History by Design: New York City's Infrastructure

New York Transit Museum

• Lessons plans, object exploration, virtual walkthroughs, and workshops on the NYC transit system. 

Cathedral St. John the Divine

• A collection of videos for students interested in making art at home featuring one on how to construct a cathedral using found/recycled materials. 

NYC Department of Records and Information Services

• “For the Record” blog updated weekly with random interesting historical tidbits about the city. 

The Skyscraper Museum

• Four downloadable lessons and activities 

Brooklyn Connections @ Brooklyn Library

• Brooklyn Transit primary source packet
• Check out the Places & Landmarks section to find primary source packets on Brooklyn zoos, parks, and more!
• Brooklyn architecture primary source packet
• A list of non-Brooklyn Public Library sites to find more on Brooklyn History. 

The Guggenheim

• Learn more about the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece by listening to this podcast. Also check out the educator guide.

New-York Historical Society

• A teacher's guide on Seneca Village

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

• Use the Time Machine to check out City and Country art at the Met.

• City maps and drawings
• 3D renderings and models
• Videos 
• Notes from meetings with the city, politicians, or community
• Construction permits
• Photos (tip: look at photos originally used for tax/insurance purposes!)

• Urban planning
• Infrastructure
• Skyscrapers
• Bridge engineering
• Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Verrazano Bridge, George Washington Bridge
• Central Park, Prospect Park, Riverside Park, Corona Park, Astoria Park, Pelham Bay Park, Freshkills Park, etc.
• NYC subway lines that no longer exist, NYC street cars from the past, The Roosevelt Island Tram, ferries, etc. 

New York Transit Museum: Subway History

Museum of the City of New York: Behind the Scenes

The New York Transit Museum

• The New York Transit Museum offers virtual field trips accompanied by activities, lesson plans, and object spotlights.

New-York Historical Society

• Go on the Celebrating Hudson Rising virtual field trip to explore the long social, political, and environmental history of the Hudson River to learn how this body of water has affected and continues to shape the history of New York.
  • How do I sign up? Email schoolprograms@nyhistory.org to let them know what trip you're interested in and what your availability is. Please make sure to cc clewkow@schools.nyc.gov and mention you are with the History by Design program. This will let the scheduler know all financial paperwork should go to the program manager, not the school.