Students will learn about the communities and cases that turned to the courts to demand better educational opportunities for their children in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Five Communities Change a Nation is the fourth section of the online exhibition enti

The history of patenting higher-level organisms began in the mid-1980s with a little guy called OncoMouse. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Mallory Warner of the Museum's Division of Medicine and Science to talk about the first animal patented in the United States, and some of the ethical

Runaway Robot is an exciting new cross-curricular digital game for secondary classrooms from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Anchored in content from the museum’s exhibition Discovery a

Students will learn about the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the election of our first president, George Washington in this section of the online exhibition, The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden. Students will also explore President Washington's role in es

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

Although we might think of fax machines as a relatively recent (if somewhat dated) technology, this episode uncovers the surprising history of the wireless fax machine. Host Tory Altman speaks with Hal Wallace, associate curator of the museum's electricity collection, about this 1930s device that

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, hear museum staff person Petrina Foti discuss inventor Ralph Baer, the first video game, and how to read the stories in objects.  The resource package includes a transcript, teacher guide, and student worksheet. 

The American Party, also called the Know-Nothings, was a major national political force in the 1850s. It saw immigrants and Catholics as the greatest threat to self-government and to the nation. Arguing for rule by native-born Protestants, the Know-Nothings ran former President Millard Fillmore as t

Debates are one of the most anticipated events in the lead up to a presidential election. Each candidate carefully plans their strategies to persuade the American public that they are the one to vote for in November. In this learning resource, learners will examine historical examples of presidentia

Students will explore the importance of the system of checks and balances, Congress, the Supreme Court, impeachment, public opinion and the press in restricting the power of the president in this section of the online exhibition The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.