The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Student Research Guide

About the Guide

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to spread the knowledge of American history and to improve the quality of American history education. It offers programs for students, teachers, scholars and the general public.

But what makes the Institute unique is the emphasis it places on American history education at the middle and high school level. Gilder Lehrman cares about you, the history student. Gilder Lehrman helps your education by enriching your teachers’ knowledge of American history through special seminars and curriculum planning sessions. Gilder Lehrman funds special trips through grants to schools. And with this guide, Gilder Lehrman gives you the information you need to explore American history in New York City.

Who are the authors? The guide was written by GLI student intern Ina Groeger with help from GLI student intern Alex de Maria.

Why write the guide? To give you an idea of great resources that are not just educational but also fun, in the many world-class institutions in New York City. We were amazed by the places we visited while writing the guide, and we’ve tried our best to share our enthusiasm with you. So we hope that after reading through it – or at least skimming through it – you'll be motivated to visit at least one of the places we've written about for you.

Whether you just want to find a fun place that you’ve never been to, or whether you are doing some hard-core research, this guide is the place to start.

The guide as a research tool: We don’t know how many times we’ve been given a research topic and thought, “Where in the world am I gonna find information about this?” Well, the best papers are ones that you are interested in writing. So we’ve done our best to put together information on how to study almost every area of American history that you could possibly think of. We also know that sometimes the hardest part of writing a paper is getting started, so we’ve tried to help you figure out not just which museums and libraries are good for which research areas, but which ones are good if you still need to find a topic.

How we wrote the guide: We went online and compiled a list of which major New York City libraries and museums seemed the most interesting and relevant for studying American history. Then we talked with people in the education department of each institution. We looked around each museum or library and asked a ton of questions.

For each site, we wrote about exhibits, the accessibility of the permanent collection (if it is not all on display), research opportunities, programs for high school students and also those for adults that would be helpful to you, which ones tend more toward entertainment, which ones tend to be more educational, whether you need to pay to research, and whether you need to call in advance to make a reservation.

We also tried to infuse the guide with interesting paper topics and fun facts. We should say that our guide in no way exhausts all of the museums, libraries, and research opportunities available to you, the high school student. However, it’s a great source of information about where and how to learn about American history, and it’s a great place to start no matter what your topic.

The museums and libraries in the guide: There is no way we could possibly include every place where students could do American history research in New York City, so we tried for a pretty good mix. We've included not just museums and libraries, but also historic houses and National Park sites, exploring a range of cultures and heritages.

Just because a museum or an exhibit focuses on one area, time or culture, don’t write it off. Read through the museums and check their websites for current exhibits. You really never know what you’ll find. As we made our visits, we were constantly surprised by the breadth and variety of information.

Money, money, money: Luckily, one of the things students are not expected to have much of is money. Even libraries and museums know this, so don't be put off by admission fees. Several of the fees are really suggested donations, which means that you can pay whatever you want. Some places are free, and many others have at least a couple of hours a week where you can get in for free, especially if you are a student. Almost all of the places in this guide offer a discounted admission fee to students with ID.

If you really can’t afford even the student fee, then call the place you want to visit, and explain why you want to visit, as well as the situation that prevents you from having the money to pay an admission fee. Museums tend not to be run by cold-hearted meanies. After all, they are there to educate you, and the last thing they want to do is to turn away students, especially those whose only reason for not visiting is their inability to pay. But you should not take advantage and ask not to pay if you can afford it. Museums and libraries require a lot of money to stay open to the public, and though the price may seem high, considering the awesome contents that you are allowed to see, it’s really a token amount.

High 5: If you are a middle or high school student in New York City, you need to know about High 5. High 5 is an organization that puts aside discounted tickets to different shows, concerts, and other events specifically for students. Particularly relevant to this guide is High 5’s museum program. You can get two tickets for $5 at any of the participating museums. You yourself must use one of the tickets, but anyone can use the second ticket as long as they are with you. And if you can get together a group of five teenagers, you can get a 6th ticket for free. Participating museums include the American Museum of the Moving Image, the Jewish Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the American Folk Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Museum of Television & Radio, the Museum of the City of New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art. For more information on High 5, check their website, http://www.highfivetix.org/flash.html.

Note to students and teachers: Many programs are geared for entire classes and take place during the school day. While some educators are willing to make the information from these programs available to individual students, they stress that it is not the same as attending the class and encourage teachers to call to find out about the different class-oriented programs.

Note to students: We can’t stress enough how amazing the resources are that we describe in this guide, and how much you really should go visit them all (or at least some of them). At the same time, we realize that these resources are scattered all over the city (can we say Staten Island?), and may require you to venture out to parts of the city you may never have been to before. While we encourage you to explore not just the sites, but also the area of the city they’re in, we also ask you, at the risk of sounding like a parent, to be careful. Have fun, be adventurous, but be alert. Look at a map before you go. Double-check the directions. Every place we describe can be reached by subway or bus. If you’re not comfortable venturing out on your own, bring along a parent or a friend. (Remember, those High 5 tickets can come in twos.)

Thank you’s: We would like to thank all of the museum educators and library staff who took the time out of their busy schedules to meet with us and tell us about their institutions. Their help and enthusiasm certainly made our research a lot easier and a lot more fun.

Oh, but it’s not over yet, folks -- we want to know what you think. How helpful is the guide? How could it be more helpful? Tell us where you went and what you thought about the places you visited. Also, tell us about the places should add to our guide. This guide is a work in progress that we will be adding to and updating, so we would really appreciate your feedback.

Please send all ideas, comments, and suggestions to info@gilderlehrman.org. We will read them. And we may include students’ and teachers’ comments in the guide in the future. Okay, that’s it. (Finally!) Enjoy the guide!