Classroom Programs | Cotsen Children's Library

Classroom Programs

Welcome to the online companion for Time Travel 101, the program that introduces students to primary sources, right in their own classrooms! Here you will find curriculums and printable digital images for all the materials in our Time Travel 101 lending collections.

For the 2019-20 school year, teachers who work at a public or private school in the following New Jersey counties can reserve an artifact case for classroom use: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset. Click here to find more information on reserving a case for your classroom.

All schools, however, are welcome to utilize this site to enrich their students’ world history and social studies experiences. Questions? Please e-mail: timetravel101@princeton.edu

Time Travel 101

Illuminate Me

Students are invited to examine and compare 15th century manuscript pages to better understand how books were created, and used, in the Middle Ages.

Selling, Selling, Sold!

From Carter's Iron Pills to J.L. Weber's Carriages, learn about life in late 19th-century New Jersey by examining authentic period advertisements and colorful trade cards.

Show Me the Money

Beginning with a Colonial New Jersey pound note, and ending with a 21st century dollar bill, this timeline of monetary artifacts demonstrates how New Jersey was colonized, grew, and nationalized.

Got Anything to Read?

Forget computer screens and cell phones...what would a kid in 19th-century New Jersey find to read around the house? You'll find the answer in these period publications and household objects. No batteries required.

World War II New Jersey

Learn about wartime New Jersey by exploring items children encountered on the WWII home front. Ration coupons, advertisements, a draft letter, and a child's gas mask are just a few of the artifacts to explore.