Historical Quests

Oregon-California Trails - Learning Center

The Oregon-California Trails - Learning Center helps to educate people about the westward emigrant trails. The story of the emigrant trails is immensely rich and spans not only the middle decades of the nineteenth century, but continues to influence our world today.

Perseus

The Perseus site contains about 400 ancient Greek texts and 13,000 images. While not interactive, it illustrates the bountiful historical sites, available on the Web and to which most schools lack access currently.

National Museum of the American Indian

The National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian, contains 800,000 artifacts of Native American culture from sites all over North and South America. Check out their on-line offerings.

Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago

The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is now the home of "Sue", the largest-ever fossil of a T-rex.

Art of the Inuit

Through their artwork, the Inuit tell stories of their past and their feelings.

When you look closely at the birds and animals in Inuit art, you will see that each one often has its own special character. The individual appearance of the creatures in Inuit art grows out of respect that Inuit gave to all living things.

Another source of inspiration were mythical stories. The stories, and the spirits they describe, continue to be inspiring sources for Inuit artists today.

Lascaux

Try this interactive site for studying the cave paintings of early man. The site is in French, but the paintings speak to every language.

Slavery in America

Slavery in America, underwritten by New York Life, is a deliberate search for previously unknown documents and eyewitness stories about slavery, the Jim Crow years and 20th century segregation. The site has been composed by high school teachers and prominent historians.

Pacific Islanders Cultural Association (P.I.C.A.)

In the real world, P.I.C.A. or the Pacific Islander Cultural Association lives in San Francisco and reflects Samoan, Tongan, and Hawaiian cultures. The site resources includes canoes, photos and additional resource links.

Living History Farm

While these topics are a mainstay of early US history, few interactive resources place students right in the middle of these environments. Here's an example from Urbandale, Iowa.

Check out similar opportunities in your area.