If you happen to be looking for federal primary sources from Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Illinois, a good spot to check is the Chicago office of the National Archives and Records Administration. Records available include bankruptcy records, Chinese Exclusion case files from Chicago and St. Paul, Michigan and Illinois Selective Service System Name Index records, and naturalization records. Other topics represented in the collections include, but aren't limited to, African American history, Depression era history, disasters, espionage, and maritime history.

Consider looking through the site's finding aids to get a sense of the collections available on location.

When visiting, be ready with an official photo ID and willingness to fill out a short form concerning your interests. Leave your pens behind (pencils are permitted), and prepare to leave your belongings in a locker or in your car.

Looking for more directed opportunities? Check out the archives' upcoming events. If you teach in Illinois or Indiana, you may even be eligible for continuing education credit.

In addition to the aforementioned public programs, there are workshops designed specifically for teachers. Find them (and more opportunities) under the Workshops heading.

Archivists are ready and willing to help your students define their research topics and select appropriate primary sources, for National History Day projects or other endeavors.

The Amon Carter Museum houses paintings and sculpture by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, artists who focused on the American West. It also presents exhibits of artwork by other American artists, on subjects ranging far from the original collection's American West focus.

The museum offers exhibits, self-guided and guided tours for student groups (including custom tours and tours for AP students), professional development opportunities for educators, videoconference outreach programs, teaching materials borrowable by Texas educators, research library access, and other recreational and educational events.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum presents the history of country music through its permanent exhibit, "Sing Me Back Home," showcasing both the music and the artifacts behind and surrounding it—costumes, lyrics sheets, musical instruments. It also hosts traveling and changing exhibits and programs and performances.

The museum offers exhibits, tours and in-museum workshops for school groups, curriculum guides, and educational and recreational events.

The Museum advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts; screening significant films and other moving-image works; presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences; and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, film screenings, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

The Redwood Library and Athenæum is the oldest lending library in America, and the oldest library building in continuous use in the country. Founded in 1747 by 46 proprietors upon the principle of "having nothing in view but the good of mankind," its mission continues over 250 years later.

The library offers tours, exhibits, and all standard library services (including recreational and educational events, though not focused specifically on history).

Situated on the banks of the Suwannee River, this center honors the memory of American composer Stephen Foster, who wrote "Old Folks at Home," the song that made the river famous. The museum features exhibits about Foster's most famous songs and his music can be heard emanating from the park's 97-bell carillon throughout the day. In Craft Square, visitors can watch demonstrations of quilting, blacksmithing, stained glass making, and other crafts.

The park offers exhibits, demonstrations, workshops and classes, and educational and recreational events.

"Organized in 1986, the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame honors our own heroes and legends, spanning the rich history of sports achievement in the Lake Michigan shoreline area anchored by Ludington to the North and Grand Haven to the south."

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza presents information pertinent to the November 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Evidence following the event pinpointed the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository, now the site of the museum, as the location from which the bullets were fired. Exhibits address the investigation, national and world responses, the time period, the legacy of Kennedy and of the event, and Kennedy's trip to Texas. Collections include more than 35,000 artifacts and 600 oral history interviews.

The museum offers more than 45 minutes of documentary films, exhibits, self-guided tours, audio guides, educational programs for students, teacher workshops, and a research center. Appointments are necessary to utilize the research center, and reservations are required for all groups of 20 or more. The audio guides include news excerpts and the voices of reporters, police officers, and witnesses; and the audio guide is available in English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and a youth version. The museum also offers wheelchairs for use on site, and transcriptions of the audio guide content. The website offers a student gallery guide.

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors courageous and independent women of America's western frontier, mid-19th century through present. Interactive exhibits include the opportunity to learn to saddle a full-scale pony model. Select other exhibits address arena sports, rodeo fashion, bronc riding, rodeo evolution, oral histories, ranching, cowgirl equipment, and cowgirls in dime novels and on the screen. The museum exterior features artworks by sculptor Mehl Lawson and painter Richard Haas.

The museum offers an 8-minute introductory film, other thematic films, interactive and traditional exhibits, interactive guided group tours, outreach speakers for students and adults, Western lifestyle workshops and courses, school tours, 45-minute distance learning programs for students, a traveling trunk, educator workshops, and research library access. Group tours must include 15 or more visitors, and be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Library access is by appointment only. Wheelchairs are available for use on site. The website offers activity suggestions for use in the classroom.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum honors Major League and Negro League players, umpires, managers, and executives who have excelled within the sport of baseball. The museum focuses on the evolution of baseball as a U.S. sport and the ways in which the game has impacted the greater national culture. Exhibits include inductee plaques, artifacts related to the inductees, changes in the sport over time, Babe Ruth, women's connection to baseball, no-hitters, African Americans and baseball, baseball in the Caribbean Basin, youth league champions, baseball cards, recent events, baseball in film, sports journalism, ballparks and ballpark music, current records, and World Series moments of note. Collection highlights include a ticket booth from Yankee Stadium. The museum's research library claims more than 2,600,000 documents.

The museum offers a 13-minute introductory multimedia presentation, exhibits, curriculum-based educational programs, distance learning opportunities for students, summer educational programs, education ambassadors, teacher workshops, children's overnight programs, Scout programs, and research library access. Appointments, made at least one week in advance, are encouraged for library use. Student educational program topics include women's history, industrial technology, fine art, labor history, cultural diversity, economics, civil rights, and popular culture, among other options. The website offers online exhibits, thematic education units, electronic fieldtrips, and podcasts.