Best Practices for History Lessons and History Discovery Events

Explore the resources we’ve developed—inspired by the great work of our peers—to help history practitioners design, implement, and evaluate History Discovery Events across the United States. 

Moving into our Second Century, the National Park Service remains committed to Call to Action #3 History Lesson and its History Discovery Events. These projects investigate and interpret the past by creating dynamic experiences in our national parks, at our historic sites, and in our national heritage areas. 

This series is a gathering of ideas, resources, and exemplary History Discovery Events that lay a foundation for a dynamic practice of engaged and relevant history. These tools and ideas can be scaled up or down, and can be used by folks doing historical interpretation within the NPS, as well as those outside of the agency looking for best practices in connecting people, places, and histories.

These projects are as diverse as the stories they share, encompassing:

• Oral history projects that encourage interviewers and narrators alike to reflect on and share their experiences.
• Virtual exhibits that invite audiences to become curators in selecting and describing objects.
• Workshops and seminars that develop skills in preservation, education, and conservation.
• Public discussions that encourage reflection about the place, power, and practice of history and about how it shapes our individual and collective lives.
• Annual events that commemorate and memorialize historical narratives.
• Summer programs that excite youth with projects in archaeology, preservation, and other cultural resources fields.

History Discovery Events are interdisciplinary. Historians collaborate with anthropologists, archaeologists, educators and other inquisitive colleagues. All are welcome to share their expertise and experiences. With every History Discovery Event, we traverse the richness of our shared past, engage in collective self-discovery about the nature of our society, and journey into a future informed by the powerful lessons and capacities of historical thinking.

Explore this site to find inspiration and resources for creating your own History Discovery Events!

For questions or comments regarding this site,

please contact Lu Ann Jones. She, in collaboration with the Washington Area Service Office and Andrea Ledesma, a National Council for Preservation Education intern, developed this content in 2016.