The Smithsonian American Art Museum offers thirteen fantastic online activities for use in art and history classes. The activities range from topics like Cleopatra Lost and Found to Picturing the 1930’s to Exploring Whitehouse Craft.

I spent some time today exploring the Picturing the 1930’s exhibit and activities. In Picturing the 1930’s students can walk through a virtual museum exploring paintings, documents, music, and film. While walking through the virtual museum students will be greeted by “tour guides” who will explain various aspects of the exhibit. The virtual museum is easy to navigate by using the arrows at the bottom of the screen or clicking through doorways. After exploring the art work in the virtual museum, students can create their own documentary-style film using images, text, and narration using the Picturing the 1930’s film editor.

Applications for Education
I’m a big fan of online activities that provide students with learning materials and provide a place for students to immediately use their new knowledge. Picturing the 1930’s does just that. Picturing the 1930’s could be used in an art class or in a US History class. The other activities provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum look just as promising as Picturing the 1930’s.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
ArtsEdge – Podcasts and Lesson Plans
Blogs for Art Teachers
Kodak Lesson Plans