Virtual Programs Newsletter
Issue #16, October 27, 2020
A Message from the Archivist of the United States
With in-person trick or treating on hold across the nation this fall, you can still find a variety of virtual spooky content in the 威尼斯人娱乐场' holdings to make Halloween fun. Find out the , check out some utility patents for , or learn what to do if approached by a . Family historians may find the Social Security Administration's helpful to their genealogy projects. Or, if you want to find out if your uncle was in the CIA, take a look at our Question of the Week on .
Fall is also election season, and you can help your students learn more about the political process and voting through lessons available at or the Center for Legislative Archives' Congressional Research Portal.
Thank you for your continued support of the 威尼斯人娱乐场. Please stay safe.
Archives from Home: Halloween
It鈥檚 Halloween week! Let鈥檚 look at some of the creepiest holdings we have including the top 10 things in our holdings that terrify archivists, spooky patent drawings, and State Department regulations on what to do if you spot a 鈥測eti鈥� while hiking in Nepal.
Center for Legislative Archives
Browse our records from home with our customized Congressional Research Portal. Download our iPad app Congress Creates the Bill of Rights to discover the proposals, debates, and revisions that shaped the Bill of Rights. Explore our eBooks and lesson plans created from a collection of political cartoons, which comment on Washington politics, congressional issues, Presidential elections, and both World Wars. Looking for more resources to use at home or in your classroom? Browse more than 40 lesson plans about representative democracy, how Congress works, and the role of Congress throughout American history.
Social Media Highlight
What gives archivists the heebie-jeebies? From improvised staples to mole skins, we share the top 10 things in our holdings that terrify archivists in this Halloween video!
Research Family History
Watch this Know Your Records presentation, titled to learn about Death Files from the Social Security Administration鈥檚 Numerical Identification System and their use in genealogical research. The presentation draws parallels to other records in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Access to Archival Databases and other NUMIDENT files.
From the Catalog
Just in time for Halloween, a look through the from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office reveals some spooky patents! Take a look at these and , sure to inspire your holiday decor!
Image: Patent Drawing for J. G. Krichbaum's Device for Indicating Life in Buried Persons. NAID
Citizen Archivist Missions
Case Files of Attorneys, Agents, Pensioners, and Others 1886鈥�1933
Help us transcribe case files relating to attorneys who were disbarred for misconduct, and files relating to notaries public, justices of the peace, postmasters, and others authorized to administer oaths who committed either inadvertent or intentional misconduct in executing pension vouchers.
New to our Citizen Archivist program? Learn how to register and get started.
Image: Case File of Rosalie V. Herman, RG 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, NAID
Question of the Week
Could spies be lurking in your family's history?
See the answer to our Question of the Week on , our crowdsourced platform for history and genealogical research where anyone can ask questions.
Featured Exhibit
The Himalayan yeti, the long-feared Abominable Snowman (and relative of Bigfoot), achieved international infamy in the 1950s when Western climbers ascending Mount Everest reported sighting yeti footprints. In 1959, a State Department memo from the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, outlined Nepalese regulations for yeti-hunting parties.
Whether you believe in the yeti or not, study carefully before planning a climbing expedition to find this creature!
Read more in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 blog .
Education Spotlight
Election Day is November 3! Check out our on DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents. Find resources for teaching about elections and voting鈥攆rom the campaign trail, to the Electoral College, to the expansion of voting rights.
Public Programs
From November 7, 2018, here is author Eric Jay Dolin speaking on his book
Research Services
The and the blogs have several posts featuring Halloween-related or spooky records.
Check out some creepy Utility Patent Drawings in these posts from and , take a look at these from our Still Picture Branch holdings, and read about the at the Tule Lake Relocation Center.
MoPix Video Selection
is a National Park Service (NPS) that focuses on the official surrender ceremony at Yorktown, VA, on October 19, 1781. Shot in 1974 and released in 1975, described in NARA's Online Catalog. Read more about it in the Unwritten Record blog and .
Visit the Online Store
The holidays will be here before you know it. And what's more festive than holiday ornaments?
From the famous words of the U.S. Constitution to ornaments that honor members of our armed services, your home never looked so patriotic!
at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Store online to find gifts for all!