Resource Kits

Resource Kits are digitized objects arranged into activities and organized by theme. Searchable by grade, subject, media, and museum, these resource kits are carefully curated by museum professionals using the objects in their collections so your students are able to engage with primary sources!

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Resource Kit

The History of Alcohol at Bethabara

This digital exhibit overviews the history of alcohol at Bethabara. From health to trade, alcohol was a lifeblood for the Moravians living in Bethabara, yet it remains somewhat of a hidden history. This online resource is broken up into several sections detailing the background of the Moravians, alcohol production in Bethabara, enslaved narratives related to alcohol, and stories from the tavern. All of these sections culminate into a comprehensive narrative of how alcohol was a key component to the daily operation of Moravian life, even if not always immediately present. Thank you so much for taking the time to look through this exhibit!

Created by: Historic Bethabara Park

Resource Kit

From Home to Museum: How do you Make a Museum?

Established in 1950, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum has served as Morristown's community museum for 75 years. But how does one family's home go from a place to live to a museum for all? This Resource Kit explores the history of the building, the people who lived in the home, and how a museum was created. Students have the opportunity to research and design their own museum exhibit about their school's history

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Resource Kit

CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation

Step into the world of dinosaurs with CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation! Become a dino detective and discover how fossils are formed, learn about Earth’s history, and explore amazing dinosaurs that lived in Texas long ago. You’ll even learn about the official state dinosaur of Texas. Get ready to dig into the past, discover secrets from millions of years ago and solve the Cretaceous mystery!

Created by: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Resource Kit

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. He was the only President to serve non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), up until this year when President Donald Trump won the office for a second time. In 1884 Nast, along with Harper’s Weekly editor George Curtis, broke with the Republican Party to support the Democratic Candidate Grover Cleveland. This Resource Kit explores Nast's illustrations in support of the first two-term President serving non-consecutive terms, his switch from a Republican to a Democrat, and Nast's waning influence as a political cartoonist.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Resource Kit

Becoming a Profession: Rodeo Becomes a Sport

While rodeo began on the plains of Kansas, Texas, and other western states in the 1880s, it took many years before it became a professional sport. In 1936, sixty-one cowboys joined together to fight for proper payment and representation. They were the first to speak out against the injustices practiced by rodeo producers. These men created a new organization for the cowboys and cowgirls for whom rodeo was becoming a career.

Created by: ProRodeo Hall of Fame

Resource Kit

The Life of Thomas Jefferson

Many words describe Thomas Jefferson. He is best remembered as the person who wrote the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States. He was also a lawyer, scientist, enslaver, writer, Governor, Vice-President, Philosopher, Architect, Father, and Revolutionary. In this resource kit, you will learn more about the life of Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence. This resource kit will take between 60 - 90 minutes to complete. Additional resources are included in some activities for further investigation. For more information or to offer feedback, please email digital.learning@monticello.org. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on this resource kit: https://forms.gle/aW8qqtq5GJTnj6H26.

Created by: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Resource Kit

Little Town on the Plains: Keota, Colorado

It’s flat, windy, and dry--the middle of nowhere. The Eastern Colorado prairies look pretty bleak to most people. But to new homesteaders, they look like heaven. A family can prosper here and build for the future. There’s plenty of land (it’s free--just stake a claim), a railroad, a good school, and a strong community. So let's go to Keota, Colorado!

Created by: History Colorado

Resource Kit

Mining in Colorado (1860s -1930s)

Let's spelunk right into the history of mining in Colorado! From Gold to Silver and from the plains to the mountains, mining changed and evolved significantly from the 1860s to the 1930s. Join us to explore mining in Colorado and how it connects to the physical geography, how technology and adaptations made it possible and how it had impacts on the land and people who were already in the region .

Created by: History Colorado

Resource Kit

Underground Coal Mining Impacts on a Small Town

Louisville (pronounced Lewis-ville) is a small City in Boulder County, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The primary industry from 1878 through 1955 was coal mining. Today it is a thriving community of 22,000 residents with a few hints to its mining past. As you look through the timeline, think about how Louisville would have been different if coal wasn't found here. Who would have come here? What work would they have done?

Created by: Louisville Historical Museum

Resource Kit

Museums & Material Culture: George Macculloch's Campeche Chair

When is a chair more than a chair? What ideas, values, and attitudes can modern audiences learn from a chair? Through one object in the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum collection, a Campeche chair belonging to George Macculloch, this Resource Kit answers those questions. Using the chair a primary source students will gain an understanding of how museums use objects to tell stories about the past.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Resource Kit

The Science and Politics of Food

How have food policy decisions been made throughout U.S. history? When has the federal government taken responsibility for nutritional health and why? How has nutrition science benefitted from such interest, and what have scientists contributed to the public understanding of food and health in return? This resource kit explores these questions, offers a unique perspective on twentieth-century U.S. history, and introduces audiences to the history of science.

Created by: Science History Institute

Resource Kit

The Track to Change: How 20th Century America Shaped Thoroughbred Racing

This course explores the profound impact of 20th-century American culture, politics, and economics on the evolution of thoroughbred racing. This course delves into the sport’s transformation through key moments such as the Great Depression, advancements in technology, and the cultural shift of gender roles. Through a historical lens, the course offers a unique understanding of how societal shifts influenced both the sport’s development and its role in American life.

Created by: The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Letter to Dorothea Post

Letter to Dorothea Post from Robert M. Dilatush, Jr., the supervisor of Farm Placement Service in 1942.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Typed Schedule

Typical day for a Farmerette in the Morristown, NJ Unit

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Handwritten Note

Handwritten Note describing the work of the Pleasant Grove WLA Unit

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Help For the Farmer

Pamphlet explaining how women can work on farms

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Letter and Envelope

This letter is from Helen Olansen to her cousin , Private Jay H. Olansen, who was stationed in France. Helen lived at 23 Maple Avenue, Morristown, NJ, the headquarters for the Woman's Land Army, Morristown Unit.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Badge

WLA NJ Division Badge

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

What is the Woman's Land Army of America

Pamphlet explaining what the WLAA is

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

List of Supplies for Women to Bring

List of supplies to for women to bring with them to Morristown for when they serve as farmerettes. The list includes arrival information into Morristown.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Enrollment Card

Woman's Land Army enrollment card for Bessie Gallagher

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Contract for Uniforms

A contract from the Woman's Land Army of America, Inc. for uniforms for the Morristown Unit of the WLAA.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

HCR 16

HCR 16, 81st R.S. (2009), designating Paluxysaurus jonesi as the official Lone Star State Dinosaur, replacing Brachiosaur Sauropod, Pleurocoelus.

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Schiedea hawaiiensis

Seeds of Schiedea hawaiiensis. The seeds are 1 to 1.3 mm long, reniform-suborbicular, compressed, pale brown, with raised cells forming low transverse ridges across the surface. The perisperm (nutritive tissue surrounding the embryo) is starchy, and true endosperm is absent.

Lyon Arboretum

Beers O'Plenty!

The History of Alcohol at Bethabara

There are hundreds of different kinds of beers one might come across, and it can be understandably overwhelming. Beer is a blanket term for various styles from all across the globe. Indiana Pale Ale (IPA), Hefeweizen (German Wheat Beer), Stouts, Lagers, and Pilsners, are all beers as they are undistilled alcoholic drinks with fermentation and added hops and malt. All these examples are beer, however, not all are the same KIND of beer. Styles are determined by the fermentation process, types and amounts of malts/hops used, temperature, and additional ingredients added. This section is meant to be a short guide to just a few different styles (Ales, Porters, Lagers, etc.), what their ingredients tend to be, and HOW they are made.

Created by: Historic Bethabara Park

Timeline of Moravians and Alcohol in and Beyond Bethabara

The History of Alcohol at Bethabara

This timeline focuses on significant events regarding the Moravians in North America and Bethabara. There is a particular focus on how alcohol was ever-present in Bethabara's economy, trade, and the diets of Bretheren.

Created by: Historic Bethabara Park

Introduction to the Moravians and Bethabara

The History of Alcohol at Bethabara

"Yesterday we arrived in Carolina. On the entire journey from Bethlehem the Lord has kept us in good health, and has guided us with His eye." - Bishop Spangenberg, September 10, 1752

Created by: Historic Bethabara Park

Reflection and Discussion Questions

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

After completing the full resource kit, answer the questions.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

BONUS Primary Source Investigation- Thomas Nast Letter to Sarah Nast

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Library and Lyceum in Morristown, NJ, All rights reserved Morristown Morris Township Join Free Public Library, The North Jersey History & Genealogy Center

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Thomas Nast: After Harper's Weekly

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Thomas Nast only created six cartoons in January 1887 before he parted ways with Harper’s Weekly , ending his 25-year tenure. He would again be published in Harper’s Weekly in 1895 creating 14 cartoons from June 15 through October 26 and then again in 1896 drawing just eight more cartoons in January and February. Nast would continue to freelance with other publications until his death in 1902, but he never achieved the popularity and influence he had at Harper’s Weekly. Click through the image to see a selection of Nast's work post -Harper's Weekly.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

The Response to Nast the Mugwump

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

This is an illustration from 1884 by political cartoonist Frank Beard (1842-1905) in which Nast is depicted. Beard pokes fun at Nast for jumping ship from the Republican Party to support Grover Cleveland. Click on the stars to learn more about the imagery used by Beard to respond to Nast's change in political allegiance.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Student Engagement: Political Cartoon Analysis

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Thomas Nast (1840-1902), Reform Without Bloodshed , Harper's Weekly , April 19, 1884, TN2010.41

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Thomas Nast Illustrates Cleveland's First Campaign- 1884

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Thomas Nast (1840-1902) illustrated his support for Cleveland in the campaigns of 1884 and depicted President Cleveland in political cartoons while he was in office from 1885 to 1887, when Nast left Harper’s Weekly . Click through the images to learn more about how Nast illustrated his support for Cleveland. Think about the news article from the previous activity and how Nast's words in that interview align with the images in Harper's Weekly .

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Why Nast Support Cleveland: In His Own Words

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Thomas Nast, "No Rest for the Wicked- Sentenced to More Hard Labor", Harper's Weekly, December 2, 1876

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

The Three Campaigns- 1884, 1888, and 1892

The 22nd and 24th President: Thomas Nast Illustrates Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland Campaign Badges, 1888, Silk, 55.111A-PP

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

Reflection and Discussion Questions

From Home to Museum: How do you Make a Museum?

Think about the role museums have to educate the public on the history of a community as you answer the following questions.

Created by: Macculloch Hall Historical Museum