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 National Archives and Records Administration: Rocky Mountain Region offers access to federal photographs, paper documents, architectural drawings, and maps created in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana between 1847 and the 1990s, as well as to archival materials from North and South Dakota created after 1972. Topics represented include homesteading, Indian agencies, reclamation projects, mining, naturalizations, the World War II homefront, territorial court records, railroads, bankruptcy, genealogy, and national parks, among others.

With so many topics, how can you find what you need? Luckily, the region offers a list of online finding guides, specific to their holdings.

In addition, the region offers tours of the facilities, presentations of their holdings and services to students, and internship opportunities. Tours and presentations require appointments, and presentations can be made at the Lakewood, Colorado, facility or elsewhere. Availability of presentations made anywhere other than the main facility is subject to travel budget considerations.

NARA's Rocky Mountain Region branch is dedicated to providing professional development opportunities for educators. With advance notice, the archives provides three workshops—"Using Online Resources of the National Archives," "Hands-On History: Incorporating Primary Sources in the Classroom," and "Finding Primary Source Documents at the Rocky Mountain Regional Archives." All workshops are free. However, off-site workshops outside of the Denver metro area may require payment of travel and expense fees.

Archivists are also available to assist in student research for National History Day projects and other undertakings.

The archives is currently creating primary source document lessons for each of its constituent states. Each lesson includes one or more primary sources, background information on the source, suggested teaching activities, and a description of the document's relationship to national and state standards. Lessons are available in CD and .PDF formats.

The National Watch and Clock Museum, according to its website, houses "the largest and most comprehensive horological collection in North America," with over 12,000 artifacts. The museum's holdings focus on 19th-century American clocks and watches, but the exhibits proceed chronologically through the development of timekeeping devices worldwide.

The museum offers exhibits, self-guided and guided tours for school groups, hands-on programs for school groups, youth activity kits and traveling trunks, research library access, workshops, and other recreational and educational events. It also offers a free museum pass for educators.

The Black Hills Mining Museum preserves and presents the history of the mining industry in the Black Hills region, from its earliest days to the present.

The museum offers exhibits, guided tours of a simulated mine, and gold panning.

The South Carolina State Museum, housed in the 1893 Columbia Mill textile building, allows visitors to explore art, cultural and natural history, and science and technology.

The museum offers exhibits, state-curriculum-aligned self-guided and guided tours for school groups (box lunches and on-site space for lunch available), outreach presentations (including presentations with a portable Starlab planetarium), programs for homeschoolers, professional development for educators, summer camps, and other recreational and educational events.

The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum traces the history of the automobile industry in the United States, as well as displaying changing exhibits of vehicles drawn from the museum's collection. The museum also houses the Museum of Bus Transportation on its lower level—according to the website, "the largest collection of buses on display under one roof in the United States."

The museum offers exhibits; guided tours for school groups of all grade levels; "Little Wheelers," a literacy-based program for 3-5 year olds; outreach presentations and materials for rent; and other recreational and educational events.

Science Museum Oklahoma invites visitors to explore the physical sciences, invention, and technology. The exhibit "Destination Space" looks at space exploration, while "Aviation" follows the history of flight, and a model train exhibit recreates a town from 1900 to 1950. The museum also houses the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, honoring the sport of gymnastics.

The museum offers exhibits, demonstrations, summer camps, planetarium shows, dome-screen film screenings, overnight in-museum programs, and other recreational and educational events.

The Works encompasses a five-acre campus at which visitors can explore the intersections of art, history, and technology.

The museum offers exhibits, lectures, and other recreational and educational events.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of inventors and the history of human invention.

The Museum offers exhibits, camps, and other recreational and educational programs.

As of NHEC's last visit to the website (5/21/09), the Museum building was currently closed.

The North Carolina Transportation Museum interprets the history of transportation in the state, by train, automobile, and other vehicles. Its 57-acre site was once a steam locomotive repair facility, and the depot and roundhouse remain.

The museum offers exhibits, train and turntable rides, programs and self-guided and guided school groups, outreach presentations, a traveling trunk for rent, homeschooler days, camps, and other recreational and educational events.