Lewis and Clark as Naturalists
http://web4.si.edu/lewisandclark/
“This site has been designed to be particularly useful for elementary and high school education and includes a Teachers' Guide and several lesson plans, but the content should be interesting and informative to the general public, whether in North America or abroad…”
This site, dealing with the expedition of Lewis and Clark from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, offers many great interactive features. Lewis and Clark as Naturalists is primarily divided into three sections; The Corps of Discovery (information on the explorers), Interactive Map, and The Collection. The Collection section offers the visitor the ability to search the collection by state (Nebraska included), species, or date. What makes this site worth visiting however is its Interactive Map section. In this section one can zoom in on any specific section of the Lewis and Clark expedition path, or use the timeline feature to pinpoint a specific event or location to have the map focus on. This site focuses on the flora and fauna of the expedition, offering a great source of information on the “wild frontier” that Lewis and Clark encountered.

Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery
http://www.nps.gov/jeff/LewisClark2/HomePage/HomePage.htm
There are countless pages on the Lewis and Clark expedition, some good, and many not. This is one of the better ones out there. The interactive map is a good feature and the overlays are particularly useful. Within the “circa 1804” page there is an excellent Westward expansion section that details the United States’ push westward from 1800-1900. The timelines provide a good overview of the progress of the expedition and the “Corps of Discovery” section gives a detailed summary of the expedition’s purpose, goals and history. This site also includes some games and activities for kids, but they are probably a bit elementary for middle or high school students. Nevertheless, this adds to a list of excellent sites on Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. (BR)

National Cowboy & Western History Museum
http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org
“Opened in 1965, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum was originally conceived as a dream of Chester A. Reynolds, a Kansas City businessman, as a tribute to the men and women who helped establish the West as an integral part of America's cultural heritage.”
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, located in Oklahoma City, houses some of the most beautiful artifacts, paintings, sculptures, and displays concerning the American West. Although its on-line site does not completely capture the breadth of its collection, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum still adheres to its policy of enlightening the public to the people, places, events, and traditions of the West. The on-line samples provided are accompanied by short historical narratives. Students can further experience the West by visiting the Diamond R children’s website where they will find interactive games, learning tools, songs, and exhibits. These activities are fun, informative, and well worth the time to explore.

The National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
http://www.lewisandclark200.org
“The National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial is a coalition of agencies created to mark the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's three-year journey.”
The National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial offers visitors a chance to view fifteen signature events that trace the expedition’s route. With such stops in Monticello, Virginia, St. Louis, Missouri, Fort Atkins State Historical Park, Nebraska, and Fort Clatsop National Memorial in Astoria, Oregon, one can find a wealth of information concerning Lewis and Clark’s memorable expedition. Of particular importance for educators is the “Traveling the Trail” section where one can view timelines, dates, and maps from areas along the route as Lewis and Clark passed through Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.

PBS - Lewis & Clark
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/index.html
As is the case with many PBS sites, the visitor finds here a diverse selection of activities, information and resources. This particular site was created as a supplement for the Ken Burns film, Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. Excellent biographies are supplied for all the members of the expedition, even Seaman the dog. The Into the Unknown interactive story is entertaining and allows you to direct the expedition to the Pacific Ocean by making important decisions. Be careful though, if you make an incorrect decision, the expedition will fail! The Interactive Trail Map also proves entertaining while supplying valuable information. The high quality lesson plans and classroom activities are also a valuable resource. The Archive section is perhaps the most useful. It contains journal text, maps and most importantly, online resources which link the browser to other high-quality related sites. This is an excellent site for the casual browser, teacher or student. (BR)

PBS—New Perspectives on the West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest
“Called New Perspectives on THE WEST, the site provides students, teachers and others with direct access to many of the diaries, memoirs, journals, maps and archival photos that have gone into the making of THE WEST, enabling visitors to examine these sources of our Western heritage firsthand and to join the filmmakers in discovering new perspectives on this still vital part of our past.”
The Ken Burns and Stephen Ives documentary The West provides the information and organization for New Perspectives on the West. This website focuses on the people, places, and events of the American West including the various perspectives needed to view an event historically. The text is reinforced, or better yet, magnified, by quotes and considerations from prominent historians, primary documents from the period of Western settlement/conquest, images of the faces and places of the region, and interactive maps that pinpoint the geography of an event or region. Since this site primarily covers the period of conquest and settlement, it will provide relatively little information for studies of the modern West. In addition to the above [characteristics] of the site, visitors will also find lesson plans that use group participation, texts, videos, primary documents, and interactive programs to instruct students. While these outlines are easy to follow and written by teachers, they do have one limitation, the need to purchase the Ken Burns and Stephen Ives documentary. Although the authors provide alternative ways around the documentary, a quick review reveals the centrality of the series in the lesson plan.

Welcome to King Ranch
http://www.king-ranch.com
Covering over 870,000 square miles, King Ranch is one of the largest ranches in American History. Established in 1853, the ranch has 150 years of history that include events such as the American Civil War and the border wars between the famous Juan Cortina and “Old Rip” Ford. Situated on the same spot of land purchased by Captain Richard King, King Ranch still maintains a viable business in agriculture and energy. This is a great site to show students the history and continuity of ranching in the American West! With some of the great ranches like XIT and Waggoner Ranch closing their doors, organizations like the King Ranch provide a glimpse into the mid to late Nineteenth Century farming operations of America.