Have you ever wondered what Alabamians’ recipes looked like during World War I or wanted to see what houses looked like in your community in the 20th century? Or maybe you’re looking for lesson plans to help your children learn while they’re staying at home.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) has partnered with art and history organizations throughout the state to introduce Alabama History@Home, an online resource for exploring Alabama’s history.
Current History@Home Partners include AL200 Alabama Bicentennial, Alabama Heritage, Alabama Historical Association, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Alabama Public Television (APT), Alabama State Council on the Arts, Auburn University College of Liberal Arts – The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Encyclopedia of Alabama, Historic Blakeley State Park, History Museum of Mobile, McWane Science Center, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, NewSouth Books, The Historians Manifesto, University of Alabama Museums, University of South Alabama Archaeology Museum, U.S. Space and Rocket Center and the Wiregrass Museum of Art.
“The state archives have been working steadily in recent years to increase the amount of historical resources available to the public online,” said ADAH Director Steve Murray in a news release. “When our staff, like all Alabamians, began adjusting to the necessity of doing work and school at home, we realized that we needed a single point of entry to make exploration of those resources as simple as possible for the public.”
With new, free content added regularly, ADAH and its content partners hope that the virtual opportunities, including tours and exhibits, video series, crafts and activities, digital photo collections and publications, can provide new and engaging learning opportunities for the public.
“Once we began building Alabama History@Home, the decision to include content hosted by other archives and museums was an obvious one,” Murray said. “The result is a terrific compilation of content originating from every corner of Alabama.”
According to ADAH, Alabama History@Home is an opportunity for cultural organizations to make a statement about the importance of working together in the face of challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are all in this together, and like Alabamians at their best throughout history, we will do all we can to help our neighborhoods, our communities and our state in overcoming this crisis,” Murray said.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across the street from the State Capitol. The ADAH is closed through April 18, 2020. Visit www.archives.alabama.gov for the latest information about agency closures and cancellations.
(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)
