Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail [AL]

Description

The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail commemorates the 1965 Voting Rights March in Alabama. On March 7, 1965, subsequently known as "Bloody Sunday," non-violent protesters for African American voting rights crossed the Edmond Pettus Bridge–only to be gassed, beaten, and halted by law enforcement officers. In response, nation-wide protesters flocked to the site for a five-day march, beginning March 21, 1965. This march received state and federal law enforcement protection. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was among those who spoke at the rally which followed completion of the march. The Voting Rights Act was passed May 26, 1965.

The site offers an interpretive center with exhibits and a film at the midpoint of the trail; ranger-led programs; in-classroom outreach programs; and Junior Ranger activities. Reservations are required for all ranger-led programming. The website offers lesson plans.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site [WA]

Description

The Fort Vancouver National Historic Site commemorates the history of For Vancouver, the main supply depot of the British Hudson Bay Company's "Columbia Department" between 1824 and 1860. As such, the fort was central to a 700,000 mile fur trading network, which reached from Alaska to California and from the Rocky Mountains to Hawaii. The fort has also been used as the early end of the Oregon Trail and a U.S. Army Post. The community living in Fort Vancouver consisted of 35 distinct ethnicities. The site also operates the home of John McLoughlin, Chief Factor of Fort Vancouver between 1825–1845.

The site offers introductory talks at Fort Vancouver; audio tours, including a tour designed for children; self-guided tours; guided house tours; period rooms; an overnight living history program; hands-on exhibits; a children's hands-on archaeological program; Victorian handcraft, artillery, blacksmithing, carpentry, cooking, baking, and gardening demonstrations; Junior Ranger activities; and lantern tours. Reservations are required at both sites for school groups.

Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site [MO]

Description

The Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site commemorates the lives of Ulysses S Grant (1822-1885), general-in-chief of the Union army and 18th President of the United States, and his wife Julia Dent. Dent's family home, White Haven, is the centerpiece of the park. Other structures include an interpretive museum housed in the historic Grant stable and a visitors' center.

The site offers a 16-minute introductory film, guided tours of White Haven, Junior Ranger activities, and a history reading program compliant with state educational standards.

Arkansas Post National Memorial [AR]

Description

The Arkansas Post National Memorial commemorates the first European colony to be built in the Mississippi River Valley. The post was established by the French in 1686 on the site of a Quapaw village. Today the site presents its more than 300 years of social history. The post played a part in the fur trade, Civil War, and Revolutionary War—most specifically the 1783 Colbert Raid, the singular Revolutionary War military action to occur in Arkansas.

The site offers an introductory video, guided tours, self-guided tours, exhibits, musket and cannon demonstrations, Junior Ranger activities, educational programs, and outreach programs. Reservations are required for guided tours and all educational programming. The website offers a maze and word search.

Aztec Ruins National Monument [NM]

Description

The Aztec Ruins National Monument is an ancestral Pueblo site. A "great house" known as West Ruin offers one-half mile of rooms, some with their original wooden roofing and mortar. The reconstructed Great Kiva offers a glimpse of how an ancestral Pueblo religious and social center would have looked. Although referred to as Aztec, the ruins are in fact Anasazi or, as they are more commonly called, ancestral Pueblo. The use of the designator "Aztec" arose out of local word-of-mouth circa 1876.

The monument offers an introductory video on the area's Pre-Columbian history, interpretive talks, a self-guided tour and interpretive trail, lectures, traveling trunks, demonstrations of Native American crafts, teacher's workshops, a children's workshop for third-grade students from San Juan County, Junior Ranger activities, and a picnic area. The website offers a curriculum guide for download.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore [NC]

Description

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is located on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The National Seashore is home to many attractions, from the sandy beaches and maritime forests to the three lighthouses on the islands and two park visitor's centers. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the world, and is the only one of the three lighthouses open for climbing. However, the other two lighthouses have much to offer as the keepers' quarters are open to visitors and both feature visitor's centers with exhibits and guided tours.

The park offers exhibits, tours, field trips, and special events through the two visitor's centers, as well as miles of trails and beach for outdoor enthusiasts. The website offers a history of the park, information about the park's ecology, lesson plans for teachers, field trip information, and general visitors information. In order to contact the park via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

Cane River Creole National Historical Park [LA]

Description

The Cane River Creole National Park contains Oakland and Magnolia Plantations. Oakland Plantation, dating to circa 1821, was the home of Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme. The structure is French Colonial in style with bousillage construction. Magnolia Plantation was built in the 1830s for Ambrose LeComte. Styles include Greek Revival and Italianate. Collection highlights include the last U.S. cotton gin with a wooden screw press located on its original site.

Both plantations offer ranger-led tours, self-guided tours, painting workshops, musicians, storytellers, craftsmen, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic sites. The website offers videos and historic photographs.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park [NC]

Description

The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park commemorates the largest Revolutionary War battle fought in the Southern Campaign, the March 15, 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. At the altercation, Major General Nathanael Greene led the American troops, while Lord Charles Cornwallis led the British. The battle was a success for the outnumbered British, who forced the Americans to retreat. However, the loss of roughly one-fourth of their force led Cornwallis and the British to abandon their attempts to overtake the Carolinas. Cornwallis is best remembered as the general who lost the American colonies. It is of note that Cornwallis fought in the revolution despite misgivings about the harshness of British rule over the colonies.

The park offers exhibits; a 32-minute introductory film; a 10-minute animated map program on battle tactics; a walking, biking, or driving self-guided tour with wayside exhibits; 28 monuments; Junior Ranger activities; interpretive talks; musket firing demonstrations; a scavenger hunt; and an educational program. The website offers digital exhibits, historic photographs and postcards, lesson plans, a teacher's guide to the American Revolution, a timeline of the Revolutionary War, and two films for rental. Visitors with visual impairment can participate in a 20-minute tactile map program.