Exploring Civics through Historic Spaces - A Model for Civic Learning at Museums, Historic Sites, and Cultural Institutions

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

A civic learning model developed for museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions uses local collections and exhibitions to make civics tangible for K-5 audiences. It centers collaboration between an individual school and a local historic site or museum, linking civics themes to primary sources and real-world applications. The model aligns with the Educating for American Democracy framework, organizing learning around major themes and driving questions supported by key concepts and design challenges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages97

Reading Time34 min

AccessFree to download

The Project

What Is Educating for American Democracy?

How Can My Institution Use This Curriculum?

Getting Started

How Can My Institution Use the Roadmap?

Key Concepts to Be Explored

Civic Participation

Our Changing Landscape

We the People

EXPLORING CIVICS THROUGH HISTORIC SPACES A MODEL FOR CIVIC LEARNING AT MUSEUMS, HISTORIC SITES, AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS THE PROJECT The Intrepid Museum is a non-profit, educational institution featuring the legendary aircraft carrier Intrepid, the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jets and a guided missile submarine. More than 50,000 men served on the WWII era aircraft carrier Intrepid, but who we saw serving on the ship was impacted by policies and practices in the United States during its time of service. Many other historical sites and museums have collections and histories that reflect change over time as the power of civic action dismantled policies and practices put into place by those in power. The Intrepid Museum, funded by the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Initiative, created a model for collaboration between an individual school and a local historic site or museum, which can be replicated by others across the country with their local schools. It is designed as a cost-efficient model that leverages local resources, expertise and history to make civics more tangible and relevant to students. The goal is to enhance civic learning, integrate content knowledge, and explore areal-world application of lessons learned to prepare future generations for engaged citizenship as participants in our democracy. WHAT IS EDUCATING FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY? Educating for American Democracy is a diverse and cross-ideological group of scholars and educators who created guidance and an inquiry framework to transform the teaching of history and civics to meet the needs of a diverse 21st-century K–12 student body. Educating for American Democracy has designed a framework for excellence in history and civics for all learners that is organized by major themes and questions, supported by key concepts. This framework is designed around seven (7) themes and five (5) Design Challenges. Each theme has driving questions to explore with grades K-12, and the framework has pedagogical principles for how educators can approach the teaching of the EAD roadmap. Copyright Intrepid Museum. All rights reserved. Materials may be reproduced for educational purposes. 1 Updated December 2024. HOW CAN MY INSTITUTION USE THIS CURRICULUM? The curriculum developed by the Intrepid Museum team in collaboration with their school partner focuses on defining a community, investigating policies and practices that impact the make-up of a community, and exploring how those policies and practices can change over time. These themes are easily explored through the collections and exhibitions of museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions. The collections explored at the Intrepid Museum include primary sources centered on the lives of the crewmembers who lived and worked onboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid, which served in World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Primary sources also focused on who served on the ship and the policies and practices that limited who could serve and in what capacity. Other historic sites have collections items that are similar in theme to the primary sources utilized by the Intrepid Museum. The lessons are designed so that the structure can remain the same, but the primary sources utilized can be connected to the institution leading each lesson. This curriculum has lessons that can work both in museum and classroom settings. We hope you will use these lessons as a framework to explore civics with local K-5 audiences and support the next generation of engaged citizens in our communities. GETTING STARTED Fill out the Primary Source Focus Collections Survey to see which exhibitions and items in your collections can be used to connect to each lesson. Identify a school or schools in your area to partner with. Share the program outline and set up a time to meet with the school and discuss potential dates over the course of a year. Review our School Communication R

FAQs

What is the civic learning model described in this document?

It is a cost-efficient approach that uses local resources, expertise, and history to help students engage with civics through museum, historic site, and cultural institution collections and exhibitions.

How does Educating for American Democracy shape the curriculum?

It provides a framework organized by major themes and driving questions, supported by key concepts, and designed around seven themes and five design challenges to transform the teaching of history and civics.

What steps are recommended to get started implementing the program?

Complete the Primary Source Focus Collections Survey, identify and partner with a local school, schedule planning meetings, connect lessons to local standards, review materials and setup needs, and create a lessons schedule for student programming.

How can an institution use the Educating for American Democracy roadmap?

The roadmap lists ways to engage students in civics learning, and this project specifically connects to Design Challenge 2 by exploring how a more plural and complete history can become a shared story for all Americans.

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys