As COVID-19 deaths spiked in 2020, Suzanne Firstenberg’s public art installation "In America: How could this happen…"
Museum Artifacts
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
4/7/2016
This Sony "Walkman" portable tape player dates from the early 1980s. Originally introduced in 1979 as the “Soundabout,” two people could listen simultaneously while a small microphone permitted them to converse without removing their headsets. Powered by a 9-volt battery, the recorder sold we
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/3/2020
This brown paper twenty-four column card is divided into seventeen fields for such categories as city, schedule, line, reason, sex, age, and occupation. It is a preliminary version of a punch card developed by the Bureau of the Census for a 1930 Census of Unemployment.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/3/2020
A U.S. Border Patrol official reviews a bracero's documents while others wait in line to be processed at the Hidalgo Processing Center, Texas.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
3/19/2010
During his thirteen seasons with the Boston Celtics, Bob Cousy (b. 1928) played in thirteen consecutive All-Star Games and earned two All–Star MVP awards, among many other accolades. This “Houdini of the Hardwood” introduced speed and flamboyant ball-handling skills previously unseen in pro
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/17/2009
The civilizations of pre-Hispanic Mexico recorded their histories, religious beliefs, and scientific knowledge in books called codices. Codices are folded pieces of hide or bark that depict both mundane and spiritual scenes with images, symbols, and numbers. Scribes and painters busily recorded d
Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
3/5/2009
This Thai passport was seized in the well-publicized 1995 El Monte, Calif., sweatshop raid. The passport is part of a larger Smithsonian collection of artifacts documenting apparel industry sweatshops, focusing on the El Monte operation (72 workers were discovered working as slaves). With a legit
Grade Range:
5-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/23/2010
US Army private's uniform from approximately 1840.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
7/21/2008
In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America. Among the items he purchased from Philadelphia instrument maker Thomas Whitney were three pocket compasses and this silver
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:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/19/2009
Lace-making and sewing were more than utilitarian projects. They allowed young girls to express themselves artistically while learning discipline and attention to detail. This embroidered linen and lace pillow sham belonged to Miguel Roses at the turn of the 20th century. Bird and flower designs
