How can one interpret the Apotheosis of Washington? What symbols, stories and artistic approach did Constantino Brumidi employ?
Children in grades K-2 can enjoy this fun-filled activity book about the Capitol and its history while visiting the Capitol and at home.
What should a Capitol building look like? How does the U.S. Capitol building serve as a symbol of the U.S. government?
How does a bill become a law? What is the role of Congress and the President in this process? How did the Clean Water Act of 1972 become a law?
Committees improve the organization of the Senate and House of Representatives. Members of Congress cannot be experts on all issues. For this reason, the Senate and House of Representatives developed committees that focus on particular subjects.
Together, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S Senate are called Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government.
What is a biography? Who are the people who represent Americans in Congress? How do you compose a biography about one of the representatives?
What would it be like to create a statue? Today you are going to be an artist creating a statue for the National Statuary Hall Collection!
With engaging activities related to locations in the Capitol as well as American history in general, Discover the U.S. Capitol is intended for upper-level elementary-school-aged students who can use it before or after they visit the Capitol.
The D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act was an important and symbolic victory. It was part of a larger struggle over the meaning and practice of freedom and citizenship. What does it mean to be a participating member of society? What does freedom and citizenship mean?
What historic events are featured in the Frieze of American History? How do these moments reflect both the history of our nation and the time within which they were selected to be included in the Frieze?
The United States Congress consists of two legislative bodies, the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are many similarities between these institutions, so what are the differences?
Congressional Apportionment: The United States Senate consists of how many members? The answer is fairly simple: with two members apiece representing each of the fifty states, the total is one hundred. How about the House of Representatives? The answer is much more complicated.
How does Congress gather information, and how does it use that information to create legislation? How can this research impact the lives of Americans in both the short and long term? How can a bill that has been deemed unconstitutional still inform future legislation?
What role did Congress play in the development of the national interstate system? What evidence did President Dwight Eisenhower cite to justify Congressional funding for the National System of Interstate Highways? How did the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act fulfill Congress' mission "to provide for...general Welfare" (Article 1, Section 8, Constitution of the United States)?
In the cartoon Standard Oil is depicted as an octopus seizing industries and the Capitol, while stretching out for the White House. After the phenomenal industrial growth of the late 1800s, reformers feared that unregulated big business would use its influence for private gain at the expense of public good.
How are concepts, such as freedom, represented in works of art? What do specific works of art or architectural features tell us about what was important to the people who designed or made them, particularly if they are telling a story about the importance of freedom?
What is secession? How did secession of the southern states from the Union during the Civil War affect the Senate and how did the members respond?
There are many statues in the United States Capitol. Statues come to the Capitol in different ways. Every state sends two statues to the Capitol.
What is the significance of the statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection? Which individuals are featured in this collection? How does their inclusion reflect the time in which they were selected?