Event Details
Hands-on History is a 2-day experiential professional development workshop designed to give K-6 teachers strategies to deliver best-practice, highly engaging historical thinking skills in their classrooms. Through inquiries of historical artifacts at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines, teachers will learn from museum experts about how to bring history alive for young learners.
- Practice strategies for implementing inquiry, primary source analysis, historical thinking skills, and literacy with high-impact.
- Engage in hands-on work with historical documents, photographs, maps, and objects at the State Historical Museum of Iowa alongside museum staff.
- Learn about how to use Goldie’s History Kits to meet the Iowa Social Studies and Literacy Standards.
- Do behind-the-scenes investigations at the Research Center and in the Collections Storage area with museum staff.
- Explore Iowa history topics that matter the most to you and your students.
- All participants will receive a copy of Anika Burgess’s book, Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early and How it Transformed Art, Science, and History.
Workshop Agenda:
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time | Description |
8:00 – 8:30 | Welcome, Introductions, & Overview Meet museum staff and fellow participants through an interactive primary source activity. |
8:30 – 10:00 | Session I – Think Like a Historian Learn strategies to implement hands-on historical thinking skills with sources. Practice identifying primary and secondary sources, learn a bellringer strategy, do a gallery walk, and use the Question Formulation Technique. |
10:00 – 10:15 | Break |
10:15 – 11:45 | Session II – Goldie’s History Kits Learn how to teach Iowa history through inquiry, primary sources, and literacy with Goldie’s History Kits. Explore 15 themed kits and 67 primary source sets aligned to the Iowa Social Studies Standards. |
11:45 – 12:45 | Lunch Lunch is on your own. There are restaurants near the museum, and a refrigerator and microwave on-site. |
12:45 – 2:30 | Session III – History of Photography in the Research Center Go to the Research Center for hands-on practice analyzing how photography has changed over time. |
2:30 – 2:45 | Break Lunch is on your own. There are restaurants near the museum, and a refrigerator and microwave on-site. |
2:45 – 3:45 | Session IV – Mock Field Trip Explore the museum exhibits by participating in field trip activities designed for elementary students. |
3:45 – 4:00 | Debrief & Depart Review takeaways from the day and review the lesson plan requirements. |
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Time | Description |
8:00 – 8:15 | Welcome Back & Overview Review the objectives for the day and the lesson plan requirements. |
8:15 – 10:00 | Session I – Analyze That! Practice a primary source analysis strategy out in the museum exhibits. Use the “Analyze That!” protocol to investigate a document, photograph, audio recording, video, cartoon/illustration, map, and an object. |
10:00 – 10:15 | Break |
10:15 – 11:45 | Session II – Timeline of Technology in Collections Storage Go behind the scenes in the Collections Storage space to explore historical objects that are not on exhibit. Create timelines of historic phones and computers. |
11:45 – 12:45 | Lunch Lunch is on your own. There are restaurants near the museum, and a refrigerator and microwave on-site. |
12:45 – 1:45 | Session III – History Mystery Investigate objects from the museum collection to reveal their Iowa stories. Learn how to bring the history mystery protocol to life in your own classroom. |
1:45 – 2:00 | Break |
2:00 – 3:30 | Session IV – Mini Museum Project & Work Time Build a model of a historical artifact and learn exhibit best-practices from museum staff. You will also have time to explore the exhibits and work on your lesson plan. |
3:30 – 4:00 | Debrief & Depart Share out your lesson plan ideas and take a brief survey. |
Outcomes and Objectives
- To improve instruction with inquiry, primary sources, and historical thinking skills
- To develop a lesson that implements a best-practice social studies strategy
Evaluation
- Using what is learned about inquiry, primary source analysis, historical thinking skills, and literacy connections, participants will create a single-day or multi-day lesson plan. The lesson plan should incorporate a resource from the State Historical Society of Iowa or the Library of Congress and connect to relevant grade level Iowa standards for the teaching context. The lesson is due by Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
Course Requirements
- Credit seekers must attend both days of the in-person workshop, actively participate in class, and complete a lesson plan that demonstrates their understanding of best-practice learning strategies for inquiry and social studies.
Instructor & Contact Information:
Rachel Hansen, rachel.hansen@iowa.gov, State Historical Society of Iowa
Registration Details
Participants must register by June 10, 2026. Registration is required to attend.