Parks as Classrooms

For more than 25 years, the Washington Monument sat unfinished, looking like a 150-foot chimney in the middle of Washington, D.C. In this Junior Ranger activity, you can build your own adventure by deciding what to do next. Should the monument be completed or redesigned? How will you overcome the challenges that halted construction?

Students examine the concepts of the designing of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In this student activity for middle and high school, students listen to popular songs during the Vietnam War and analyze changing perspectives of the war revealed through the lyrics and musical style. Then students create their own playlist or write lyrics to support a cause or critique a current issue.

When visitors enter the domed chamber of the Jefferson Memorial, they are surrounded by inscriptions meant to represent Thomas Jefferson's beliefs about liberty and democracy. Who chose the texts that appear on the walls? How do the inscriptions shape our understanding of Jefferson's philosophy? Is the memorial an example of quoting out of context?

These learning activities engage middle and high school students with the history and meaning of the Lincoln Memorial. Each lesson focuses on a different aspect of the Lincoln Memorial dedication in 1922 and used primary sources to make connections between the intended purpose and the actual meaning of the memorial.

Students will learn of the significance of items left in tribute at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.