Smithsonian offering more teacher resources

The Smithsonian Institution is working to offer American teachers more services.

A newly revised portal, http://SmithsonianEducation.org, lets teachers search for resources either by subject or by relevance to state learning standards. About 1,200 resources are available, mostly in the arts, language arts, math, science, and social studies.

In April, fifty State Teachers of the Year visited Smithsonian collections in Washington, D.C. Thirty-nine of them, including Terry Kaldhusdal of Magee Elementary School in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, were trained as Smithsonian Ambassadors, so they may give presentations in their own states about Smithsonian offerings. For more information, contact Terry directly at kaldhust@kmsd.edu.

These activities are part of a year-old collaboration between the Smithsonian and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Another way to join the collaboration is to take students on a "videoconference field trip" to a Smithsonian museum, to teach American art, history, and culture (see http://americanart.si.edu/education); environmental science (see http://www.serc.si.edu/education); North Pacific American Indian history and cultures (see http://www.bsu.edu/eft/ancestors); or aeronautic and space science and history (see http://www.nasm.si.edu/education). Smithsonian educators also offer consultations on curriculum, assessment, and professional-development projects for a minimal fee, and the institution offers summer teacher training opportunities in Washington (fees start at $20).

Other outgrowths of the collaboration with educators include a pilot project that brought teachers from Wisconsin and Arkansas to the Smithsonian to learn about museum-based methods for collecting and analyzing evidence, and about exhibition creation.

More information: http://SmithsonianEducation.org

For more information about SEAchange, contact: Benson Gardner at (608) 266-3374.

Last updated on 5/28/2007