Smithsonian Resources

 We live near Washington D.C.  Our family has made over 50 visits to D.C.  I spent one summer as a teacher volunteer and stayed in a dorm at Catholic University.  I love to visit D.C.  There is always something fun to see or do.  You could spend an entire day just walking around the Monuments and Memorials.  We park underground at Union Station.  It’s a three mile hike to the Lincoln Memorial from Union Station.  There is a subway from Union to stops near the Smithsonian and another closer to the major monuments or the White House.  Below are some of the resources.

 Did you know there is a hands-on lab, the Draper Smart!Lab in the basement of the American History Museum in Washington D.C.?  Here is more information; I’m still unclear which experiments they’re actually doing.  However, it’s free.  The Smithsonian does have teacher resources.  Here are resources for the Zoo in D.C.  All of the Smithsonian museums and the zoo are free.  Like me, you may come away with some opinions about the quality of the various museums.  Personally, I come away from the zoo feeling like I’ve had a long lecture, rather than seeing loads of animals.  I’ve been disappointed with the American History Museum’s exhibits lately, too. However, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Building Museum, and the National Gallery of Art are treasures.  

The teachers’ guides are scattered everywhere. Here  is the Natural History Educator guide.  Here are Smithsonian Art Guides for teachers.  Here is the  Smithsonian Learning Lab with Webinars.  The educator programs are strangely specific, such as Building Civic Engagement with Postage Stamps.  Here are educator guides for The National Postal Museum, next door to Union Station, in D.C.  Here is the Hirshhorn guide.  Here is the National Museum of American History educator guide.  

The Air and Space Museum has Educator Professional Development, Teacher Innovator Institute, Learning Resources,  There are two Air and Space Museums, one on The Mall, near the White House, and another, the Steven F. Unvarnished-Hazy Center, in Virginia, close to Dulles Airport.  Here are directions to the space museum near Dulles.  If you go to either air and space museum, scedule a group visit with a docent.  The docents are volunteers, often retired members of the military.  These folks are both interested in air and space and interesting.  The docents are volunteers and enhance your experience.

History Projects!

 Good Will has this People Long Ago resource box about pioneers.  I thought similar kits could serve as inspiration for History projects.  Look!  There are pioneer clothes!  You could sew historic clothes! There are free American Girl patterns.  These are discontinued sewing patterns for the original Pleasant Company dolls.  The original dolls’ clothes were extensively researched; however, people would not have had many clothes. (I may or may not be currently obsessed with sewing American Girl period clothes.)  Your project could include doll clothes!  It could also include songs, money, historic events, and field-trips!  Create a diorama or a lapbook.  Make a video or a slide deck!  Write a play based on a figure from the period.  Have a blast!

Lakeshore Learning has other kits for inspiration.

Good Educational Material at Good Will

 Good Will has several interesting listings.  Look at this Rocks and Mineral Kit.

I did bid on this pioneer kit for my friend who teaches History.

Look at these math sets.

Winter Olympics

  I love the Olympics!  Science Sparks has Easy Winter Olympics STEM, with simple materials, such as paper plates and ice cubes to examine the underlying science involved in different events.  Little Bins has Winter Olympics Activities; here are great ideas from the Demo Guy.  Frugal Fun has LEGO Builds.  Decorate with these Winter Olympics Activities from Red Ted.  How about Coding?  Finally NBC has 100 ways to celebrate Milan Cortina 2026!  Yeah!

Snow Day: Boredom Busters

 Here are 50 Snow Day Boredom Busters.  Make a numbered list the ones you like and have the supplies you already own.  Write numbers on to popsicle sticks.  Select one at random whenever the kiddos start to whinge.  Make your own list: knit, bake (while the power is still on), play a board game, build catapults and knock things down in the basement, complete a puzzle, etc.  Let your imagination roll!

Snow Day: Unplugged Coding

  we get the snow or ice forecasted, we’re all going to need some ideas.  What about unplugged coding?  This article’s Code a Friend’, ‘A Loopy Routine, etc are ideal for siblings.  It has simple activities, such as origami, to help kiddos understand the concepts underlying coding.  Start with ASCII Code and make a Binary Bracelet, necklace, code with Twizzlers, knit in Binary Code (I knit a scarf in binary.), create a game with egg cartons, and Code a Snowman.  If your wifi doesn’t crash, learn to code with MIT’s Scratch.  We needed a book to work through the steps to get the kitty to jump.   I hope everyone impacted by the up-coming storm stays safe!

Snow Day: Secrete Codes

  If your kiddos like coding, they might like secret codes.  This introduction to ciphers includes Morse code, Pigpen Cipher, the Phonetic Alphabet, Tap Code, Grid Code, and more. Here, here, and here are Morse codes to decipher.  Make a decoder wheel.    Have you tried cryptograms?  They are like secret codes and very addicting.  Here is a free site.  It’s easier to solve cryptograms if you copy them on to paper.  Would you like to write a secret message?  The ACS Invisible Ink uses alcohol, turmeric, and sudsy ammonia.  This invisible ink involves a white crayon and water colors.  Have you tried Lemon Juice Invisible Ink?  HST Invisible Ink includes the type I use with phenolphthalein (PHTH) and another with cobalt chloride, which looks fun, too.  If you use PHTH, and test it with Windex, be sure the Windex has ammonia.  I just use a little sudsy ammonia.