This story also appears in our Summer 2020 Quarterly Newsletter.

This spring, the Museum launched TSM Kids, a new portal on our website created to help school-aged children learn Tennessee history in a fun and engaging way, while building their literacy and critical thinking skills. All of the resources listed below can be accessed via the portal.

Junior Curators

Do you have a child who is naturally inquisitive and loves history or art? Then they might make great junior curators. Part of TSM Kids, the posts on our Junior Curators blog are designed for schoolchildren in third through fifth grades. They learn Tennessee history through unique stories about our state’s fascinating people and places. The site also includes games and videos.

Tennessee Storytime

For parents, grandparents and caregivers with young children at home (ages 3-6), we invite you to join us for Tennessee Storytime. This is a great place for children to hear Miss Morgan read books related to our state’s people, culture, and history. Be sure to take advantage of some Tennessee-themed activities and crafts related to the books. Storytime takes place once a week and is posted on the Museum’s website under TSM Kids every Friday. Videos of past books being read by Miss Morgan are also located here.

This summer, Storytime partnered with the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation (GELF) to strengthen early literacy in Tennessee. Throughout the season, we’re reading books provided by GELF during our Storytime videos. Activity sheets for families are available for download that connect the book to a historical artifact from our collection.

Color Our Collection & Jigsaw Puzzles

Don’t miss other fun activities on TSM Kids like Color Our Collection and Jigsaw Puzzles. These activities encourage kids to have fun with the Museum’s collection of historic artifacts by printing coloring sheets of actual artifacts and expressing their creativity.

Take A Virtual Field Trip

With field trips on pause, take advantage of distance learning with the Museum through online programs and virtual field trips. We're busy preparing many new digital programs to connect students with the Museum and provide a unique virtual experience. Visit our digital programs page in the education section of tnmuseum.org and learn all about the many programs that are offered and coming up for students of all grade levels.

In the future, there will be more opportunities to take virtual field trips to see the new exhibition, Ratified! Tennessee Women and the Right to Vote, and explore our permanent galleries online.

Stay Connected

The Museum has lots of fun educational activities scheduled for the upcoming weeks. So bookmark TSM Kids and make it part of your educational routine.

And, if you have middle school or high school children at home, be sure and bookmark our education website TN4me where you find more resources on Tennessee history.