The TV dinner represented a change in the way Americans were thinking about food. Introduced in 1954 by Swanson & Sons, of Omaha, Nebraska, it offered women--more and more of whom were working outside the home but still assumed to be responsible for cooking--an alternative to time-consuming meal pre

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prevented all but a few Chinese to enter the United States legally. In 1906, a major earthquake and resulting fire in San Francisco destroyed public records, allowing many Chinese to claim that they had been born in San Francisco. These men, with newly established c

These activities help young learners build skills in literacy, creativity, and communication while using everyday materials and exploring interesting topics. A series of five, each activity uses objects from across the Smithsonian as a jumping-off point for learning through play as well as tips for

Despite disruption resulting from the suspension from Central High School and the later closure of all of Little Rock’s public schools to avoid integration, Minnijean Brown graduated on schedule in 1959 from New Lincoln School in New York City. New Lincoln School was a private, integrated school f

During the late 1950s and 1960s, American scientists and educators proposed using machines for instruction. Teaching machines and related programmed textbooks used a careful sequence of questions for teaching. Jerome C. Meyer and later William R. Hafel, both of Sunnydale, California, believed that i

In this music activity, students will learn how to listen to and appreciate authentic jazz recordings by listening to sixteen recordings by jazz greats and reading brief introductions that discuss the relevance of the songs as well as how to listen to them.

In this brief video, curators Harry Rubenstein and Larry Bird share key objects from the political history collection representing inaugurations and presidential campaigns dating back to the early 1800s.  See how objects are stored and continuity and change in campaign and inaugural material

Bibliographic material, web links, and Museum collections relating to the online exhibition entitled Artificial Anatomy: Papier-Mâché Anatomical Models.

Through brief biographies of the composers, primary source documents, and media clips, students will learn about the collaboration of these two great jazz composers and the process involved in writing and recording two of the most celebrated jazz pieces. This website examines two jazz standa

George Washington wore this simple hanger as his battle sword while serving as commander of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Made in Fishkill, New York, by John Bailey, an immigrant cutler from Sheffield, England, the sword has a slightly curved, grooved steel blade, silver-moun