In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, James Gardner, Former Senior Scholar and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs, discusses the Museum's collection efforts and object stories following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The resource includes a teacher

1896 Pattern Medal of Honor awarded to Daniel Butterfield, “for distinguished gallantry in action at Gaines Mills, Va. June 27, 1862” Perhaps best known as the composer of the bugle call "Taps," Daniel Butterfield began his Civil War service as a sergeant in the Washington, D.C

Make your own American eagle pop-up and review symbols with students using this resource, developed by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries for the exhibition Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn.

For most of the twentieth century, two generations of Scurlocks documented Washington, D.C.'s African American community and city life.  Portraits of a City is a web resource from the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, that preserves and provides access to the pho

From 1861-1865, Americans battled over preserving their Union and ending slavery.  The Civil War is the focus of this section of The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, an online exhibition. This pivotal and complicated period of American history is divided into sections that allow

This website discusses the major events of the War of 1812, including the burning of Washington, and the battles of Fort McHenry and New Orleans. Students will learn from images and objects in the Museum's collections to shed light on the conflict that gave the country a new symbol, the Star

The AAR Website promotes the utilization of freight rail as a viable, eco-friendly, alternative to trucks when hauling freight across the United States, and all of North America. AAR members include the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak, and are ba

The March on Washington, August 28, 1963, was the largest civil rights demonstration the nation had ever witnessed. One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 250,000 Americans of all races gathered to petition the government to pass meaningful civil rights legislation and enforce exi

In this post, students will learn how Washington, D.C. transformed the Potomac Riverfront, especially the area of the National Mall where the Tidal Basin, cherry blossom trees, and monuments now stand. Written by Drew Robarge, museum technician in the Division of Medicine and Science, this p

In this post, students will learn about Washington during the Civil War. During the war, Washington’s busy wharves were the focal point for moving people and supplies into and out of the city. Here the wounded from the Virginia battlefields were off-loaded from steamboats to await transpor