In 1803, the United States under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. With over 828,000 square miles of new land in the United States, Jefferson decided to plan an exciting journey to explore the interior of North America – much of which was still entirely unknown to American citizens.
In May 1804, a group of 50 Americans led by Jefferson’s secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and an army officer, William Clark, headed northwest to find a route across the continent, make detailed observations of the natural resources and geography of the west, and to establish good trade relations with native groups. The group, referred to as the Corps of Discovery, departed from St. Louis and trekked over 8,000 miles to find a route to the Pacific Ocean and then return home. |
This virtual field trip is meant to simulate the excitement, discoveries, and challenges that these explorers faced on their journey, which lasted two years, four months, and ten days.
Your assignment is to assume the identity of one of the 50 members of the Corps
and keep a three-day journal of your experience.
YOU WILL NEED:
1. HEADPHONES
2. THIS PAGE OPEN IN A SEPARATE WINDOW
(SO THAT YOU CAN REFER BACK TO THE INSTRUCTIONS DURING THIS ACTIVITY!)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to the Corps of Discovery Roster and assume the identity of one of the members.
On a separate piece of paper, write down your member's name, rank, and salary. Then click on your member's name and learn a little bit about your experience on the expedition – you will use this information to add detail and description to your journal entries.
2. Explore the NPS Trail Maps and the NATIONAL BICENTENNIAL EXHIBIT TO discover the geographical features of the expedition.
The NPS Trail Maps allow you to personalize your trail exploration. Some suggestions:
- Zoom in and out of areas of interest and decide the geographic extent and scale at which they want to view the trail
- Turn layers of information on and off in the table of contents
- Display different backgrounds (e.g. aerial photos, topographic maps, streetmaps) and control the transparency of imagery backgrounds
The National Bicentennial Exhibit allow you to interact with the trail and see some of the articles discovered along the way.
Using these maps, jot down some notes about the geographical challenges you would face on this 8,000 mile journey.
- Zoom in and out of areas of interest and decide the geographic extent and scale at which they want to view the trail
- Turn layers of information on and off in the table of contents
- Display different backgrounds (e.g. aerial photos, topographic maps, streetmaps) and control the transparency of imagery backgrounds
The National Bicentennial Exhibit allow you to interact with the trail and see some of the articles discovered along the way.
Using these maps, jot down some notes about the geographical challenges you would face on this 8,000 mile journey.
3. Learn about the Discoveries made during the expedition.
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4. Use the following videos to inform your journal entries:
Summary of the Expedition
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The True Story of Sacajawea
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Lewis & Clark arrive at the Pacific
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