Education Resources
Learning resources for students and teachers of all ages and grades.


Education Resources
Students explore the history of slavery in the U.S. and the stories of African Americans whose struggles for freedom shaped the nation.
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Fate in Her Hands
Use this guide to open conversation about the economic and emotional toll of the U.S. Slave Trade
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Life in Freedom and Slavery
What can objects tell us about the daily lives of enslaved African Americans?
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Medieval West Africa
What can objects tell us about the history and culture of medieval West Africa?
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Colonization, Emigration, and Maroonage
What can objects tell us about the experiences of African Americans in relation to the COlonization Movement, emigration, and marronage?
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Smithsonian Learning Labs

Transatlantic Slave Trade
What can objects tell us about the experiences of those involved in creating and profiting from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and those who were kidnapped and sold?
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Slavery in Colonial America
What can objects tell us about the creation, development, and characteristics of slavery in Colonial America?
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Atlantic Revolutions
What can objects tell us about the cultural understanding, use, and destruction of slavery throughout the Atlantic World by revolution?
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The Paradox of Liberty
What can objects tell us about the paradox of liberty in the new United States?
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The Founding Documents
What can objects tell us about the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and their relationships to the paradox of slavery and freedom in the new United States?
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Free African Americans and Their Communities
What can objects tell us about the experiences of free African Americans and their communities throughout the United States?
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Students can continue the journey into how African Americans community institutions and activism created possibilities in a world that denied them opportunities.
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James Baldwin: Transatlantic Commuter
This Learning Lab Collection asks students to analyze documents, images, and objects that give insight into James Baldwin’s life as a transatlantic commuter and use objects to understand how they impacted his work and writings
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Mae’s Hat Collection
Explore a colorful collection of hats made by the amazing milliner Mae Reeve
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Joyful ABC Activity Booklet Series
These downloadable activity booklets invite caregivers and educators to support children’s positive identity development while also growing their language and literacy skills with activities, museum objects, and new words
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Activism
This colleciton is designed to spark conversation with children about activism annd what children and adults can do to help make their communities, schools, and the world better, more fair places for all people.
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Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and Modernized Schools
The National Park Service provides this lesson plan for teachers on the history of Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and their work developing the Rosenwald Schools
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