This baker’s dozen of virtual field trips will take students on a tour of our nation’s history from coast to coast and from a mystery involving early inhabitants to the first permanent English settlement in North America. Walk in the steps of our Founding Fathers, tour the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and more!
Early Years
1. Castle Rock Pueblo: A Trip through Time. Travel back to the 1200s to solve the mystery of what happened to the Anasazi, the ancestral people of this ancient village located in Crow Canyon in the heart of southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde. Archaeological study, insights shared by Native Americans, and historic records and photographs help tell the story of the Anasazi as well as explorers and residents of the 1800s and 1990s.
2. Virtual Jamestown. Starting with the journey of three ships from England to the New World, follow the early struggles of the first permanent English settlement to its place as a prosperous colony.
Founding Fathers
3. George Washington. He was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Learn more about our nation’s first president, tour Mount Vernon, and see how Washington’s estate was preserved and restored.
4. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Through 3-D re-creations, videos, maps, and more, explore Monticello— the house, gardens, and 5,000-acre plantation of the third American president.
5. Ben Franklin. Printer, postmaster, philosopher, inventor, politician, diplomat, philanthropist… that’s Founding Father Benjamin Franklin! Learn more about his life and legacy with this tour of the Franklin Institute.
Nation at War
6. War of Independence. Americans fought for independence from England… from the “shot heard ‘round the world” to the pivotal battle at Yorktown. The American Battlefield Trust also offers historical accounts, biographies, and 360 virtual tours of Revolutionary War battles closer to home in the Carolinas, including the battles at Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, King’s Mountain, and Ninety Six.
7. Nation Divided. One of the most well-known battles of the Civil War, Gettysburg took place over three days around a small farming community in Pennsylvania, with engagements at places like Little Round Top, the Angle, and Devils Den. With the American Battlefield Trust, take a 360 virtual tour of the battlefield and find maps, videos, and biographies. Just a week after the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox, an assassin shot President Abraham Lincoln. Tour Ford’s Theater and learn how Americans of the day reacted to President Lincoln’s death.
8. Attack at Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack against United States armed forces in Hawaii. The next day, the U.S. entered World War II. Learn more about this pivotal moment with this story map.
History in the Making
9. Westward, Ho! Explore the historic Oregon Trail, starting in Missouri. Find videos, photos, online exhibits, and an interactive app from the National Park Service. You can still see wagon wheel ruts at the Keeney Historic Site.
10. Uniting a Nation. In 1869, four golden spikes commemorated completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Learn more with Utah’s “Spike 150” celebration of the 150th anniversary in 2019, including this online exhibit of Treasures of the Transcontinental Railroad from the state’s Department of Heritage and Arts.
11. “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Take an e-tour of the Statue of Liberty with the National Park Service.
The Room Where It Happens
12. In the past… Tour historic Philadelphia, with stops at familiar landmarks like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, the Executive Mansion, the home of Betsy Ross, the building that housed our first Supreme Court, historic churches, gardens, museums, memorials, and more!
13. And the present…. Discover, explore, and learn about landmark buildings and grounds of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with the Architect’s Virtual Capitol from the Architect of the Capitol.
We’ll be sharing more tips so watch for the next installment of DLD Daily Dozen!