The Naval Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a new website in support of the Cold War Gallery. The site is a sophisticated multimedia presentation designed to allow visitors to go on a "virtual tour" of the newest addition to the National Museum of the United States Navy. We have been working closely with Dynology Corporation over the past 6 months to develop a site which closely resembles the current and future exhibits planned for the Gallery. The site includes 360 degree interactive panoramas, narrated video tours, high resolution images, and archival film footage from the Naval History and Heritage Command. We will continue to update the website throughout the rest of the year, refining the existing content, and adding new information and multimedia material. Most significantly, we will be developing a sophisticated educational component, using lesson plans developed by teachers brought in from around the country on STEM fellowships. NHF thanks the Tawani Foundation for its support in underwriting this project.  

Please visit the website at www.usnavymuseum.org and stay tuned for further updates! 

This week, the first group of 4 teachers arrived at the Cold War Gallery to begin working on educational lesson plans based on the Covert Submarine Operations exhibit. They were selected from a highly competitive group of national applicants. The teachers are focusing on concepts based on STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Education, and Math. The lesson plans developed by the teachers will be launched this fall on the new Cold War Gallery website.

Our first group of STEM teachers (left to right): Rhonda Lott Crawford (Hattiesburg, MS), Jeffrey D. Derda, (Apex, NC), Alan J. Skripsky, (Kenosha, WI), Tisha N. Jones, (Winterville NC). Alan is a retired Navy Chief.

On June 25 over 800 children came to the Navy Museum for the "Girls Make History Day." The event was based on the popular American Girl doll series and encourages girls to explore the stories of the American Girl characters that lived during significant periods in U.S. history and U.S. naval history and heritage. Karin Hill, director of education and public programs for the museum stated that for the event this year they picked 10 historic women and set up activities to talk about their history and what the Navy was doing during the same time. Hill stated that the goal is to entice the young ladies to explore the historical time period of the women and also to interact with the men and women in uniform. Jackie Greene the author of the American Girl Rebecca Rubin series came out and signed books for the event. "I think that young ladies here today are lucky to be learning about women's history, not only from the American Girl books, but also from these historic women walking around the museum today," Greene stated. With an event like this, girls learn about the impact of women in history, encouraging them to follow their dreams. The Naval Historical Foundation congratulates the museum staff for the superb effort. As in past years, NHF contributed significant financial support to the Navy Museum to help ensure success. Food and beverages kept the Navy Museum staff and volunteers energized to handle all visitor needs. We provided American Girl dolls which were much sought after door prizes for the girls, with special prizes for those who dressed as their favorite American Girl characters.