The Blackberry is a handheld wireless Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and communication device.
Interactives & Media

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Worksheets
Duration:
15 minutes
Date Posted:
3/27/2013
In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Sarah Coffee hears from Rayna Green about how curators working on the exhibit, Food:Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000, got out of the museum and

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media
Date Posted:
10/18/2010
Get an introduction to some of today’s top researchers and the basics of biotechnology, biofuel, genetics, health, and agriculture. This video features interviews with four leading scientists in biotechnology who tell us what drew them to the field: Dr. Pardis Sabeti, Assistant Professor of

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Interactives & Media
Duration:
5 minutes
Date Posted:
5/15/2014
The history of patenting higher-level organisms began in the mid-1980s with a little guy called OncoMouse. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Mallory Warner of the Museum's Division of Medicine and Science to talk about the first animal patented in the United States, and some of the ethical

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Worksheets
Duration:
11 minutes
Date Posted:
4/11/2013
Though not as well-known as figures such as Duke Ellington or Ella Fitzgerald, John Levy made significant contributions to jazz music, both as a bassist and as the first black personal manager in jazz. In this episode of History Explorer, Sarah Coffee interviews Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orche

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Duration:
220 minutes
Date Posted:
4/27/2010
Investigate the authentic journal of Alex Van Valen, a man who set sail in 1849 to stake his claim in the California gold fields, to discover what life was like during the gold rush. This dynamic project from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History includes student questions to help

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Reviewed Websites, Interactives & Media
Duration:
60 minutes
Date Posted:
12/29/2020
An Interactive Journey through Jewish History of Eastern Europe. The first exhibition, Beba Epstein: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Girl uses interactive storytelling to contextualize hundreds of artifacts from the YIVO archives, taking the user on a journey of discovery. It is based on the l

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media
Duration:
14
minutes
Date Posted:
12/16/2013
Joseph Henry was one of America's preeminent 19th-century scientists, a pioneer in the investigation of electromagnetism and other fields of study, and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. This video shows how Henry's research found practical application in

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Interactives & Media
Duration:
5 minutes
Date Posted:
6/30/2014
Although we might think of fax machines as a relatively recent (if somewhat dated) technology, this episode uncovers the surprising history of the wireless fax machine. Host Tory Altman speaks with Hal Wallace, associate curator of the museum's electricity collection, about this 1930s device that

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Worksheets
Duration:
38 minutes
Date Posted:
6/14/2012
Special summer edition: Going on a road trip? Along the way, listen to this special edition of the History Explorer podcast series. It’s a compilation of some newer and older podcasts around the theme of perhaps the most common car ride entertainment—music.

Grade Range:
6-12
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources, Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Duration:
20 minutes
Date Posted:
4/6/2012
Alan Harvie and John “Sarge” Ransome served about the SS Honomu sailing the Murmansk Run to the Soviet Union. Listen to their story, and then study the supporting primary sources to answer the discussion questions. This resource is part of a series called “Maritime Voices: Merchant Ma