This teaching collection and student interactive are about applying cutting-edge technology to inform our understanding of what happened at the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Ask students to watch the video, read the article and use the interactive to see the impact of geography on the final outcome of the Battle.

How does photography of the Civil War inform us about this period? This teaching collection includes the lesson plan, A House Divided: Photography of the Civil War, published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Students examine Civil War photographs, write captions, and discuss how viewing photographs enhances your understanding of historical events and concepts.

Throughout history we have sought to better understand our world by viewing it from above. We first climbed trees, hills and fortress towers to observe the lay of the land. Today, aircraft and spacecraft look down on Earth to predict the weather, survey the terrain, monitor crops and forests, plan cities, locate resources, and gather intelligence. This teachers guide and student activity includes an online exhibition, Looking at Earth, with background information on aerial imagery and aerial photographs of towns and cities in Africa. Divide students into small groups and ask each group to examine a different photograph responding to the following statements or questions: 1) Describe the physical (natural) features in the photograph. 2) Describe the human-made characteristics. 3) Identify the ways in which people use the land. 4) Do the streets form a grid or some other pattern? 5) Identify regions within the photograph defined by the ways in which the land is used (residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, transportation). Ask each group to share their findings with the entire class. Discuss how the African towns and cities are different and the role of geography in defining a place. Locate the different towns and cities on a map of Africa.

Sometimes innovations are about something completely new and sometimes innovations are about small refinements in design. What can we learn about innovation from looking at something as ordinary as a coffee cup lid? Read the article about coffee cup lids and write a description for one of the lids, capturing its unique qualities. How do changes in coffee cup lids reflect larger changes in our society? Predict what will be the next innovation .

Read an article about the opening of the "American Inventions" exhibition in the National Museum of American History. Examine some of the artifacts featured in the exhibition and select one that you believe had the greatest impact. Write a persuasive essay on why this invention is so important.

This teaching collection includes a teaching poster, website, video, and digital images about the six milestones of flight.

What defines a place? Examine this collection of images from or about Niagara Falls to answer these questions: What are its unique set of physical and cultural conditions? How do these physical and cultural conditions interact? How is Niagara Falls connected to other places? What are the consequences of human activity on the cultural and physical landscape? Ask students individually or in small groups to create a collection in Learning Lab to represent the physical and cultural characteristics of another place. Using these collections, ask students to write summary statements describing the unique human and physical characteristics of places researched. In class discuss student collections and what makes each place unique.

A collection of letters written during the Civil War.

Diary entries from Mary Henry during the Civil War.

Pop Art Explore how Pop artists were inspired by—and made art directly from—consumer goods, mass media, and popular culture.

This Smithsonian collection about Baltimore sports.