<p>This collection of photographs provides insight into the Scopes Trial in 1925. "Marcel C. LaFollette, an independent scholar, historian and Smithsonian volunteer uncovered rare, unpublished photographs of the 1925 Tennessee vs. John Scopes “Monkey Trial" in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. The nitrate negatives, including portraits of trial participants, and images from the trial itself and significant places in Dayton, were discovered in archival material donated to the Smithsonian by Science Service in 1971."</p><p>"Science Service is a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded in 1921 for the promotion of science writing and information about science in the media. Watson Davis (1896-1967), the Science Service managing editor, took these photographs when covering the Scopes trial as a reporter. In the 1925 trial, John Scopes was tried and convicted for violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of the theory of evolution. William Jennings Bryan served on the prosecution team, and Clarence Darrow defended Scopes."</p><p>Collection users might consider the following questions:</p><p>-How effective are court cases at swaying popular opinion? Can you think of other examples of this?</p><p><span></span>-How did this trial reflect the changes in mass media, science, and religion occurring in the 1920s?</p><p>-It is said that Bryan "won the case, but lost the argument." What is meant by that statement?</p><p>-How do these archival photographs challenge previously held conceptions of the case?</p><p>Source for text in quotes throughout collection: Smithsonian Institution Archives. Web. Accessed 16 Aug. 2016 <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html">http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html</a>.</p>

<p>This is a teaching collection designed to support an inquiry into why the public lost confidence in the government in the 1970s (70s). Topics covered include the economic recession, the Nixon presidency and Watergate, the Ford presidency, the Carter presidency, the Iran hostage crisis, the oil embargo, the Kent State massacre and the Pentagon Papers.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p>Guiding questions:<br /></p><p>-Why did the U.S. public lose confidence in the presidency in the 1970s?<br /></p><p>-What impact did economic crises have on American lives?</p>

<p>Across the nation, public institutions like museums, universities, and government facilities showed the impact of World War One. Not only did private individuals find their lives changed by enlisting to fight or taking on new "war work," but buildings and public spaces also changed by shifting over to the war cause. This collection reveals how life at the Smithsonian Institution changed in order to support the war effort from 1914-1918 through artifacts and archival materials.</p><p>Questions to consider:</p><p>-<strong>How do Americans sacrifice during wartime? Has it changed over time?</strong></p><p>-How did the Smithsonian Institution and its employees adapt during wartime?</p><p>-What does the experience chronicled here tell us about that of other Americans? What is still missing?</p><p>Tags: WWI, World War One, homefront, war work, Smithsonian, museum</p>

<p>The West has always held a special place in American culture. In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner wrote what is known as the "frontier thesis," arguing that our sense of democracy and hard work has been shaped by experience of survival and growth along the frontier. More than a century later, Americans still idolize the cowboy image and are fascinated by the train robbers, saloons, and violence of the era. How accurate is our mental picture of the "Wild West"? What were the realities of life on the frontier in the late 19th and early 20th century? What was lost and what was gained as America closed out the frontier? Most importantly, why has the West continued to fascinate Americans and play such a prominent role in popular culture?</p> <p>This learner resource includes images, artifacts, and movies that deal with the concept of the American West.  Students will want to read Turner's essay and answer the attached questions. Then, they will focus on choosing images and ideas to include in a movie trailer or poster advertisement that presents a more accurate image of turn of the century western life.</p>

<p>This collection includes artifacts, stamps, political cartoons, portraits, and videos representing various long-term and short-term causes of the Civil War. After reviewing the collection, students will sort resources into chronological order, focusing on continuity and change over time. </p><p>Tags: compromise, Civil War, John Brown, Fort Sumter, Ft, Abraham Lincoln, Sumner, Brooks, Taney, Dred Scott, 1850, 1860, secession</p><p><br /></p><p>Additional teaching ideas are listed in the Notes to Other Users section.</p>

Are you interested in meditation? This topical collection includes a variety of tools for meditation, including mandalas, music, prayer beads, labyrinths, and a video of a guided meditation and pranayama (breathing) practice. Web links to additional background information are embedded throughout.

<p>The Vikings have inspired many artists, writers, and filmmakers with their bravery and unique way of life. However, many misconceptions have developed and many facts are still unknown. In this collection, students will explore the website for the Vikings exhibit while taking notes on the included worksheet. Then, they'll evaluate three works of art (and a team logo) based on the Vikings to gauge how accurately they represent Viking life. Finally, they will be asked to create their own 2-D or 3-D object representing Viking life.</p><p>Tags: Norse, inquiry, Viking, Norway, Greenland, Iceland</p>

This student activity includes a range of visions of the future, to serve as inspiration and present a challenge for students: what do you want your city to be like in the future? Students will watch a video where students complete a similar project, and then view a variety of artifacts presenting different views of the future, with questions for analysis. Finally, students will be tasked with developing their own vision for their city or town in the future.

The period after the Civil War, known as Reconstruction, had lofty goals for reuniting the nation and preserving the new rights given to African-Americans. For a time, these goals were achieved and three important amendments were made to the Constitution. However, by 1876 Reconstruction was considered over and much of the progress that had been made was undone. This collection of detailed prints and cartoons highlight many different aspects of Reconstruction and asks students to consider the overall result of Reconstruction. Students can analyze each one using the embedded questions.

There are a number of lesson plans devoted to anthropology available from the Smithsonian. This collection links to several of the best lessons and teaching resources and, where necessary, provides short summaries of what each are, so teachers can easily use them in their own classrooms. It is focused on lessons and resources appropriate for middle and high school classrooms. The last four resources reference the case of Ishi, originally described as "the last Yahi Indian," and an example of flaws in the early approach to anthropology. The Smithsonian housed his brain, which had been donated to science by the University of California, from 1917 to 2000, when it was repatriated to his tribe.

This collection asks students to create their own exhibit on a controversial subject: the use of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. Students will create a collection that includes five items reflecting their answers to the following questions: -How should the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be remembered? -Was it necessary to drop the atomic bombs in order to end World War II? Students should consider both long-term and short-term effects in their responses.

<p>This collection is based on a lesson in Bruce Lesh's "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer?" and on a Smithsonian National Museum of American History lesson (both cited fully below). In this lesson, students will evaluate primary source material in order to develop an appropriate name for the site of the 1876 battle at Little Bighorn River. This collection allows students to explore the following questions:</p><ul><li>Why do different interpretations of history develop? How do they change over time?</li><li>When thinking about conflicts in history, whose perspectives are valued and remembered?</li></ul><p>tags: Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Little Big Horn, continuity, change over time, perspective, historiography, point of view, Native American, indigenous, American Indian, Sioux, Greasy Grass</p>