• History of American Education through artifacts including History of the American school desk, Patriotism/Americanization in the classroom, Educational toys and games, Material Culture of Literacy of American youth, Pledge of Allegiance History, American Ingenuity in 19th Century classrooms, Western Themed Lunch Boxes, History of School Supplies, Art education in the Progressive Era, Female education in the 18th & 19th America, rural schooling, School segregation stories, Teaching History with Dolls, Disseminating Black History 1965-2000, History of the Flash Card, Letter/Spelling Boards, Yearbooks and School Souvenirs.

  • Visual studies and American material culture such as 19th century American prints especially Civil War popular prints, 19th Century Historical Narrative imagery in textbooks and classrooms, Temperance prints, Jacksonian/Van Buren Political Cartoons, Equestrian Prints of the 19th Century, 19th Century Sin and Salvation Morality prints and classification of artifacts of the home.

Positions

• Curator, National Museum of American History 1978 -

Research Areas

• Educational toys
• Historical prints--19th century
• Patriotism in textbooks
• Schools, American