Ike Express

During the 2019-20 academic year, Ike Express will bring the legacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower on the road to schools across Kansas. Designed as an option for schools who have been unable to make the trip to Abilene, this outreach program will take select IKEducation programs, including artifacts and documents from our extensive teaching collection, into a teacher’s very own classroom. Programs will be facilitated by our professional IKEducators. 

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COST OF BRINGING IKE EXPRESS TO YOUR SCHOOL

Schools in Dane Hansen region of Kansas = Free!

Dane Hansen map

Two Hour Drive from Abilene = $350

2 hours from Abilene

All other areas of Kansas = $700

All other areas of Kansas

AVAILABLE PROGRAMS

All About Ike Story Time

All About Ike Story Time


Grades K - 2     30 minutes

Our IKEducators will use children's books and artifacts to provide an interactive story time that introduces our youngest historians to the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter


Grades 3 - 5     1 hour

When America's men left to fight with the Allie in World War II, women were recruited to work at non-traditional jobs in defense plants and factories. These "Rosie the Riveters" proved their abilities to America and have not looked back since. In this program, students will sing, solve puzzles, recreate their own Rosie photo, and use their critical thinking skills to analyze primary source photos and propaganda posters.

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Dear Mr. President

Grades 3-8     1 hour

Students are never too young to practice the American right to share their concerns with elected officials. In this program, students analyze children’s letters to President Eisenhower, noting their purpose and topics of the 1950s—from Elvis’s haircut to civil rights. They then practice civic engagement by writing their own letter to the current President of the United States about an issue that concerns or interests them.

Three soldiers walking with text over the top that reads Attic Artifacts: The 101st Airborne

Attic Artifacts: 101st Airborne

Grades 6-8     1 hour

Following World War II, many Americans kept souvenirs    of lost loved ones or their time in the war. Many of these articles were stored in boxes or trunks and then tucked away in attics, basements, and garages for decades. In this program, students critically evaluate images, documents, and a variety of artifacts from the 101st Airborne’s part in the D-Day invasion and liberation of Europe.

comanche code talkers

Code Talkers

Grades 6-8     1 hour

All of the countries involved in World War II had top-secret military information that had to be hidden from their enemies. For this reason, numerous tactics were used to disguise messages. In this program, students explore the Code Talkers, Native American men who served in the U.S. military and used their native languages to create codes that were never broken, even after the end of the war.

Name to a Number 200x200

Holocaust: From a Name to a Number


Grades 7 - 12     1 hour

Students will learn how individuals were dehumanized as their name was replaced with a number or triangle, and that General Eisenhower made certain those war crimes were documented so those responsible would be held accountable. Most importantly, students learn about the Holocaust through the voices of survivors and realize that behind every number was a person with a name not to be forgotten.

Omaha Beach student 200x200

Primarily Omaha Beach

Grades 9-12 1 hour

It is said that the defeat of Nazi Germany was sealed on Omaha Beach. One hundred and sixty-thousand troops landed within 24 hours on a 50-mile front. Students are introduced to the overall objective of D-Day and how its story is preserved through primary sources. They then apply that knowledge through examination of documents and artifacts from Omaha Beach.


Two young girls walking with armed guards around them with text Desegregating Little Rock

Desegregation in Little Rock

Grades 11-12     2 hours

By 1957, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. Eisenhower had desegregated Washington D.C., and Brown v. Board of Education declared “Separate but Equal” unconstitutional. That fall, nine African American students became heroes in the cause of racial justice. Through simulations and primary sources, this program brings to life the pivotal events from the 1956-57 school year in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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