Menarche, or the onset of menstruation, generated much advice and many attempts to manage girls' bodies in a public w
Museum Artifacts
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
11/20/2009
This medal accompanied Lewis and Clark on their epochal journey West. The medal is hollow, consisting of two thin, embossed silver plates, one for each side of the medal. The two were held together by a silver ring, running around the entire circumference of the piece. The medal was created
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
4/4/2016
This Coca-Cola bottle from 2002 contains brown liquid inside that it sealed with a metal cap. The greenish glass is marked with a painted Coca-Cola logo around the middle, repeated twice. On one side, a barcode is placed next to the image of a Coca-Cola bottle with condensation over it, and under
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/3/2020
These four friendship bracelets were created inside a holding center while the young girl awaited their case in seeking asylum from El Salvador. Arts and crafts are sometimes part of daily routine for the young children since they are not allowed to leave the center.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
1/2/2022
For decades, teachers drilled American school children using flash cards that gave simple arithmetic problems. The advent of inexpensive electronic calculators in the 1970s made it possible to do much routine arithmetic automatically. To teach school children the meaning of basic operations, new dev
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:
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:
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:
11/6/2008
During World War I, machine guns were heavy, crew-served weapons. Their operation required several soldiers. Even so-called light machine guns could not easily be handled by single soldiers. To meet the need for an individual rapid-fire weapon, several inventors devised submachine guns. Light eno
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
10/22/2008
This 1923 ticket booth is from Yankee Stadium, called "The House that Ruth Built" because the star slugger, Babe Ruth (1895–1948), revitalized the game, bringing in thousands of new fans.
