Union Pacific Railroad Offers Free Educational History Toolkit

October 27, 2012

Kit Tells Story Behind Building of Transcontinental Railroad and Its Impact on U.S. History

As part of its 150th anniversary celebration, Union Pacific Railroad introduced an engaging new teacher's resource kit as a tool to help students learn the history of America's first transcontinental railroad. Completed in 1869, the transcontinental railroad connected the west to the east and opened it for development and commerce. The teacher's resource kit will help educators meet national standards for history and social studies courses for grades 3-8.

"Because Union Pacific's history is so closely tied to American history, and with so many schools on a tight budget, we believe our 150th anniversary is the perfect time to provide a free educational resource for teachers," said Donna Kush, Union Pacific assistant vice president – Corporate Communications. "Students will especially enjoy how the story of the transcontinental railroad's construction comes to life with stereo card reproductions and 3-D viewers for an engaging experience."

The teacher's resource kit details the railroad industry's challenges and accomplishments during construction. Once completed, the transcontinental railroad reduced the journey across the country from four-to-six months to just one week.

Developed by the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the resource includes:

• 10 Andrew Russell stereo card reproductions from the Union Pacific collection;
• A plastic stereo card viewer to experience the 3-D effect;
• Materials in textbook-style reading;
• Suggested additional student reading and informational websites;
• A foldout poster depicting the iconic photograph of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

Educators can order a teacher's resource kit by contacting the Museum