As students and educators prepare to return for the 2015-16 school year, HSP is proud to announce a new online education portal.

Through the work of HSP’s education intern, Beth Potens, and HSP’s Teacher Advisors group, booking a school trip to HSP, downloading lesson and unit plans, getting research help and more are now easier than ever.

The new education portal also includes new unit plans for elementary and high school students based upon the collections of the Bank of North America. These programs are made possible through HSP’s partnership with Wells Fargo.

The new education portal, accessible here or by visitng hsp.org/education, is organized into three primary sections:  “For Teachers,” “For Students,” and “National History Day.”

Under the For Teachers section, helpful classroom resources are now accessible via a single page, including unit plans, primary sources, links to HSP's digital history projects, topical resource guides and more.

Want to book a class trip to HSP? The Field Trips & Outreach page features a list of ideas for field trip or outreach visit topics, information about HSP’s policies and procedures for visiting, and links to forms for requesting a trip to HSP’s historic Library and Archive. 

On the updated Professional Development page, upcoming teacher workshops, information on the Teacher Advisory Board, helpful history education links, and resources from past professional development programs will be made available.

The For Students section underwent the most changes in an effort to make HSP's resources more easily accessible for students both online and at HSP’s library. Students new to special collection libraries and primary source research can check out the Researching the Collection Online for Students page for details on how to use Discover (HSP’s online catalog), the Digital Library, as well as HSP’s Finding Aids and Subject Guides to begin their research. 

Ready to visit the library?  Check out Tips for Doing Research at HSP, which assists students in learning how to make the most out of their research trips to HSP.  If students would like assistance with their research, HSP offers Student Mentors available after-school on Tuesdays through Thursdays. Students may also fill out a “Student Research Request” forms to let us know when they are coming and what they are researching.

Finally, the  new National History Day section explores topics from HSP’s collections related to 2015’s theme. HSP is excited to host the NHD kick-off for the fourth year in a row.

Whether you’re a student or an educator, make sure to explore HSP’s new online education portal. Please contact Alicia Parks, HSP’s Wells Fargo Education manager, with any questions at aparks@hsp.org or 215.732.6200 ext. 269. Happy teaching!