50 States Unit Study: Famous Places in the U.S.A.

Welcome to Day 6 of 10 Days of Hopscotching Across the USA!  There are so many famous places and things I’d love to see on a tour of the 50 states.  Today I’ll be sharing about the man-made structures that attract tourists within our country (come back tomorrow for the natural wonders).

* This post contains affiliate links.

You’ll come across many famous places as you study the 50 states, and it’s up to you which ones you spend more time researching!  Before I share our list of favorites, I’ll tell you where I usually looked for more information on the sites that piqued our interest.

• Library:  Library searches led us to go-along books for some of the most interesting sites.
• Netflix: Our subscription to Netflix pays off time and again as we find educational videos related to our schoolwork.  Series shows like Modern Marvels, American Experience, and Ken Burns America all have specials on various landmarks.
• At The History Channel Website you can search by topic to see links to related short videos.  You can also browse all videos in the topics The States or Deconstructing History  to find short clips on many sites from the Alamo to the Pentagon to Ellis Island.

These were our favorite man-made attractions, and for most of them the story behind why and how they were built was part of what intrigued us:

Statue of Liberty (we read The Magic School Bus Builds the Statue of Liberty and Ken Burns’ America: The Statue of Liberty)

Empire State Building (we watched  Modern Marvels: Empire State Building)

Gateway Arch in Missouri: The story behind this monument is great historical information to teach your children: the Gateway Arch website shares the history and interesting facts.

Golden Gate Bridge (we watched Modern Marvels: Golden Gate Bridge) California

Erie Canal: we enjoyed the book The Amazing, Impossible Erie Canal by Cheryl Harness

Mount Rushmore South Dakota: We read Wonders of America: Mount Rushmore and watched Modern Marvels: Mount Rushmore.

Hoover Dam Nevada:  This amazing undertaking built during the Great Depression is a fascinating story.  There are short videos worth your time on the History Channel website.  We watched the full Modern Marvels: Hoover Dam.

The White House: The book The Story of the White House by Kate Waters was filled with interesting pictures of all the famous rooms, the private family areas, and the special events and changes throughout history.  The National Geographic program Inside the White House was terrific and really reminded us that not only is it a landmark for America but a home for the president’s family.  The professional work done by all the staff really impressed me.

Lastly, don’t forget to have a little fun!  We watched a comical show called A Program About Unusual Buildings and Other Roadside Stuff that did make us want to hit the road to see the giant ketchup bottle, house shaped like a shoe and other crazy things people have built!

Come back tomorrow for the natural features of the 50 states!  Subscribe via email or RSS so you don’t miss a post!

Here are the topics from this series:

Day 1: Introduction to the 50 States Unit Study
Day 2: Learning About the States
Day 3: Getting to Know Your Geography
Day 4: Games to Play
Day 5: Recording Your Journey
Day 6: Famous Places in the USA
Day 7: Natural Attractions
Day 8: Nature Study
Day 9: The People of America
Day 10: Food from the 50 States

I’m teaming up with over 25 other iHomeschool Network bloggers. Hop over to iHN for ideas from veteran homeschooling moms on topics ranging from Teaching with Legos to Project Based Learning.