The Smithsonian Transcription Center, the National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access, and Smithsonian Enterprises collaborated with five secondary teachers from the greater Washington, D.C., metro area to create

This Learning Lab collection explores the life of Anna Dickinson, an abolitionist who became a prominent public speaker as a teenager during the Civil War. Consider the following guiding and supporting questions as you navigate the collection: What is the power of youth voice in the fight against

What will the future of gender equity look like? The annual summit for 2021 will examine issues of gender, bias, and equity. History will be our guide as we unpack this question and envision our own answers to it.

This Santa Cruz helmet was worn by downhill skateboarder Judi Oyama while racing during the late 1970's and into the 1980s. Oyama began skating as a teen and was sponsored by Santa Cruz Skateboards in the mid-seventies. She skated both vert and street but her passion was slalom and downhill racing w

“For many high school students in the United States, prom is considered one of the most highly anticipated events of the school year. Teenagers plan months in advance on what to wear to the event, and magazines have devoted entire issues to prom fashion. Typically held in the spring, the annual da

“In 2020, the Fifteenth Amendment—the first voting rights amendment added to the U.S. Constitution—celebrates its 150th anniversary. You’ve likely heard, perhaps on the news or in the classroom, that the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave or granted African American men the ri

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

A skateboarding pioneer, Cindy Whitehead turned pro at seventeen, skating both pool and half-pipe and becoming one of the top-ranked vert skaters while competing against the boys. But Whitehead had no choice but to wear boys’ shorts when competing; there were no skate products for girls in the 197

We will host a panel discussion connecting stories of teenagers in the past fighting to address systemic injustice to those of the present. The 2020 annual summit will be centered on the case study of Claudette Colvin—a 15-year-old Black student in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Colvin refused to g

“One of the most infamous tragedies in American manufacturing history is the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire of 1911. You may recall the story—how a blaze in a New York City sweatshop resulted in the fiery death of 146 people, mostly immigrant women in their teens and 20s. When workers found ex