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The State Historical Society of North Dakota encourages you to acquaint yourself with the resources that we have available for educators. The responsibility of the State Historical Society is to identify, preserve, and interpret objects that help us understand North Dakota, its people and culture. We invite you to enhance your knowledge about the history of North Dakota by reading through this information and allowing us to help supplement your curriculum with these useful and interesting resources.
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Resources for Educators (in PDF format)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Educational materials -- video programs, books, and study packets
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Outreach -- traveling trunks, traveling exhibits, workshops
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Programs -- school and public
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Museum Exhibits -- temporary and permanent
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Docent demonstrations
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Orientation for school groups visiting the North Dakota Heritage Center (PDF format)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines State Historic Sites and Pembina State Museum
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines New! Chateau State Historic Site Lesson Materials

We hope to see you and your students at the North Dakota Heritage Center and the regional sites this school year. We remind you to schedule your visit two weeks in advance.

image of red pencilEDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

image of red pencilVideo Programs

Special video programs drawn from the collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, these films illuminate the history of the state and have countless educational and research uses:

red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Through the Lens: North Dakota as Seen by Television in the 1950s ($19.95)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines North Dakota Way Back When ($16.95)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Images of Fort Totten ($19.95)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Flickertail Flashbacks #1 ($16.95)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Frithjof Holmboe: Pioneer Movie Maker ($16.95)
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines Skyscraper Capitol: A Break With Tradition ($16.95)

The videos may be purchased from the Museum Store. To order by telephone call (701) 328-2666.

 

image of red pencilGallery Activity Packet

Activity sheets designed for students to use when exploring exhibits:

red, yellow and blue squares with black lines "Settlement Search" introduces students to The Settlement Period exhibits.
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines "Animal Heritage Hunt" introduces students to the Birds of North Dakota exhibit.
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines "Heritage Hunt" (download as PDF file) acquaints students with the Heritage Center exhibits.
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines "Prehistory Prowl" (download as PDF file) familiarizes students with The First People: North Dakota Prehistory exhibit.
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines The First People: North Dakota Prehistory coloring sheets.

Gallery activity packets are available by writing to the Museum and Education Division, State Historical Society of North Dakota, 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, North Dakota 58505.

 

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image of red pencilBooks

The North Dakota Heritage Center Museum Store has a wide selection of books about history, including North Dakota history, as well as many items related to Heritage Center exhibits and programs:

For more information on books available through the Museum Stores of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

For more information about the selections available from the Museum Stores, call (701) 328-2666, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, North Dakota.

Museum Store hours at the North Dakota Heritage Center:

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Weekdays
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Saturdays
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Sundays

image of red pencilNorth Dakota History: Journal of the Northern Plains

A valuable resource for teachers, this quarterly journal contains wonderfully illustrated articles that explore the history and culture of the Northern Plains. Annual subscriptions are available; call the State Historical Society of North Dakota Foundation at 222-1966 for more information.

For more information on recent issues of North Dakota History.

 

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image of red pencilOutreach Programs

image of red pencilTraveling Trunks

Suitcase Exhibits for North Dakota--SEND

SEND is a series of thematic trunk exhibits that provide hands-on experience for learners of all ages. Each SEND program trunk contains:

red, yellow and blue squares with black lines artifacts
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines photographs
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines documents
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines activities
red, yellow and blue squares with black lines teaching suggestions

People may handle the artifacts and examine the photographs at their own pace. The teaching suggestions outline methods of using artifacts, photographs, and documents. [Follow link for further information on the SEND program and how to order.] [SEND Brochure in PDF format.]

image of red pencilTraveling Exhibits

Traveling Exhibits Program

The State Historical Society of North Dakota has developed a series of traveling exhibits that are available for circulation to libraries, schools, museums and other non-profit educational institutions. These exhibits were all produced and exhibited at the North Dakota Heritage Center in years past. They have proven to be popular with the public and so have earned admission in the T.I.E.S. program. If you are interested in the Traveling Exhibits Program and want an application or additional information, go to Traveling Exhibits Program.

image of red pencilIn-Service Teacher Training

The Museum and Education Division staff offers, on a limited basis, in-service workshops designed to help the classroom teacher explore and examine new techniques in utilizing the State Historical Society's gallery exhibits and SEND program trunks as an extension of the classroom learning experience. For more information contact the Museum and Education Division, (701) 328-2799.

image of red pencilNorth Dakota Heritage Center

image of red pencilDocent Demonstrations

What is a Docent Demonstration?

Docents at the North Dakota Heritage Center provide a variety of twenty-minute gallery demonstrations for pre-scheduled school groups. Demonstrations highlight special topics from the museum exhibits and focus on "hands-on" approaches. Reproduction and authentic artifacts, historic photographs, and primary documents are used to illustrate features of the surrounding exhibit. Handouts are available for students.

image of red pencilHow to Schedule Your Visit

Call the Volunteer Services Coordinator, (701) 328-2674. Reservations are required at least two weeks in advance.

Remember! May is our busiest month, so we urge you to consider scheduling your visits throughout the school year. One chaperone per 10 students is highly recommended.

image of red pencilLocation of Docent Demonstrations

Permanent Exhibits

"Points, Pottery, and Prehistory"
The First People exhibit

"Survival on the Plains"
An Era of Change exhibit

"Nancy Hendrickson Homesteader"
or "One-Room School on the Prairie"
The Settlement Period exhibit

"Making Do"
Bright Dreams and Hard Times exhibit

image of red pencilState Historical Society of North Dakota Programs

Programs are subject to change. Call for current program schedule.

North Dakota Heritage Center Exhibits:

Main Gallery

Permanent Museum Exhibits

The First People: North Dakota Prehistory

--This area features a 10,000-year-old mastodon reconstructed by the North Dakota Geological Survey, a bust of a woman who lived in North Dakota 5,700 years ago, and a large assortment of projectile points illustrating the use of spears, atlatls, and the bow and arrow.

The Dakota Frontier: An Era of Change, 1738-1870

--Visitors learn about northern plains Indian cultures and how these people adapted to the plains environment by dependence on several resources, including the buffalo.

The Settlement Period, 1870-1915

--This area highlights the people who came to Dakota Territory and their role in the development of state and local events.

Bright Dreams and Hard Times, 1915-1941

--This area conveys what life was like in North Dakota during the Great Depression.

image of red pencilState Historic Sites & Pembina State Museum

Discover! Explore! Experience!

Discover... the North Dakota State Historic Sites and Pembina State Museum.

Explore... the changes over time in the place we now call the state of North Dakota.

Experience... the places where North Dakota history happened by taking a school visit to these sites!

image of red pencilScheduling Information.

Call the individual sites to schedule your visit. School visits are available during open hours and guided visits are by appointment only. Allow two weeks advance notice for all school visits. Group rates are $.50-$1/student where admission is charged: no charge for chaperones. One chaperone per 10 students is highly recommended. Remember, off-season visits are offered by special arrangement only.

For specific site information, click here.

You may request free informational materials by writing to the Museum and Education Division. Other resource materials for sale are noted under "Books." They may be purchased by mail, at the Museum Stores in the North Dakota Heritage Center, the state historic sites, or the Pembina State Museum.

For more information, write or call the Museum and Education Division at (701) 328-2799.

State Historical Society of North Dakota
Museum and Education Division
North Dakota Heritage Center
612 East Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58505
(701) 328-2666

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e-mail: shsmuseum@state.nd.us

Copyright ©1999-2003 State Historical Society of North Dakota. You are free to use information from these pages for any non-commercial purpose. Any use of this information should credit the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Photographs shown on the State Historical Society of North Dakota's web site are taken from the collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota and may not be included in any publication, printed or online, without the written permission of the Society.

Last revised 7-22-2003