From the National Humanities Center website:

"During the 17th and 18th centuries, many 'freethinking' Europeans embraced Deism, a theology that subjected religious truth to the authority of human reason. In colonial America, Deism found few adherents, but those who were attracted to it tended to be wealthy and educated, leaders in colonial society and politics. Today, debate swirls around the role deism played in the founding of the nation. What was this 'religion of nature?' How can we explain it to students? Who among the Founders were Deists? What influence did Deism have on the culture of the new nation?"

From the Gilder Lehrman website:

"The Declaration of Independence of 1776 announced the entry of the United States onto the world stage and inaugurated a new genre of document that would be used by various groups in the following centuries to herald their arrival among "the Powers of the Earth." This seminar views the American Declaration from three global perspectives: first, by placing 1776 into the context of contemporary international and global connections; second, by examining the legacy of the Declaration in the century after 1776; and third, by analyzing other declarations of independence since 1776 for their debts to—and divergences from—the American model. The result should be an enriched understanding of the importance of the Declaration in world history, as well as a novel account of what was truly revolutionary about the American Revolution."

From the Gilder Lehrman website:

"Is the world of early America truly lost? For many Americans, perhaps most, it does seem that way. Our history is divided in half by the War of Independence—or, as we more typically call it, the Revolution. Only the second half seems real and tangible now. There is a second reason for the "lost-ness" of early America. Between now and then lies a crucial fault-line that includes far more than political change. Industrial growth and development—another kind of revolution—transformed much of the American people's experience, beginning around the start of the 19th century. The effects have been massively consequential for the shape and structures of work, for community life, for human demography, for values, manners, and taste. The Lost World of Early America will attempt a form of time travel back to the era before these twin revolutions. Participants will feel the element of remoteness, the sense of all that has been lost; yet they will also come to feel the threads of human connection between our own lives and those of our distant forebears."

From the Gilder Lehrman website:

"Ten teachers from the United States will join twenty teachers from the United Kingdom and Ghana to study the history and legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade under the direction of professors from the United Kingdom and the United States. The seminar will cover the history of African-European contact, the nature of African societies in the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, the slave trading practices in Africa, the impact of the slave trade on regions of Africa, the character of the coastal trade in the forts and castles, the experience of the Middle Passage, and the numbers and experience of African arrivals in the Americas. Participants will be introduced to major scholarship as well as to the new online Transatlantic Slave Trade Database."

From the Gilder Lehrman website:

"Between ca. 1500 and ca. 1800, the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean saw the creation, destruction, and re-creation of communities as a result of the movement of peoples, commodities, institutions, social practices, and cultural values. This seminar will explore the pan-Atlantic webs of association linking people, objects, and beliefs across and within the region. The best Atlantic history is interactive and crosses borders. The hope is that we will enlarge our horizons by placing the standard early North American story in a larger framework."

From the Lincoln and New York website:

"N-YHS invites teachers to preview Lincoln and New York at our Teacher Open Houses. Lincoln and New York uses exciting artifacts, hand-written documents, and iconic images to demonstrate the surprisingly central role New York played in the Lincoln story and the leading player Lincoln became in New York.

Registration is free and includes entry to the exhibition, tours with our trained educators and education staff, curriculum materials and light refreshments. Teachers also will enjoy a 10% discount at the Museum Store."

From a Harry S. Truman Library and Museum flyer:

"Do you teach Kansas or Missouri History? Do you teach a unit on Heroes in History? Are you looking for primary resources for a local history curriculum? If so, this workshop is designed for you. Area educators, museums, libraries and archives will share their resources and expertise on a wide range of famous Kansans and Missourians.

Presenters from the Kansas Historical Society, Jackson County Historical Society, the Truman Library, National Archives-Kansas City and Kansas City Public Library (Missouri Valley Special Collections) will share resources on individuals from both sides of state line.

Both famous and not so famous characters will be covered in this workshop. A wide range of teaching activities and materials will be shared and you will come away from the workshop with a ton of ideas for your classroom.

Characters such as Walt Disney and Tom Pendergast will be discussed during this workshop and an exciting first person characterization of Jesse James
will be featured on Friday evening.

Teachers will also be given the opportunity to tour the museum at the Truman Library and tour the new National Archives-Kansas City facility during the workshop."

From the National Museum of the American Indian website:

"To Native peoples from the Chesapeake region, the Bay and its watershed are not only a natural resource but a central part of their cultural identities. Learn how the Great Shellfish Bay and its tributaries physically and spiritually sustained Native communities in the sixteenth century. Explore indigenous peoples' enduring connections to this fragile ecosystem and some of their current environmental partnerships to revitalize and protect the Chesapeake."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry.

From a NASA Digital Learning Network mailing:

"During the week of November 16th-20th, students in grades K-8th are invited to re-discover the remarkable accomplishment of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Forty years have passed since this momentous event and to celebrate, NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN) will deliver a daily videoconference that will explore a single NASA center's contribution to Apollo 11. These programs will also feature an in-studio NASA employee who had a special connection with Apollo 11. Student participation and interaction with the DLN host and NASA expert is assured!

Would you like to challenge your students to exercise their bodies and minds? The DLN has designed a fun activity that incorporates fitness and math! Walk to the Moon encourages students to count their steps around their homes and schools in order to reach a goal of 250,000 steps. Each step will be equal to one mile. With approximately 250,000 miles between the Earth and the Moon, your students will "walk" to the moon! Students may chart their progress individually or in groups - the choice is yours. Either way, the DLN would like to hear about your class' journey! Please email your results to jsc-dislearn@mail.nasa.gov, and you may hear your students' stories LIVE during the DLN's week-long special event in November!

Please note there will be a global flair to this weeklong event as students from various nations around the world will be selected to join and participate!
Descriptions of each event are as follows:
Note: All programs are scheduled to begin at 12:00 CST and end at 1:00 CST

Langley Research Center- Nov. 16
Learn how a young engineer convinced his boss that landing on the Moon would only be possible if something called Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was used as the passageway to the Moon.

Marshall Spaceflight Center - Nov. 17
Learn how a rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty was constructed for peaceful space exploration and why its presence tipped the scale of the space race in the America's favor.

Kennedy Space Center- Nov. 18
Discover America's spaceport, the site where the Apollo 11 astronauts made their final preparations before counting down to the launch of the fastest vehicle human beings have ever ridden in- the Saturn V rocket.

Johnson Space Center- Nov. 19
Learn more about the home of the astronaut corps and take a peek inside the Mission Control Center, where a room called the "FCR 2" was the setting for communicating with Neil, Buzz, and Michael as they zoomed towards the Moon.

Ames Research Center- Nov. 20
Traveling to the Moon once again is expected to take place in the next decade. Learn how this will take place through a new NASA program called Constellation.

Registration
To participate in this program, your school must have videoconferencing capabilities. For more information on technical requirements go to: http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/techinfo/

If you would like to be placed on the "we're interested" list for this free program, please reply to jsc-dislearn@mail.nasa.gov. Please respond no later than close of business, October 14. We will contact you soon as a possible participant. We hope you will be able to join us!

The subject line must be: Apollo 11 40th Anniversary
Please send the following information:
Your name:
Your work email:
Your work telephone number:
Your school's name:
Your school's city:
Your school's state:
Your school's technical point of contact:
Technical POC's work telephone:
Technical POC's work email:
Student grade levels:
Anticipated number of participating students:
Date/time of preferred participation:

Thank you,
NASA Digital Learning Network
jsc-dislearn@mail.nasa.gov"