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The Space Race
Although the space race was originally a competition between two Cold War foes,it ultimately resulted in many benefits for the people of the Earth. Find information on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, and Soviet space programs,...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: The Cold War
This is a collection of 16 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12) on the topic The Cold War. After America and the Soviet Union fought as allies in World War II, a new "cold" war emerged between the two superpowers characterized not by direct...
History of American Wars
History of American Wars: Cold War History: Kennedy and Johnson 1961 1969
Describes the events of the Cold War during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: The Space Race
Provides interesting facts and an overview of the Cold War Space Race (1957-1975), a competition in the exploration of space between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Ducksters
Ducksters: Quiz: Space Race of the Cold War for Kids
History Questions: Space Race Quiz, Test, and WebQuest
Curated OER
National Park Service: America's Space Program Exploring a New Frontier
This site includes a instructional activity for teachers to use when teaching about America's space program. Also included is the history of the space program, maps, readings, images of the space program, and benefits that resulted from...
Ducksters
Ducksters: The Cold War for Kids: Space Race
Kids learn the history of the Space Race during the Cold War. A race between the United States and the Soviet Union to put a man on the Moon.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Start of the Space Race
Looks at the USSR's launch of Sputnik and the galvanizing effect it had on America's motivation to fund aerospace research. NASA was soon formed and more funding was put in place for public education in the sciences and math.
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Apollo to the Moon
This resource offers an in-depth exploration of the U.S. space program and the role President John F. Kennedy took in setting the agenda for manned space flight to the moon.
PBS
Pbs: Red Files: Secret Soviet Moon Mission
PBS offers biographies and stories from the early days of the Soviet Space program, which prompted the Space Race and nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union.
A&E Television
History.com: The Space Race: Interactive Universe
A virtual journey through space offers photos and facts about Earth and its neighboring planets, comets, other celestial bodies of the Solar System, and the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.
A&E Television
History.com: Why the Air Force Almost Blasted the Moon With an H Bomb
Detonating a thermonuclear weapon on the moon? It sounds like the bizarre scheme of a deranged comic-book villain -- not a project initiated inside the U.S. government. But in 1958, as the Cold War space race was heating up, the U.S. Air...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Apollo 11 Walking on the Moon
Check out this interactive website about the space race.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: John F. Kennedy
From the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, this biographical account of JFK includes his military service during WWII, the significant events of his political career and presidency including Cabinet and Supreme Court appointments, and...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Teaching Math & Science in Age of Sputnik
Why did the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik throw the fields of mathematics and science into tremendous demand in the United States? Find the many ways this revolutionary event impacted children from the 1950s to become the...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Sputnik
Detailed information on Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957.