The Portrait - George Washington

The Portrait - George Washington: A National Treasure is interactive online exhibit by the National Portrait Gallery. This site allows users to explore different portions of the Lansdowne portrait of George Washington.  Users can explore the portrait using three different filters: symbolic, artistic, and biographic.  Each filter contains different information about twelve parts of the portrait.  Macromedia Flash Player 5 must be installed for the interactive portrait. 

There is also a Kids Portrait page.  The interactive portrait on this page is geared toward kids and is set up as a mystery for users to solve.  Users get clues to uncover hidden parts of the portrait and learn more about the symbolism and meaning of each part.

Also included on this website are lessons and guides for teachers about George Washington's life. 

Civil War @ Smithsonian

CivilWar@Smithsonian is an exhibit by the National Portrait Gallery.  It includes digitzed artifacts from the Civil War era.  The Collections portion of this online exhibit is divided into several sections.  Within each section there is background information and digitized artifacts including paintings, weapons, statues, figurines, and more.  To view the artifcats related to each topic, click on the thumbnails icon at the top of the page.  There is also a timeline of events related to the Civil War that spans from 1859 to 1865. 

Online museum exhibits are a good way for teachers and students to access information that would typically only be available when visiting a museum.  This site also provides links to other resources on the web and in print related to the Civil War.