Between the years 1790 and 1880 the U.S. Patent Office required both documentation and a three-dimensional working model to demonstrate each new invention submitted for a patent. The models helped to explain proposed innovations and compare them against similar inventions. In this online exhibiti

This online exhibition uses objects to tell the stories of disabled Americans from the 1800s to the present. The exhibition covers many aspects of life, including home, schools, and institutions, as well as how changes in technology and medicine have impacted the disabled. In addition to the exhi

In this online exhibition, students will learn how Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere), an American medical philanthropic organization, has impacted global health care. Currently, Project HOPE's education programs in southern Africa, Latin America, Central Europe and disadva

This kit of guided listening activities and streaming music offers an engaging way of introducing students to jazz. It traces Louis Armstrong's career as a musician, from influences in African rhythms and New Orleans marches through performances in the 1960's and 70's. It could also be used as an

This online exhibition examines the public health, scientific, and political responses in the early phase (1981-87) of the global HIV and AIDS pandemic. The website features photographs, magazine covers and public health information pamphlets from AIDS service organizations.

This online exhibition explore the role of the portable printing press in conveying information during the Civil War. The ability to communicate quickly in wartime can profoundly affect military actions and outcomes. The invention of portable tabletop printing presses at the time of the American

This online exhibition tells of the development of COBOL, a computer programming lanugage, and how it changed the commercial, banking, and defense industries. Fifty years ago, each computer maker used its own programming languages to tell a computer what to do. In 1959, a group of programmer

This online exhibition features photographs taken along the trail, Shaffer’s diary from the 1948 hike, and maps he used. The exhibition also covers the conception and development of the Appalachian Trail and its larger cultural and environmental impact. Earl Shaffer was the first pers

This online exhibition features approximately 100 objects from the Museum's collections to tell stories from the earliest days of America's colonial history through the 2008 presidential election. Each object is used as the starting point for a larger story about American history. The exhibition

On Time explores the changing ways we have measured, used, and thought about time over the past three hundred years. With this online resource, students will learn how improvements in time keeping technology have led to the increased importance of efficiency, punctuality and regimentatio