National Museum of the Pacific War

The National Museum of the Pacific War honors the millions of Americans who stood for freedom and democracy on the battlefield and at home to defeat the enemy in World War II's Asiatic-Pacific Theater World War II.

Spread across six acres, the Museum complex encompasses more than 50,000 square feet of indoor exhibits, state‐of‐the‐art archives and collections, and interactive media presentations, in addition to outdoor exhibits and memorials.

If it's too far to bring your students to the National Museum of the Pacific War even though it’s free admission? We understand! Nothing can replace the thrill of visiting our museum but we hope you will grant us the opportunity to come to your classroom at no cost through live, interactive videoconferencing to share the history of WWII with your students. Our 30-45 minute programs are aligned with both the TEKS and national standards with time at the end for Q&A. We also offer virtual tours of the museum by request. We look forward to continuing our motto which was established over 50 years ago at the request of Admiral Nimitz “inspiring our youth by honoring our hero’s ”.

Any program may be requested at your preferred date/time by contacting distancelearning@nimitzfoundation.org or (830)997-8600 x216.

To see our scheduled programs and register go to Connect2Texas and select National Museum of the Pacific War in the program filter.

Grades: 5-12

These activities are designed to allow 5th-8th grade students to become actively engaged in discussions around good citizenship and leadership qualities as they pertain to Admiral Nimitz and World War II. The intent of this lesson is to help students connect to the broader story of the war in the Pacific by finding similarities between their life and the lives of those impacted by World War II. Two activities are included so that teachers may choose the one that best fits their class's interests, needs, and dynamics. Furthermore, these activities will prepare students for interactive discussion surrounding artifacts, anecdotes, and inside looks into the war in the Pacific. After students have completed the lesson, an exit ticket will allow students to activate critical thinking and identify aspects of good citizenship and leadership that they think made an impact on America during World War II.

Essential Questions:

What makes someone a good leader? Why?

What happens when people give up? What happens when they decide not to give up?

Grade: 5

This lesson is designed to provide 5th graders with an overview of key events that led to the United States entering WWII. Students will also kinesthetically experience the dramatic production differences between the U.S. and Japan that contributed to America's victory. The intent of this lesson is for students to have an eye opening realization about the differences in industrial production between America and Japan.

Essential Questions:

How was the US attempting to stay out of the war?

How did US resources and production compare to Japan?

How did the US production contribute to the American victory in WWII?

Grades: 5-12

Please join the National Museum of the Pacific War as they honor all veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Students will hear a first-hand account from Air Force pilot Dr. Joseph Milligan, who was shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for over five years. This virtual Veterans Day celebration will also include museum staff, volunteers, school bands, and choirs paying tribute to all who have served or are currently serving our nation during peacetime or war, those gone, and those who still walk among us.

Grades: 5-12

Please consider joining the National Museum of the Pacific War as we virtually celebrate September 17, 1787 with our Constitution Day/Citizenship Day presentation. This interactive program is designed to meet your Freedom Week education requirement. The lesson will provide participants with a snapshot of the three" Documents of Freedom" which are the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Students will also be reminded that with rights comes duties or responsibilities. During this segment of the program examples of how American citizens fulfilled their civic duty during WWII, from volunteering to serve at home or the military to rationing and how these duties are still relevant today.

Grade: 11

This lesson is designed to engage 11th Grade students in thinking about the significance of the time period of 1939 to 1945 (World War II) as a turning point in United States History. Many US History teachers are hard pressed to provide a concise and engaging lesson that provides a wide scope of core material that is concisely connected to most state and national curriculum standards. This lesson provides an efficient survey of the European Theatre and a particular sharp focus on the Pacific Theatre during the war years-1939-1945.

Grades: 5-12

Join the National Museum of the Pacific War as we look back on "A date that will live in Infamy", December 7, 1941.The program will be presented from the Pearl Harbor exhibit located in the George H.W. Bush Gallery. Museum staff will share with students the sequence of events leading up to the attack and its aftermath. The presentation will also include firsthand accounts of those present during the raid and a number of artifacts including one of the five Japanese midget subs used in the mission and a hatch off of the U.S.S. Arizona, one of the ships destroyed that morning.

Grade: 7

This lesson is designed so students learn about the roll that Texas played in WWII and to engage students in thinking about how race, gender, and class influence historical perspectives and events. The biographies of the four Texans presented in the lesson when used together will demonstrates how WWII changed each of the participant’s lives and highlights the social issues and consequent changes in American society.

Essential Questions:

Identify Texas’s role in helping the US win WWII.

Identify the contributions of four famous Texans in WWII and analyze the obstacles each overcame in their paths to success.

Grades: 1-12

This lesson is designed for ALL grades 1st-12 grades with the objective of providing a detail focus or overview of the major components of the Pacific War. Many schools across Texas and the United States cannot come to the National Museum of the Pacific War and so this lesson provides a livestream interpretive tour of one area of the museum campus of interest: The George Bush Gallery, The Nimitz Gallery, The Pacific Combat Zone, The Japanese Garden of Peace, The Memorial Garden and The Plaza of the Presidents. Teachers can choose which areas of the museum and what themes they wish to concentrate on during their 45 minute teleconferencing lesson.

Essential Questions:

How does a museum share the stories of a nation at war?

How is the Pacific War so unique among America’s wars?

Why did the US fight the Japanese?

The National Museum of the Pacific War invites your family to join us in our newest installment of children's content at the museum. The Nimitz Minitz video series is released twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The archives of the National Museum of the Pacific War hold thousands of manuscripts, documents, photographs, and recorded interviews with Pacific War veterans. Recognizing that these collections are an invaluable resource for historians and students of history, the Museum established the Nimitz Education and Research Center (NERC), a premier destination for scholars of Pacific War history.

The NERC's oral history program secures the stories of those who lived through WWII. Since beginning the program in 1988, dedicated volunteer oral historians have interviewed more than 5,000 veterans. A selection of the recordings and transcripts are available to the public at the NERC's new Digital Archive. Volunteers will continue to post interviews as they are transcribed and cataloged.

Content Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed are those of the contributing members of Connect2Texas and do not necessarily represent the views of the Education Service Center Region 11. While some content is deemed appropriate for various curriculum standards used by viewers nationwide, most content providers make an effort to tie their content to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

Connect2Texas is a service of the Education Service Center Region 11.

Email: C2TX@esc11.net
Website: www.Connect2Texas.net
Location: Fort Worth, TX, United States
Phone: 817-740-7516
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Connect2Texas/178380812237957
Twitter: @Connect2Texas