Just how big is the Star-Spangled Banner? In this classroom activity, students will visualize the area of the famous flag by measuring pieces of string and attaching them to create an outline of the Star-Spangled Banner. This activity is included in the online exhibition entitled The

Learn how architects use paper to represent plans for buildings. Make two- and three-dimensional representations of your home using close observation and measurements.  Part of an OurStory module entitled Building Beautiful Buildings, this activity includes step-by-step instructions

In this activity, students will create their own paper mache Carnival masks as a way to learn about Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican culture. This resource is part of an OurStory module entitled A Puerto Rican Carnival. OurStory is a series of modules designed to help children and adults enjoy explor

Discover the beauty in nature in your neighborhood or a local botanical garden in this activity related to First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson and her work to protect the environment and bring beauty to every community. This activity guide includes tips for finding local botanical gardens, sug

Everyday objects such as pennies and dollar bills can go unnoticed in our lives. We use them all the time, but how often do we really look at them? Taking the time to investigate a familiar thing in detail and then learning to design something similar will strengthen your child’s observati

In this activity, children and adults will take a trip together to explore a locally owned business in their community. Children and adults will use the suggested questions to learn more about what it takes to run a business while thinking about the business history of their

Jingle the Brass is a book about a young boy who learns words used by railroad workers of the steam-engine era while on an exciting train trip. Part of an OurStory module entitled All Aboard the Train!, this activity includes strategies that will help adults and children activel

For more than a century, women in the United States struggled to obtain the right to vote. In 1920, the suffrage movement finally achieved victory with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring

Make your own constellation commemorating an American woman, like Maria Mitchell. Many cultures have used constellations to remember the stories of heroes, like the Greeks and some American Indians. Included in an OurStory module from Smithsonian's National Museum of American History entitled

In this activity, students will examine an historical newspaper, a piece of historical fiction, and their social studies textbooks for accounts of the civil rights movement, and then define 'equality' and 'discrimination'. They will then use these definitions to look for instances of eq