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Museums and Historical Sites Arcoss the Nation
Locating a local museum or historical site to get students out of the classroom can be challenging. However, both the National Park Service and the American Alliance of Museumsoffer searchable databases of historical sites and museums accessible across the nation. Together, these organizations provide more than 3,000 locations to choose from. David P. Thelen and Roy Rosenzweig’s The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life demonstrates that many Americans view museums and historical sites as the most trustworthy places to receive historical education. Blending traditional classroom instruction with immersive, site-based experiences ultimately benefits students’ historical understanding.
TeachingHistory already provides a selection of suggested lessons for historical sites that can be adapted to a variety of locations, despite the overrepresentation of the Washington, DC, area within the existing lesson ideas. The National Park Service’s list of National Historic Landmarks is searchable by state, while the American Alliance of Museums’ directory can be searched by both museum type and location, allowing for more advanced and flexible searches. Incorporating a local field trip can meaningfully enrich students’ engagement with the past