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, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
1/29/2009
Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) bought this Head tennis racket in 1975 and used it in competitions including Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. When he began his career in 1955, he was challenged by racial prejudice. But the young man from Richmond. Virginia, broke down these barriers, becoming a Grand Slam to
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/17/2009
This intricate handmade lace baby cap dates from the turn of the 20th century and was probably worn for a baby's christening. The baptism of newborns is both a religious and a social ceremony, strengthening ties among members of a community. Compadrazgo, the special relationship between
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/17/2010
Physical Description
Oxidized metal bugle.
Specific History
This bugle was salvaged from the wreck of the USS Maine.
General History
USS Maine was a second-class battleship built between 1888 and 1895. It was sent to Havana, Cub
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/18/2009
This engraving shows Hernán Cortés (1485 1547), the Spanish captain who headed the conquest of the Aztec Empire. He became a part of popular mythology the moment he arrived in Mexico in 1521. Cortés had spent time in Cuba killing and enslaving its indigenous inhabitants and administering the n
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
5/6/2010
This oval lady's compact is made in the shape of a telephone dial. On the dial appears "I LIKE IKE," with a map of the United States in the center. The point is that anywhere you might dial over the country, everybody likes Ike!
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
11/13/2008
When Theodore Roosevelt was elected President in 1904 and needed an inaugural medal, he gave the commission to scupltor Augustus Saint-Gaudens after rejecting the standard, unmemorable medal typically produced for this occasion by the United States Mint.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
11/6/2008
Before the famous California gold rush, several important strikes were made in the East: in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The earliest took place in Mecklenburg County, N.C., in 1799, where a nugget weighing several pounds was discovered. Its finder used it as a doorstop until some
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/3/2008
This tortoiseshell woman's hair comb dates from the 19th century. A precursor to plastics, tortoiseshell and horn were common materials used in combs since they could be made soft and moldable by heating. As they cooled, they would harden and keep their new shape.
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts
Date Posted:
4/7/2016
The National Cash Register Company produced this Model 421 cash register around 1914. The register was used in a Marshall Field & Company department store. The register has three columns of keys for entering numbers, and a fourth column of function keys. The operating crank is on the right si
Grade Range:
K-12
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
9/2/2020
This yellow, floral patterned tea length patterned dress was worn by Minnijean Brown during the Spingarn Award Ceremony in 1958. The Spingarn Medal is a gold medal that has been awarded annually since 1915 by the NAACP. According to the NAACP, the purpose is “to call the attention of the American
