Part 1 discusses the significance of African Americans in the discovery and settlement of the West. Although the lessons featured in this portion focus on a Smithsonian traveling exhibit that is no longer available, they may still be helpful in teaching about discrimination of westward movement.

Part 2 encourages educators to incorporate portraits into classroom lessons. In the activities, students look at a portrait and draw conclusions, understand the portrait-making process, and create their own portraits.

In Part 3, John Falk of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies. Falk argues that the best place for educators to begin teaching ecology units is on a lawn, a habitat for simple communities of common animals and plants. Included are two activities: a game of “Predator-Prey” and a plant hunt.

Note: This is an archival publication dating back to 1976 and any supplements or suggestions for off-site education may not be available.

Download "Art to Zoo: 'Blacks in the Westward Movement,' 'What Can You Do with a Portrait?' and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'" (PDF).