During this session for educators, you’ll be introduced to Judith Sargent Murray and seven other remarkable women highlighted in the exhibition. Learn about the early days of this nation and efforts to gain gender equality in America. We’ll discuss women’s contributions in relation to the women’s rights movements that came after, from the late nineteenth century to today.

At the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. King famously said that he was in the nation’s capital to “cash a check” for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, as promised a hundred years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation. In this session, we’ll take a look at the legacy of Lincoln’s famous decree and the work that many leaders, ordinary citizens and even students undertook during the Civil Rights Movement to make a difference in today’s world. We’ll discuss the historical context behind these events and learn more about the ways the Smithsonian is keeping this history alive.

In this session for educators and their students, we’ll focus on something as seemingly simple as pairs of shoes and learn about the stories they tell. From fashion to tradition and work to play, each pair of shoes tells a story that offers perspective into the history of the American people.

In this educator session, we’ll make content connections from the previous session, “From Where I Stand: A Closer Look at Understanding Immigration/Migration Experiences in the United States”, which highlighted a small piece of the Smithsonian’s own collection of these stories through material culture to a classroom setting.

Help your students make connections to current events and become active witnesses to history. In this panel session, you’ll hear from three Smithsonian educators about interactive and ready-to-use resources for the classroom that explore the role of the presidency and highlight historic inaugural ceremonies of the past. You’ll find additional recommended Smithsonian learning in the Virtual Exhibit Hall.

Join Smithsonian expert, Harry R. Rubenstein, known for his expertise in American political history, in this interactive Q&A session on the presidency, presidential elections and the inaugural ceremonies. He’ll also share his experiences of collecting modern-day treasures and novelties from campaign trails, conventions and past inaugurations.

The nation’s only complete collection of portraits of the presidents outside the White House, the “America’s Presidents” exhibition lies at the heart of the National Portrait Gallery’s mission to tell the American story through the individuals who have shaped it.

Photographs of the inauguration document this important American event, but they also tell us something about the participants. We will examine a number of photographs, including one from Lincoln’s second inauguration and several from the 2008 inauguration, to better understand our roles as viewers, participants, and picture-takers.