Be the Curator

Lesson Activity One: Introduction to Online Exhibits

Begin class by asking students if they’ve been to a museum. Ask them to share their experiences with visiting museums. Make sure to draw out what they liked or didn’t like about how different exhibitions were set up.

Explain to students that they will be creating their own online museum exhibit about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln using artifacts, images, and documents from the Remembering Lincoln website.

Pass out the Online Exhibit Scavenger Hunt Worksheet. Review with the students the four parts of setting up an exhibit:

• The Story: The Focus of the Exhibit.
• Take Away: One piece of information the viewer should walk away with after viewing the exhibit—similar to the thesis statement for an essay.
• So What?: Explanation of how this exhibit relates to the viewers.
• Mood: The overall feeling the viewers should walk away with.

Depending on the needs of your class, you can review an online exhibit together, in small groups or individually. Students should then fill out the Online Exhibit Scavenger Hunt Worksheet.

Here are some recommend exhibits for the Scavenger Hunt, but you can use whatever exhibits work best for your class.

• Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination by Ford’s Theatre
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/dwIS9Mh5nGISLg
• Game Changers by National Women’s History Museum
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/gRJ3eKVt
• Public Art: Made with Consent by graffitimundo
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/wQmsh3tM
• Albert Einstein German, Swiss and American by the Einstein Archives
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/QQrk18h6
• Pinball in America by The Strong National Museum of Play
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/oAKShPEYG8fuKg
• Lincoln from Postmaster to President by Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum
  • https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/exhibit/qQIyKfA3Q9CcLg

Lesson Activity Two: Exhibit Planning

Share out the Exhibit Planning Guide to students. Students should begin planning their own exhibit; this can be done individually or in groups. Here are a couple examples using the Remembering Lincoln resources:

Story	Take Away	So What?	Mood
The Trail of the Funeral Train	Lincoln’s body traveled the United States so that Americans could say goodbye to the martyred president.	The modern funeral rites of political leaders stem from Lincoln’s Funeral Train.	Morose
Chasing After Lincoln’s Killers	The hunt for Lincoln’s killers was one of the most significant manhunts in U.S. history.	The manhunt for Lincoln’s killers, and their subsequent trial, set a precedent for how the country dealt with political violence.	Exhilarating
The reactions of everyday people to the Assassination	Lincoln’s death affected people from all walks of life in many different ways.	How people reacted to Lincoln’s death affected how the country came back together after the Civil War.	Heartbroken

There are two ways students can plan their exhibit. 1) They can decide on their story first and then browse resources that support their story. 2) They can browse resources and mark the ones that interest them. Once they have a collection, they can look at the items and find a story that connects them. Once they find their story, they would refine their artifact collection to make sure everything matches their story and take away.

Lesson Activity Three: Exhibit Production

There are many different platforms that allow students to create their own exhibit. Here is a comparison of three different platforms that we are familiar with. Regardless of what platform you use, review the how to guide with your students.

Platform	Google Arts and Culture	Smithsonian Learning Lab	Kid Curators
Type	Online	Online	3D School Exhibit
How To Guide	https://youtu.be/BDuDpIrVVYI	https://learninglab.si.edu/help/getting-started/create	http://kidcurators.com/
Text Inclusions	Title (150 Characters) Description (800 Characters)	Title (Unlimited characters) Description (unlimited characters)	Unlimited text options
Remembering Lincoln Sources	Some resources are available through the Ford’s Theatre Collection: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/partner/fords-theatre	Students can add items from the Remembering Lincoln website to Smithsonian Learning Lab	Unlimited use of items

Review the description writing checklist with your students and have them finish their exhibit and share it with you.