Museum of Natural History and Planetarium [RI]

Description

The Museum of Natural History is Rhode Island's only natural history museum and is home to the state's only planetarium. The Museum houses collections containing over one-quarter million objects pertaining to natural and cultural history assembled from sites around the world. The natural history collections include fossils, mollusks, minerals, rocks, and mounted flora and fauna. The cultural collections contain over 24,000 archaeological and ethnographic specimens primarily of Native American and Pacific origin.

The museum offers exhibits, educational programs, planetarium shows, and educational and recreational events.

Museum Center at 5ive Points [TN]

Description

The Museum Center at 5ive Points presents the sociocultural history of Southeast Tennessee's Ocoee District. The museum's permanent exhibit discusses local Cherokee and other Native American life, the Trail of Tears and settlement, antebellum life, industry and commerce, the World War I and II eras, and the 1996 Olympics. Seven fictional living history characters give the exhibits a personal tone.

The center offers exhibits, a summer art camp, thematic school tours, homeschool programs, traveling trunks, and 50-minute interactive outreach programs.
Reservations are required for groups of 12 or more.

Micanopy Historical Society Museum [FL]

Description

The Micanopy Historical Society Museum presents the history of Micanopy, FL. The museum is housed within a circa 1850 warehouse which once held lumber and agricultural tools. Exhibits address a local trading post, zoology, transportation, the post, general stores, naval pine resin derivatives, Seminole textiles, Seminole war chiefs, the Civil War, World War homefront life, and laundry technology. Highlights include a circa 1930 Coca-Cola sign, an ice box, a 1906 wedding gown, and a Sibley tent stove.

The museum offers exhibits.

C.M. Russell Museum [MT]

Description

The C.M. Russell Museum is dedicated to the art of C.M. Russell, an artist who painted landscapes of the American West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum offers five permanent exhibits of Russell's work spanning his entire lifetime as well as galleries devoted to other artists who also portrayed the West. Visiting exhibits include information on Native Americans, bison, and the culture of the West.

The Museum offers field trips free of charge to school groups and homeschoolers. Themes for school tours include C.M. Russell, Montana history, Native American life, current exhibits, and a special 5th grade tour. Special school tours and activities are available during Native American Awareness Day (the 4th Friday in September). All field trips include a hand-on activity.

New Perspectives on the West

Image
Photo, A Hopi Girl, John K. Hillers, 1879
Annotation

This educational resource complements an eight-part PBS documentary series by Ken Burns and Stephen Ives, The West. The site is organized into several sections: a guided tour of the West, an interactive timeline to 1917, a hypertext map which includes migration and commerce routes, games and puzzles, and, most importantly, archival materials collected during the making of the series.

Primary sources, organized in chronological order, include memoirs, letters, government reports, and photographs. Visitors should not expect to encounter new perspectives on the American West offered by such historians as Patricia Limerick or William Cronon, or in-depth discussion of such important historiographical issues as gender or the environment. Political and military history, and to a lesser extent social and ethnic history of the West, however, are well represented in this account.

Historical Society of Topsail Island and Missiles and More Museum [NC]

Description

The Historical Society of Topsail Island operates the Missiles and More Museum. The Missiles and More Museum contains exhibits addressing Operation Bumblebee, Osprey aircraft, Camp Davis, natural history, Native American life, and pirates. Operation Bumblee was a circa 1946-1948 confidential guided missile testing program under the U.S. Navy, while Camp Davis served as an important air training center for World War II.

The society offers interactive and traditional exhibits, monthly lectures, and school and group museum tours. Reservations are required for lectures and museum tours.

Congress for the New Urbanism

Image
photographic print, Model Fort Lincoln housing, Washington, D.C., 1966, Paul Rud
Annotation

This resource center was designed for students and citizens interested in the New Urbanism movement. Most of the substantive materials are located in the "Resources" section, which contains reports on different planning projects undertaken by New Urbanists, a bibliography of suggested readings organized around different topics (such as housing, policy, and retail), and an image bank containing visual materials from a host of different design sites. A special search feature allows visitors to search by state for New Urbanist developments across the country. Containing very little in the way of historical resources, this site is instead an introduction to the philosophy and aims behind New Urbanism.

Historic Blakeley State Park [AL]

Description

The 3,800-acre Historic Blakeley State Park contains Native American mounds; a Civil War battlefield, site of the clash at Fort Blakeley; and an 1814 ghost town. The 1865 Battle of Blakeley was actually fought after the General Lee's surrender of the Confederate Army, and is considered the last major Civil War action. The park owns and operates a passenger boat, the Delta Explorer, which is used to provide tours.

The site offers more than 10 miles of trails, two-hour ecological boat tours, and guided tours. School tours aboard the Delta Explorer are welcome.

Douglas County Museum of Natural & Cultural History [OR]

Description

Douglas County traverses an amazing variety of terrain, from the snowcapped peaks of the Cascade mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The Douglas County Museum of Natural & Cultural History chronicles human history in Douglas County, from the Umpqua tribe which first settled the area 10,000 years ago until the present day, and also pays special attention to the history of mining, fishing, farming, and logging, all of which have been an integral part of the Douglas County economy.

The museum offers exhibits, guided tours, outreach programs, and special events such as presentations and lectures. The website offers visitor information, a history of the museum, information regarding museum programs, and an events calendar.

Fort King George Historic Site [GA]

Description

Fort King George is the oldest English fort remaining on Georgia's coast. The fort was in operation from 1721 until 1736, when it was abandoned. Later, in the 19th century, the location was used as a major export center for lumber. Today, visitors can explore the reconstructed Fort King George, as well as three sawmills and tabby ruins which showcase the history of the location as a lumber exporter. The site is also home to a museum.

The fort offers visitors guided tours, interpretive events, a brief historical film, and a variety of exhibits and special events. The website offers a link to the Georgia Teacher's Resource for Touring Historic Sites, specific lesson plans for touring Fort King George, a brief history of the fort, a 15-photo photograph gallery, an event calendar, and visitor information.