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 King Center preserves the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and promotes the philosophies of nonviolent protest, equality, and civic action. The Center includes the King Library and Archives—"the largest repository of primary source materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement in the world," according to the website— Freedom Hall, housing exhibits, a theater/conference auditorium, art, and a bookstore and resource center; an eternal flame dedicated to King and his views; and the crypt of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

Near the Center and associated with it are Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth home and the National Park Service visitor center associated with the area, as well as the still in-use Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached as co-pastor.

The center offers exhibits, research library access, and educational and recreational programs and events.

The African American Museum in Philadelphia, according to the website, is "the first institution built by a major United States city to house and interpret the life and work of African Americans." It highlights African American art and history in four galleries.

The museum offers exhibits, including its core exhibit, "Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776-1876"; family fun days; workshops; two programs for mentoring high-school-age youth; guided tours for school groups; outreach presentations for schools; professional development for educators; and other educational and recreational events.

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is America's premier institution of Western history, art, and culture, collecting, preserving, and exhibiting a collection of Western art and artifacts.

The Museum offers educational programs suitable for grades K-6, focusing on the American Cowboy or American Indian. Students spend time in a classroom setting participating in hands-on activities with Museum artifacts then take a guided tour of art and historical galleries with special exhibits supporting the chosen theme. Programs meet select Oklahoma PASS skills for Art and Social Studies.

Guided tours are provided for grades 7-12 and can be tailored to specific themes. Traveling Trunks also are available for two week periods and focus on American Indian or American Cowboy lifestyle or Oklahoma history.

Magnolia Mound Plantation illustrates and interprets the lifestyle of the French Creoles who formed the culture which still influences and pervades life in southern Louisiana. The plantation house was once the center of a 900-acre operation with frontage on the Mississippi River. Spanning the colonial era and early statehood, Magnolia Mound's collection of furnishings and decorative arts include one of the foremost public groups of Louisiana-made objects, in restored and documented settings.

The plantation offers exhibits and educational programs, including school tours and traveling trunks.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center preserves and interprets Stowe's Hartford home and the Center's historic collections, promotes vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspires commitment to social justice and positive change. A visit to the Center includes the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, a Victorian Gothic Revival home (1871) which includes Victorian-style gardens; the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884), a mansion adjacent to the Stowe House; and the Stowe Visitor Center (1873), with changing exhibitions.

The center offers exhibits, tours, reference library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Stratford Hall, home of the Lee family and birthplace of Robert E. Lee, was built by Thomas Lee in the late 1730s. Today, it is furnished with an outstanding collection of predominantly 18th-century American and English decorative arts.

The site offers exhibits, tours, educational program, workshops, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Lloyd Manor, built in 1766, is a handsome structure with fine interior woodwork by Connecticut craftsmen. Located in a spectacular setting overlooking Lloyd harbor, the grounds contain a formal garden. The house is furnished to the 1793 inventory of John Lloyd II. Lloyd Manor was the home of Jupiter Hammon, a slave who became the first published black poet. Interpretive exhibits provide the history and documentation for the installation.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and educational programs.

The mission of the Black History Museum is to enrich the lives of Alexandria's residents and visitors, to foster tolerance and understanding among all cultures, and to stimulate appreciation of the diversity of the African American experience. The institutional complex is composed of the Museum, the Watson Reading Room, and the Alexandria African-American Heritage Park. The Museum, devoted to exhibiting local and regional history, incorporates the Robert H. Robinson Library as one of two exhibition galleries. The Robert H. Robinson Library was originally constructed in 1940 following a sit-in at the segregated Alexandria Library. The Reading Room, established in 1995, provides an environment for learning about the diversity of African American cultural traditions. A nine-acre green space and wetland, the Park offers a place for celebration, commemoration, and quiet reflection.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, research library access, and occasional recreational and educational events.

Two hundred years ago, when the first overland immigrants from Mexico passed through this area under the leadership of Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, they saw a fertile valley, well watered by springs and even a small river that ran into San Jacinto Lake. Now, the river has been diverted and several of the springs have disappeared. The Regional Indian Museum, located in the park, offers a look into the lives of the native peoples who lived in the area before the Spanish habitation.

The museum offers tours and exhibits.