Take a Break with History

Man or woman does not live by research and writing alone. When you need a break, try these history-related sites. Most are strictly for fun, though if you are in a serious mood about history and the Internet, there is food for thought about that, too.

History Museums and Historic Sites You Can Visit on the Internet

Take a few minutes to take a virtual trip to one of these museums or historic sites. Perhaps you can go there in person one day. Most of these sites include a significant amount of visual material. Unfortunately, that means that some may be slow to access.

• National Museum of American History. I especially recommend the museum’s Virtual Exhibitions.
• Egyptian Museum (Cairo). You will have to do a lot of selecting of individual artifacts but it will be worth it. The graphics are very well done.
• Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, B.C. Nice photographs of exhibits about the Canadian province that was once part of the old Oregon country. On this page, select one of the galleries or, if available, a temporary exhibit. Clicking on the small photographs will produce a larger image. The RBCM claims to be among the world’s top ten museums. I can believe it. I have been there.
• Old Sturbridge Village. This is an outdoor museum in south central Massachusetts.
• Shelburne Museum. This is an outdoor museum near Burlington, Vermont.
• National Civil Rights Museum , near the site of the slaying of Martin Luther King, Jr., Memphis, Tennessee.
• National Museum of the American Indian, New York City. A unit of the Smithsonian Institution.
• Hancock Shaker Village. Virtual tour of this living history museum just outside Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
• Colonial Williamsburg. Restored eighteenth-century capital of the colony of Virginia.
• Mount Vernon. George Washington’s home near Alexandria, Virginia.
• Mystic Seaport. Outdoor museum in southern Connecticut.
• White House Virtual Tours
• Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester, England). Select Exhibitions.
• British Museum: Ancient Greeks Virtual Tour

History Quizzes

• The Open House Quiz Show. Created by the Department of History, University of Saskatchewan. Take the world history quiz. There are ten questions. You will get immediate feedback, with an explanation of the correct answers. To take another quiz, select “Try the quiz again” at the end of the quiz you are taking. Some of the questions will be new, some repeated. There are also quizzes on Canadian history and Saskatchewan history.
• QuizSite: History. Four quizzes to choose from: Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, United States.
• Professor Klein’s Time Machine. Trivia quiz involving exact dates in history. Colorful site which includes photographs of events and places.
• History Channel Quiz. Although the questions are based on programs shown the previous week, go ahead and give the current quiz a try. Answers will be posted the following week, along with a new quiz.
• Presidential Questions and Trivia. Sponsored by the National Park Service.
• Music History Quiz. Covers more than music.
• The 5 ? Art History Quiz. This is a Canadian site, authored by Carol Sutton. Changes each month.
• Andy Winslow’s History Quiz.
• Test Your Women’s History I.Q.

Miscellaneous

• This Day in History, produced by the History Channel. Has feature articles and brief citations about events that happened on the current day, a list of persons born on that day, and songs popular on that day in specific years. Also, you can call up any day of the year and see similar information.
• Historic Events & Birthdates (from Scope Systems). Birthdays, deathdays, events, holidays, and religious observances of the current day. Also, one can choose any day of the year.
• The World According to Student Bloopers. Compiled by Paul Lederer from submissions from social studies teachers and history professors throughout the United States. Example: “Henry VIII found walking difficult because he had an abbess on his knee.”

Some Serious Reading

• Why Study History? (from Tennessee Technological University).
• History as a Career. Sponsored by the University of Dayton.
• Should You Pursue Graduate School in History?
• Articles and Essays about History and the Internet