First Division Museum Resources
History Trunks
History trunks offer a hands-on supplement for teachers to use within their classroom curriculum. The trunks provide an opportunity for students to handle uniforms and field gear used by soldiers in a specific war. A teacher’s guide is included in each trunk to provide descriptions and interpretation of the equipment, music from the time period, and activity ideas for history trunk items.
The museum has trunks for the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War (Union and Confederate), World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Women in the Military.
History trunks can be checked out for two weeks; they must be reserved at least one week in advance.
Reservations can be made by contacting the Museum Educator
at 630.260.8274 or MTyer@FDMuseum.org.
Resource Packets
Resource packets about the American Revolution, WWI letters home, D-Day,and the Battle of the Bulge are available. They include reproductions of documents, photographs, newspaper articles, maps, letters, oral histories and other primary sources. Packets also contain classroom activities for middle and high school students.
VOICES OF VALOR- Veteran Speakers Bureau
Veteran Speaker
Enhance your next class with the First Division Museum’s Veteran Speakers Bureau.
- Korean War
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Persian Gulf War
- Vietnam War
- Veterans of the 1st Infantry Division
- And More!
The Presentation
The veteran will speak about his or her service for 40–45 minutes followed by a 15–20 minute question-and-answer period with the audience.
The Interview
Students or guests will be prepared in advance to ask questions of the veteran speaker. Due to the sensitive topics being discussed we ask that student’s questions are reviewed prior to the interview. Please remind students and guests that veterans have often experienced more trauma in their lives than most civilians.
For more information or to request a speaker please contact
the Volunteer Coordinator at 630.260.8237 or LSears@FDMuseum.org.
Museums on the March
The First Division Museum is ready to deploy to your classroom.
Carrying Home
Imagine taking all the rooms in a house and packing them up for one man to carry. Carrying Home examines the soldier’s life, and the war surrounding him, through the things he carried as his home-away-from-home. This program engages all learning styles by providing verbal, visual, auditory and kinesthetic connections to history. By investigating the contents of our history trunk students will be able to relate their lives and amenities to soldiers on the front line. 3-5th grade, choose any war we have a history trunk for.
Special Requests
Our Special Request programs allow teachers to choose an element of war for their students to focus on. Examples include causes, battles, women’s contributions, or the life of a soldier. Through a program designed to engage all learning styles, students will develop a better understanding and connection to history from the eyes of the First Division.
For more information or to request a program please contact the Museum Educator at 630.260.8274 or MTyer@FDMuseum.org.
Please be ready to provide the following information when requesting a speaker.
- Name of organization
- Date, time and location
- Audience profile: age, size and any particular topics of interest
- Name, phone number and email of point of contact