilization spread among Mexican Americans. Many adopted a more political identity—chicano an
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
9/24/2009
The shofar, one of the earliest known musical instruments, is usually made from a ram's horn. Used in biblical times to signal important events, it is also blown on High Holy Days (10 days in the fall of the year). It is sounded many times during the services of Rosh ha-Shanah (the Jewish New Yea
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/24/2009
La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is the frightening figure of a heartbroken woman who drowned her children and haunts the night, especially by riversides. Her story is repeated to children throughout Latin America, with numerous versions circulating throughout Mexico and the American Southwest.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
9/20/2009
The French-born artist Jean Charlot spent his early career during the 1920s in Mexico City. His 1948 lithograph depicts a scene from the domestic life of a Mexican indigenous woman, a favorite theme of the artist. Household work-without the aid of most, if any, electrical appliances-was a full-ti
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/20/2009
Mariachis, groups comprised of vocalists, trumpeters, violinists, and various bass and guitar players, are today considered Mexico's traditional musical ensemble. Originally from the state of Jalisco, mariachi music transformed itself from a regional to a national music between the 1930s and 1950
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
9/20/2009
From doo-wop and country blues, to polka and hip-hop, Tejano music is made by borderland musicians forced to understand the value of cultural exchange. Performing a fusion of cumbia, pop, and contemporary Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (1971-1995) was a young star whose rise and hard-won
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/19/2009
The yo-yo maraca is a Puerto Rican novelty that unites both a spinning top and a musical instrument of native origin called a maraca. The name "yo-yo" is a misnomer, since the toy functions like a spinning top.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/19/2009
This variety of maracas, made of cow leather and sinew, is used in musical genres like guaracha, son, and salsa. They are of different sizes, so that one is pitched higher and the other, lower. In contrast, the Afro-Puerto Rican musical tradition known as bomba uses a larger, single
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/19/2009
This is a miniature version of the barril de bomba, the kind of drum used in performances of the Afro-Puerto Rican musical tradition known as bomba. While bomba can be used as the generic name for a number of rhythms, its real meaning is about the encounter and creative relationship between dance
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/19/2009
In Puerto Rico, the traditional center of lace making is the town of Moca. There, lace is made by hand on bobbins and is known as mundillo. Bobbin lace is a complicated process of weaving together different spools of thread held in place by pins. Lace making today is undergoing a resurgence of po
