Resources

• January 2025 - Governor’s Committee on Minnesota America 250 Committee Report
• Governor’s Executive Order
• AASLH Field Guide to America’s 250
• National America 250 website 
• America Gives (America 250) https://america250.org/america-gives/
• 250 & Beyond (National Museum & Center for Service) https://www.nmcfs.org/250andbeyond
• Youth250 & The Civic Season (Made By Us - Smithsonian) https://historymadebyus.org/youth250

History Education

• American Association for State and Local History 
  
  
  • 250th Anniversary Program Handbook - A new resource from AASLH to help local history organizations prepare for the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. It features more than 30 low-cost program ideas specifically geared towards smaller organizations to provide them with practical program suggestions.
  • Making History at 250: The Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial - In this guide, you’ll find several themes to encourage inclusive, relevant histories and provide cohesiveness to a multi-faceted, grassroots commemoration.
• Wiki Edu course on America 250 - Course participants will receive training from Wikipedia experts to expand and deepen the site’s articles related to American history, beginning millennia before 1776 and continuing on to the present. This free “250 by 2026” eight-week course has been designed specifically with history and cultural heritage practitioners in mind.
• National Initiatives Tracker - An overview of national-level planning initiatives from federal agencies, national nonprofits, and other institutions in the history, museum, education, and civic space.

Video Series

• • C-SPAN Resources Celebrating the United States Semiquincentennial - Includes the “Bell Ringer” series and a collection of nine lessons: From Subjects to Citizens, A Revolution of Words: The 250th Birthday of the Declaration of Independence and Its Impact on the Nation 
  • Journey to American Democracy | Ten Steps to Revolution Video Series - Journey to American Democracy examines how ordinary people worked to make the principles the founders articulated in the Declaration of Independence the law of the land. This series, Ten Steps to Revolution, explains how the king's American subjects came to oppose monarchy and, over the course of only thirteen years, to embrace the right to govern themselves.
  • The Story of America Video Series - The White House Salute to America 250 Task Force has partnered with Hillsdale College to provide a history series that tells the remarkable story of American Independence.
• PBS LearningMedia | The American Revolution If you are interested in receiving updates from PBS LearningMedia and learning about upcoming education opportunities related to The American Revolution - such as in-person and virtual teacher learning events, community film screenings, and the robust collection of classroom resources coming November 2025 - sign up here.
• America250 America’s Field Trip - A multi-year contest that invites students in grades 3-12 to submit artwork, videos, and essays, answering the question, “What does America mean to you?” for the chance to earn unique experiences at iconic American historical and cultural sites.
• Daughters of the American Revolution - Explore the ways the National Society and DAR chapters plan to leave a lasting impact through meaningful projects and events during this anniversary.

Civic Education

• iCivics and Bill of Rights Institute Civic Star Challenge - Integrate the themes of the Declaration of Independence and America’s 250th Anniversary into your curriculum. Whether you teach English, History, Government, or Civics, you will be empowered to bring the Declaration of Independence to life with fresh, engaging, and ready-to-use resources. Teach each theme throughout the 2025-2026 school year for more chances to win over 400 incredible prizes.
• iCivics Teachers Advancing Civic Learning - Teachers Advancing Civic Learning (TACL) is a grassroots network of educators trained and empowered to advance and strengthen civic learning through policy at the local, state, and national levels. iCivics will recruit and mobilize 250 teachers in each state as civic learning advocates to create a visible, nationwide teacher-led movement that harnesses the historic significance of the semiquincentennial to revitalize civic education.
• Dakota County Historical Society America's 250th Lecture Series - DCHS is offering a 14-part presentation series that can be taken as a whole, or individual sections. Each program is designed to explore a different aspect of our government to show why, and how, it was set up that way and its impact on today. This series is presented by educator and historian, Frank Sachs, and takes place on the third Thursday of each month from July 2025 - August 2026.
• Declaration Stories - Dr. Emily Sneff is offering a series of virtual workshops on interpreting the Declaration of Independence for people planning for this anniversary. 

Civic Engagement / Volunteering & Service

• America250 America Gives An effort focused on reinvigorating a year-round culture of service beyond 2026 – grounded in three key pillars: charitable giving, volunteering, and public service – which includes military service.
  
  
  • Keep America Beautiful Greatest American Cleanup - Make your community cleaner, greener, and more beautiful for America’s 250th celebration. The goal is to remove 25 billion pieces of litter from parks, waterways, and public spaces by July 4, 2026.
  • 9/11 Day of Service 2025 - By inspiring millions of Americans and others to volunteer, donate to charities, and perform other good deeds and acts of kindness, 9/11 Day has become a positive and appropriate ways for Americans to annually keep the promise to “Never Forget” those killed and injured on 9/11, as well as the many who courageously rose in service in response to the attacks – first responders, recovery workers, and volunteers – along with members of our military.
  • MLK Day of Service 2026 - Honor Dr. King's legacy through service and volunteerism and demonstrate how joining together in service can transform your life and the lives of others. Whether it's a small or big act of kindness, service has the power to unite people, build bridges, and heal divides.
  • Youth Service Month & Global Youth Service Day 2026 - Global Youth Service Day (April 24-26, 2026) is the longest-running annual youth participation event in the world and the only one that asks all youth ages 5-25 to work together for the common good while also recognizing the impact youth make on their communities every day of the year.

• National Museum & Center for Service 250 & Beyond - 250 & Beyond is a national initiative, led by a coalition of leading service organizations, to create inspiring, inclusive, and enduring exhibitions to honor service in ALL its forms in communities, schools, libraries, and museums all across the country.
  
  • Community Museums of Service Toolkit
  • K-12 School Museums of Service Toolkit
  • Higher Ed Campus Museums of Service Toolkit

• Made By Us - Made By Us uses history to inform and inspire civic participation – powered by 400+ museums nationwide. Major initiatives include:
• The Civic Season (Juneteenth - July 4th) - Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest, mobilizing a movement to understand our past and shape our future. 
• Youth 250 - Youth250 is the dynamic, nonpartisan initiative to capture young people's imaginations, ideas and input as the United States turns 250 years old in 2026.

Arts, Humanities, and Storytelling

• Sing Democracy 250 All America Program - Choirs across the United States are invited to participate in this national commemoration of America’s 250th birthday by organizing their own Sing Democracy 250 performance to take place between March 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026.  Eligible choirs will receive free scores of the two new choral compositions.
• America250 Our American Story - A national effort to compile an oral history and understanding of the United States. This is your opportunity to nominate a living person – a friend, family member, neighbor, or community leader – whose story you think needs to be shared and preserved.
• OnOur250th.org - Led by history museums across the nation, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share your vision for the future of America. What do you want the next chapter of America to look like? Head to OnOur250th.org to share your wish.
• PBS LearningMedia’s The American Revolution Youth Media Challenge - Drawing on the themes of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, a documentary film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, premiering on PBS on November 16, 2025, PBS LearningMedia invites students to explore Revolutionary ideals - such as liberty, self-governance, and democracy - through media-making.

• America250 Great American Fair - Find ideas for how fairs and festivals can incorporate the America250 theme into existing programming.
• America250 Calendar - Find America250 events across the country.
• Coming Soon - America Waves: An initiative designed to create moments for all Americans to come together with their communities, to wave their American flags, celebrate America’s 250th, and honor the contributions of those who brought us to where we are today.