Olympic Spirit: Teaching with the Olympics

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Poster, Up where winter calls..., c.1936-1941, Jack Rivolta, LoC
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The 2012 Summer Olympic Games begin on July 27 and continue through August 12. London hosts them this time, but in the past, the U.S. has hosted the Olympics eight times (four times in the summer and four in the winter), the most of any country! The U.S. also holds the greatest number of Olympic medals of any nation—more than 2,500.

What place have the Olympics had in U.S. history? The games can be many things: a focus for cultural exchange, a showcase for new technology and development, an economic boon (or bust), and a platform for international political tensions. Explore the history of the Olympics with these ideas:

  • Read oral histories of Olympic participants from 1932 to 1968 and official Olympic reports from 1896 to 2010 at the Amateur Athletic Foundation Digital Archive. What were the experiences of American women who competed in the early Olympics like? How did being Korean American influence the experiences of diver Sammy Lee, who competed shortly after World War II? How do the Olympic reports from Los Angeles in 1932 and Salt Lake City in 2002 compare? Do the reports from Berlin, 1936, show any signs of the tension between the U.S. (and other nations) and Nazi Germany?
  • Learn more about the 1936 Olympics and the significance of African American track-and-field star Jesse Owens's wins (and the wins of other African American athletes) in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's exhibit The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936. Here you can also learn about Jewish American athletes who competed in these Olympics.
  • Watch PBS's documentary American Experience: Jesse Owens online, and follow the supporting links for more about Owens and the Olympics.
  • Pick up quick facts on each of the past Olympic Games (and count down to future Olympics) at Olympic.org. What technological developments have changed how the Olympic Games are played, watched, and celebrated? You can also search for athletes, sports, and countries.
  • Compare and contrast the Olympics with other international sporting events, like the Paralympics or the FIFA World Cup. Where have these taken place? How do different countries, including the U.S., relate to these events? When did they begin?

Whether you use the Olympics to explore cultural and technological change, international politics, local history (if you're lucky enough to live in one of the U.S. cities that hosted the Olympics!), or any of the many other rich angles possible, take advantage of this opportunity! Though school may not be in session for you right now, investigating Olympics history can lead to primary sources and historical connections you can weave into your curriculum.

For more information

Teaching with sports history doesn't have to stop with the Olympics! Sports can help students connect to history and see how many different forces contribute to a person's life or a historical event. Browse our Website Reviews for sports-related primary sources, take a quiz on sports history, or watch historian Pellom McDaniels III connect athlete Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr. using primary sources.

Contemporary Museum [HI]

Description

The Contemporary Museum presents art created after 1940. It is the only museum in Hawaii to focus solely on contemporary art. The museum gardens were designed between 1928 and 1941 by K. I. Inagaki. One of the two structures which houses the museum, the Spalding-Cooke House was originally a 1925 residence. All exhibits are temporary. Works selected address a variety of styles, geographical origins, and dates of creation. Artists represented within the collection include Josef Albers, Louise Nevelson, Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Richard Diebenkorn, William Wegman, and Edward and Nancy Kienholz. Works include paintings, fiber and textile arts, assemblage, wood works, glass works, ceramics, photography, film, watercolors, drawings, metal works, and prints.

The museum offers exhibits, guided tours, guided student tours, guided garden tours, educational programs for students, research library access, artist talks, children's art classes, traveling trunks, teacher workshops, and a cafe. The library is open by appointment only, and many of the materials are available for circulation. All student options require at least two weeks advance notice. Reservations are recommended for the cafe.

Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park [CO]

Description

An engineering marvel originally built in 1884, the Georgetown Loop railroad fulfilled the hopes of Georgetown citizens to become a prosperous settlement connected to Denver and points east. In connecting Silver Plume and Georgetown, towns over 2 miles apart, the tracks scaled an elevation of 640 feet over mountainous terrain, requiring trestles, cuts, fills, loops, and curves totaling 4.5 miles. Today the Loop is once again a popular tourist attraction and an uncommon way to see the Clear Creek Valley. Along the route visitors may stop for guided tours of a historic silver mine. The park is located on 978 acres and includes an 1884 depot, the Morrison Interpretive Center, two 1860s mines, an 1871 mill building, four reconstructed mine buildings, a locomotive maintenance building, the 1874 Pohle House, and a new rolling stock shelter.

A second, individual website for the park can be found here.

The park offers a short film, train rides, tours, and exhibits.

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial [CA]

Description

The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is the site of the greatest World War II era domestic disaster. On July 17, 1944, munitions ships being loaded for the Pacific theatre combusted, killing 320 men. The 202 African American men killed account for a full 15 percent of African American World War II deaths. The disaster brought attention to Navy munitions handling and the segregation of military units.

The memorial offers guided tours. Access to the site requires at least two weeks notice, providing time for Army clearance to be achieved.

Cedar Hill State Park and Penn Farm Agricultural History Center [TX]

Description

In 1854, John Anderson Penn settled in the rugged cedar-covered hills of southwest Dallas County—an area known as the Cedar Mountains. Today, remnants of the original Penn Farm survive intact in the confines of Cedar Hill State Park. Penn Farm Agricultural History Center pays tribute to the disappearing Texas family farm and affords a glimpse into agrarian history as farm machinery took the place of the horse and mule almost a century ago. It includes reconstructed and historic buildings from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s.

The site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

Harry S Truman National Historic Site [MO]

Description

The Harry S Truman National Historic Site preserves the 1885 Queen Anne residence in which Harry S Truman lived between the ages of 22 and 88 (beginning in 1919); the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri, where Truman lived between 1906 and 1917; and several family homes. Collections consist of more than 53,000 artifacts. Truman (1884-1972) served as the 33rd President of the United States between 1945 and 1953. During this time he desegregated the military, approved nuclear weapon use on Japan, adopted the Marshall Plan, and witnessed the founding of the United Nations.

The site offers a 12-minute introductory slide presentation, tours of the Queen Anne residence, school tours of the Queen Anne residence, cell phone tours of the farm and Queen Anne sites, and Junior Ranger activities. Reservations are required for all school visits. The website offers four lesson plans, photo tours, an artifact of the month feature, and a list of the more than 1,100 books owned by Truman.

Planes of Fame Air Museum [CA]

Description

The Planes of Fame Air Museum was the first air museum located west of the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1957, the museum now contains over 150 vintage aircraft. The museum is open year round, and also operates an annual air-show.

The museum offers exhibits, self-guided tours, monthly presentations, and an annual airshow. The website offers visitor information, an events calendar, and a brief history of the museum. In order to contact the museum via email, use the "contact the museum" link located at the top of the webpage under the "air museum info" tab.

Fort Mifflin [PA]

Description

In 1778, General George Washington ordered Fort Mifflin, built in 1777, to hold off the British Navy while the Continental Army traveled to its encampment site at Valley Forge. While the Continental soldiers were eventually forced to abandon the fort, Washington and his troops were able to reach their destination thanks to the soldiers' efforts. Since, the fort has served as a War of 1812 garrison, Civil War prison, and a munitions depot for both World Wars. Today, the fort contains 14 restored structures, the originals of which were built between 1778 and 1815.

The fort offers tours; weapons demonstrations; cannon firings; overnight Scout programs; and educational programs on the U.S. flag, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.

Pawnee Bill Ranch [OK]

Description

The Ranch was once the showplace of the world renowned Wild West Show entertainer, Gordon W. "Pawnee Bill" Lillie. Visitors can tour Pawnee Bill and his wife, May's, 14-room mansion, fully furnished with their original belongings. Completed in 1910, the home is filled with Lillie family memorabilia, photographs, original artwork, and more. The Ranch property also houses a museum with exhibits related to Pawnee Bill, the Wild West Shows, and the Pawnees. The 500-acre grounds include the original Ranch blacksmith shop, a 1903 log cabin, a large barn built in 1926 and an Indian Flower Shrine. The Ranch also recreates Pawnee Bill's Original Wild West Show the last three Saturdays in June every year.

The ranch offers exhibits, tours, performances, and educational and recreational events and programs.