As parents who are suddenly homeschooling our kids, we are lucky that we can take advantage of the vast online resources that are now available. I am keeping track of online history virtual tours, lesson plans, and activities to share on The History Mom.
Keep checking back for more resources to be added to this list, and please email me with any additions that you have discovered!
General History:
- Courses:
- CourseRA: Take free courses from some of the country’s leading historians and universities
- iTunes U
- Khan Academy
General American History:
- Battlefields/War:
- The Alamo in San Antonio
- Virtual Tours of Battlefields– both American Revolution and Civil War
- National Medal of Honor Heritage Center Living History Virtual Classes
- Government/Associations:
- EDSITEment: National Endowment for the Humanities
- Library of Congress
- National Archives DOCSTeach and other related sources
- National Education Association teaching resources
- U.S. Capitol
- White House Historical Association app and classroom resources
- Museums:
- State-specific sites:
- Massachusetts Historical Society
- New York Historical Society
- North Carolina:
- Virginia:
- Wyoming:
- Women’s History
Colonial America/American Revolution:
- Colonial Williamsburg
- Freedom Trail
- Historic Jamestowne
- Historic St. John’s Church (PBS documentary and 245th virtual reenactment)
- Jamestown Settlement/American Revolution Museum in Yorktown
- Museum of American Revolution
- Schuyler Mansion (where Hamilton and Eliza married)
Civil War:
- American Civil War Museum videos
- Appomattox Courthouse
- National Civil War Museum videos
- The History Mom’s Last Week of the War virtual tour post
- Virginia Museum of History and Culture Civil War lectures
European History:
- BBC Witness History
- British Museum
- Buckingham Palace virtual tour
- Dublin museums virtual tours
- Dublinia: Viking and Medieval Dublin
- Ireland’s EPIC Museum (emigration)
- Rick Steves’ classroom site
- Titanic resources
- United Kingdom’s Houses of Parliament virtual tour
- Windsor Castle virtual tour
Podcasts (most of these are not specifically for children so use at your own discretion):
- Backstory
- BBC Witness History
- Bits of History
- Conversations with Washington’s Library
- History Unplugged (especially series on American Revolution and Civil War battles)
- How We Got Here
- Ladies, First (about America’s First Ladies)
- Portraits
- Presidential
- Q and Abe
- Revolutions
- The 1600 Sessions (White House history)
- The Past and the Curious (made specifically for kids!)
- Tides of History
Presidential History: See also my additional post on Presidential site virtual tours.
- George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
- James Madison’s Montpelier (YouTube history videos)
- Abraham Lincoln:
- Ford’s Theatre
- Presidential Library and Museum (Gettysburg address games)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan Library virtual tour and curriculum
World War II:
- Anne Frank House
- Dutch Resistance Museum
- National D-Day Memorial
- National Museum of the Pacific War
- National WWII Museum
Vietnam-era:
AR Tours:
This article is a good summary of the many Augmented Reality tours available, ranging from city walks to museums to star-gazing!
This page is continually updated.
