At the museum's online home, find illustrated and interactive overviews of its collections and programs, along with an extensive set of innovative resources for teaching and learning about major events and themes in American history and culture.

The National Museum of American History has assembled a collection of resources that underscore the significance of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, including a draft of the speech in Lincoln's own hand, a video of the Lincoln Bedroom, archival photographs from the day the speech was delivered, and similar primary source documents. RI.9-10.9 US Documents, W.11-12.9b US Doc Analysis

Creatively tells the story of a house that has been a home to five American families over the period of time from the colonial era to the Second World War. You can find information about the house itself as well as the culture of the time period for each family.

This is a great website of portraits of famous people. Includes pictures, biographical information, and general information on artists' techniques. Includes a "Hall of Presidents" and portraits of various celebrities and artists including Marilyn Monroe and Louis Armstrong.

Even if you aren't a stamp collector, this is a fascinating stop in your search for US postal service history. Be sure to click on their special selections like "Inverted Jenny, A famous stamp error." Excellent exhibits explain the history of the US postal service in conjunction with the history of the Nation.

Students examine dolls from the online collections at the Smithsonian and connect them with the correct cultures. Includes lots of background information about Native American clothing and how the way each cultural group dresses reflects the environment in which they live. Dollmakers also talk about the processes they go through to make the dolls.

Excellent online companion site to a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition on the World War I & World War II American Indian Code Talkers. Features information on Native languages, boarding schools, code talking, and lesson plans.

A zoologist discusses her research looking for new invertebrates in the seas. She also gets to name the new creatures! [29:16]

The Ocean Planet exhibit at the Smithsonian explains the general features of ocean circulation. A general look at upwelling, deep water, and currents are combined for an overall view.

Detailed website that was a companion to a 1995 traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian. Links to lesson plans and other educational materials are at the bottom of the page. Enter the exhibition to explore the world of the ocean.

Smithsonian Institution presents ?Ocean Planet: Interdisciplinary Marine Science Activities?. Through this series of six interdisciplinary lessons, students will look at such things as the organisms in different marine ecosystems, the many different products we get from our seas, and the effects of pollution on our oceans. Teachers and students alike will love the easy to understand background information and vibrant photos. Each lesson comes complete with clear learning objectives and instructions, as well as supplemental resources and student handouts.

At the Mask of Lincoln website find an impressive gallery of Lincoln portraits and portraits of Lincoln's contemporaries, all captioned with interesting historical sidebars. The famous cracked-plate portrait of Lincoln, taken shortly before his assassination, is only one of many portrait highlights that can be viewed and considered. Includes a selection of audio tours that document aspects of the artifacts on display as well as episodes from Lincoln's life.

This multimedia site offers readings of Whitman's poetry, an introduction, a gallery of images and works through the years of his career, and a reflection of Whitman's significance.

Launch a video, from July 2, 1937, that documents one of famous aviator Amelia Earhart's final takeoffs. [0:41]

Illustrated accounts of the destruction and loss of two ships sailing to America across the Atlantic illuminate the dangers of nineteenth-century travel and the modes of rescue available at the time. With a range of archival material, including particulars about one set of Irish immigrants fortunate enough t/ have survived the wreck, in 1850, of the Ayrshire.

3D rendering and images of the space shuttle, Discovery. Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter to fly in space. From 1984 to 2012, Discovery flew 39 Earth-orbital missions, spent a total of 365 days in space, and traveled almost 240 million km (150 million mi) —more than the other orbiters.

Imagine moving into a house made out of sod that you and your family had to build in the middle of a prairie! Find great information and activities that will help you understand how it felt to live on the prairie.

Discover the history of a favorite American past-time. Learn the art of creating your own masterpieces with a little bit of help.

An explanation of radiometric or absolute dating of geological formations based on using the half-life of radioactive elements to figure out how old given rock layers are. A link on the left provides information about relative dating as well.

A webcast features a paleontologist who presents the data that can be collected by fossil whales. [29:15]