<p>This Learning Collection was developed to guide students in exploring the evolution of space suit design as a lead-in to NASA's recent Space Suit Design challenge. This is also being used as an example to showcase some of the features Smithsonian has added to their Learning Lab to allow educators the tools necessary to use open Smithsonian resources along with external materials to create digital learning experiences. <br /></p><p><br /></p>

What are hieroglyphs? What was the purpose? Who could write them? How did we discover how to read them?

A examination of currency from various cultures and eras.

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Let's take a journey to see what the Smithsonian has for you and your students. We will use this as a FRIENDLY challenge, and as a way to explore the types of diverse resources and features found in the Learning Lab.

<p>This is actually a collection ALMOST entirely made up of STEM Learning Collections. We will examine the first 7 resources just to get a sense of the types of resources contained within the Smithsonian Learning Lab, and share some potential STEM applications and adaptations for each as part of our discussion. Then you can explore and select from the remaining 20+ full collections to find those you'd like to copy for your own use. Happy STEM hunting!</p>

<p>Take this collection, and make it your own by finding at least 5-10 more "space" objects and artifacts. </p>

<p>This collection was developed for the Arts, Media, and Entertainment 2017 Leadership Conference in California. Enjoy.</p>

<p>Railroads started well before 1869, but it was not until that year that the nation was bound together by a commitment to build the first transcontinental system. On May 10, 1869, the driving of a golden spike, signaled the ceremonial end to a process that had been going on for 6 years of construction, engineering, and human toil. Two companies, one starting in Omaha, Nebraska and the other in Sacramento, California competed to lay track towards each other to join the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads. Their reward for each mile was government money and lots of it. By the time that they met at Promontory Summit, Utah, vast sums of money and untold human labor and sacrifice had been expended on this incredible technical endeavor. A single track united the continent's Wester and Eastern regions. Travel from East to West used to take months by wagon train, could now be measured in mere days. This collection utilizes Primary Source student review strategies from the Library of Congress' <a href="http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/guides.html" target="_blank">Primary Source Analysis Tools</a>. </p>

<p>This Learning Collection was developed to guide students in exploring the evolution of space suit design as a lead-in to NASA's recent Space Suit Design challenge. This is also being used as an example to showcase some of the features Smithsonian has added to their Learning Lab to allow educators the tools necessary to use open Smithsonian resources along with external materials to create digital learning experiences. <br></p> <p><br></p>

Some of the 3D objects from the Smithsonian's collections