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Online Exhibits

Emerging America’s online exhibits model engaging uses of primary and secondary sources from Western Massachusetts museums and archives. These stories serve as starting points to address major national themes and events in American history. Each exhibit features a select set of documents, maps, artifacts, and images, placed in context through secondary sources from expert scholars. Students can dive directly into the stories, or explore dynamic maps and multi-media. Within each exhibit, teachers can also access lesson plans, links to standards, and guidance on teaching methods.

Woodcut print of Sojourner, wearing a white cap, with a white shirt under a coat.
Radical Equality: The Northampton Association of Education and Industry - Exhibit and Lessons

Immerse yourself in an extraordinary community of Utopian abolitionists and reformers of the 1840's.

A bearded young man stands in an unbuttoned sergeant's jacket, showing the three chevrons of his rank. Both his sleeves are empty. His right upper arm is raised, resting on the staff of a tattered United States flag.
How Civil War Veterans Transformed Disability - Exhibit and Curriculum Unit
Stories of nurses and disabled veterans and the many institutions created to aid veterans support a robust curriculum unit.
Woodcut print of the Steamboat Barnet in the Connecticut River. One smokestack belches black smoke. The boat has a paddle wheel.
Steamboat Barnet: Emerging Industrialism - Exhibit and Lessons

Explore the 1826 voyage of the first Connecticut River steamboat into Massachusetts, opening a new era of industrial and economic expansion for this part of New England. 

A print shows workers making rifles and a Springfield Rifle in detail.
The Springfield Armory: Forge of Innovation - External Exhibit

Investigate the central role of the Armory in leading the Industrial Revolution of the 1800's through innovative engineering and organization. (External site). 

Several children in caps and work clothes pose for the photographer. A small boy, center smokes a pipe. One of his older friends has a good laugh.
Windows on History - Students Develop Local History Projects
Explore strategies, tools, and examples for students to research and develop their own exhibits to showcase local history. 

Upcoming Workshops


Civic Engagement in Any Subject: Integrating Local History Across the Curriculum - Northampton, Massachusetts - Stipends - Details & Registration Led by ve…
Keene State College (KSC) received a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) project grant in October, 2024. Link to the project announcement.