From the Continuing Education Options website:

"You will explore the history, human influences, science and stewardship of the Mississippi River during a narrated Mississippi River cruise on the Harriet Bishop river boat. You will experience pioneer life at the Oliver H. Kelley farm, a living history site set in the mid 1800's, and you will be exposed to modern farming practices, techniques, and equipment. You will visit the MN Commemorative Air Force Wing (dedicated to the preservation of WWII treasures). You will learn about the history and significance of railroading in MN from the 1930's through the 1950's on guided tours of the Jackson Street Roundhouse. We will explore the MN Landscape Arboretum and the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington with a naturalist and discover how to utilize this experience in the classroom."

From the Primary Source website:

"How can American art be used to deepen your students' understanding of democracy in American life? Bringing together educators from across the country in conjunction with the NEH Picturing America program, Democratic Vistas will show you new ways to incorporate important works of visual art in the core humanities curriculum. Day One of the institute explores democratic values and aesthetics as a theme in American art; Day Two highlights the "art of the people" - folk and traditional art, as an expression of American creativity. The course takes advantage of Boston's unique artistic and historical resources with a downtown walking tour of civic monuments, a museum field trip (Boston's Museum of Fine Arts) and presentations by leading scholars in the field.

Following the course, participants must complete a lesson plan or school project highlighting one of the works in the Picturing America collection."

From the Primary Source website:

"How can American art be used to deepen your students' understanding of democracy in American life? Bringing together educators from across the country in conjunction with the NEH Picturing America program, Democratic Vistas will show you new ways to incorporate important works of visual art in the core humanities curriculum. Day One of the institute explores democratic values and aesthetics as a theme in American art; Day Two highlights the "art of the people" - folk and traditional art, as an expression of American creativity. The course takes advantage of Boston's unique artistic and historical resources with a downtown walking tour of civic monuments, a museum field trip (Boston's Museum of Fine Arts) and presentations by leading scholars in the field.

Following the course, participants must complete a lesson plan or school project highlighting one of the works in the Picturing America collection."

From the North Dakota State University website:

"Experiential learning is at the heart of Prairie Earth, Prairie Homes. Participants in the field school take part in the restoration of an amazing and significant historic property - the Hutmacher Farmstead, in Dunn County, North Dakota. The Hutmacher house and outbuilding walls are constructed of sandstone mortared with clay, both quarried on the farm. The roof uses ridgepoles and rafters locally cut and covered with successive layers of brush (chokecherry, plum), flax straw, clay, and aggregate. The house was built by the children of German-Russian immigrants and was occupied into the 1970s.

In order to broaden the learning experience, participants also will tour and study examples of the earth building traditions of the various cultures to occupy the West River country of the northern plains:

* Mandan & Hidatsa earth lodges
* Sod houses of Anglo-Americans
* Earth houses of the Germans from Russia

Depending on the enrollment option chosen, students will engage in preparatory readings and study prior to the field experience, write curricular materials adapted from the content of the course, or pursue independent research projects springing from it."

The Archives of American Art, National Portrait Gallery, and Smithsonian American Art Museum have collaborated to create a series of teaching posters on themes such as Westward Expansion and the Harlem Renaissance. Attendees at this workshop will receive a set of the posters and explore ways to use the images, documents, and activities in the classroom.