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Educator Resources

The Office of Cultural Education (OCE) proudly supports P-20 teaching and learning across New York through a variety of programs, services, and resources. This includes educator guides, professional development workshops (with asynchronous options) for CTLE credit, public programming, and opportunities just for students.

OCE publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for educators which highlights classroom ready materials, events, and more. Sign up here for the OCE Education Newsletter and view past issues below:

New York State Museum

The New York State Museum is a center of art, science, and history dedicated to exploring the human and natural history of the state. Established in 1836, it is the oldest and largest state museum in the country. 

State Museum Teacher Guides: Teacher guides provide educators with ways of engaging with the research, exhibits, and collections of the New York State Museum. Some guides provide additional insights for on-site visits to the State Museum, while other guides can be used in the classroom with inquiry-based lessons and digital access to both research and artifacts.

State Museum Teacher Professional Development Workshops: CTLE-certified museum workshops offer access to current research information, interaction with Museum collections and research staff, and behind-the-scenes participation in the research process. Exhibit-focused workshops also provide introductions to the New York State Standards-supporting educational resources and techniques for bringing the artifacts and research of exhibits into the classroom.

State Museum Publications: The State Museum has published research since its origination as the New York State Geological and Natural History Survey in 1836. 

New York State Library 

The New York State Library encompasses the Research Library, the Talking Book and Braille Library, and the Division of Library Development. The State Library offers a variety of online resources for teachers to use in in the classroom, including:

State Library Online Exhibits: Online exhibits feature materials from the State Library’s vast collections that explore key chapters in New York and American history. 

State Library Digital Collections: The Library’s Digital Collections consist of over 75,000 documents relating primarily to New York State. There are State publications, including past Regents Exams, and primary source documents such as letters, journals, maps and posters.

NOVELny: Free online access to the full text of hundreds of journals, newspapers, and other references.

Summer Reading at New York Libraries: The State Library’s summer reading program encourages children and students to participate in a free summer reading activities and programs at a local library. 

New York State Archives

The New York State Archives cares for and provides access to more than 250 million documents that tell the story of New York from the 17th century to the present, oversees records management programs for state agencies and local governments, and provides archival advisory services for community organizations statewide. 

State Archives Digital Collections: The Digital Collections provides access to photographs, textual records, artifacts, government documents, manuscripts, and other materials.

Consider the Source New York:  Learn how to use historical records in your classroom with this dynamic digital collection. Browse historical records, access learning activities, and build and share engaging lessons for students. Register for your free Consider the Source New York account. 

State Archives Student Research Awards: The State Archives’ signature statewide competition promoting excellence in student research using historical records. 

Magazine Educator Guides: Aligned with the New York State Social Studies Framework. Bring New York Archives into your classroom! New York Archives magazine is a donor-funded educational product published quarterly by the NYS Archives Partnership Trust.   

Regional Professional Training Opportunities: For customized professional development programming on using historical records in the classroom, contact Jordan Jace at jordan.jace@nysed.gov or (518) 473-8495.

Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting

New York State’s public television and radio stations are chartered by the Board of Regents and are therefore institutions within the University of the State of New York – USNY – the most complete, interconnected system of educational services in the United States.

Find Your New York Public Radio or Television Station: Search by region to find your local public radio or television station. 

PBS LearningMedia New York: This website provides free access to public television program clips, teacher guides, interactive learning objects, instructional strategies, and much more, searchable by curriculum area and grade level. 

New York State Summer School of the Arts

NYSSSA's summer arts residential program, for students in grades 9-12, is funded by the New York State Education Department and student tuition. The multi-week, pre-professional summer curriculum includes individual and group instruction designed to help each student explore and develop their talents in ballet, choral studies, modern dance, visual arts, media arts, orchestral studies, or theatre. NYSSSA's Empire State Summer Arts Scholarship program is open to New York State students in grades 6-12. 

FindNYCulture

Findnyculture.org connects educators to cultural organizations across New York State. It is a searchable database of New York's 4,600+ museums, libraries, historical societies, science centers, parks, zoos, university art galleries, planetariums, and more. Cultural organizations are invited to promote programs, resources, and events for free. To request a secure login-in email: info@findnyculture.org. Follow the site's Twitter account at @FindNYCulture.