Spy Museum : For Educators

EDucation INTelligence: International Spy Museum
How do we know if we're actually making difference in the lives of our learners? Now that's the question that we struggle with constantly as educators, isn't it? In museums we are challenged with seeing our learners for brief periods of time. A two-hour or half day program is a luxury we rarely have. Most frequently we have 45 minutes, for our student workshops. How can we create meaningful and lasting experiences in 45 minutes with students we've never met before and likely won't ever see again? Yeah, we can hook them easily… we are about spying after all! They come excited and ready to see cool stuff and maybe even think like a spy. But then what? What are the messages, questions, feelings, and ideas we want them to leave with? SPY workshops are designed to immerse learners into a world where they are challenged to do, think, and act like a spy. We want to move them into that uncomfortable, gray world where there may not be one right answer and problem-solving can result in life or death outcomes (not really, but the intensity is evoked). Whether it's coming up with a technical solution to assist an agent in the field or analyzing a U-2 photograph to advise the President, our ultimate goal is to get students to actively think, make decisions, weigh outcomes, and leave with a sense that spying is not only what you see in movies and on TV. Is Snowden a traitor or a whistleblower? Does the Government have a right to spy on its own citizens in the name of national security? In our complex world, preparing students to think critically about these questions is our duty. Are we doing this? You decide.
Thanks for spying on us!
Jacqueline V. Eyl
Youth Education Director
202.654.2842
jeyl@spymuseum.org  

Targeting Osama Bin Laden

We are developing an intelligence analysis workshop in which students are placed in the shoes of the analyst trying to track down Osama Bin Laden after 9/11. In this workshop, students will be issued puzzle pieces. They will work together to fit both the “clues” regarding Bin Laden's location and the actual photo of the puzzle together. In the end, the goal is for them to understand how very difficult intelligence analysis is and the type of thinking and understanding that goes on when trying to solve an analytical puzzle. We will be testing the workshop this spring and launching it next school year. We also hope it will evolve into a free lesson plan that teachers can use in their classroom. We'll keep you posted! Cold War Artifacts in the Spy Museum are a great springboard for for discussion and learning back in the classroom. Here are some of the ideas to get you started: Research the history of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). What was its original purpose? How did its function change over time? Does it still exist? Make a chart comparing the powers and actions of the HUAC to modern day congressional committees on intelligence. Hold a debate between American and Soviet “representatives” about the role of domestic spy organizations (like the FBI and the Cheka) in protecting national security at home. How did the Communist and Democratic views on this differ? What evidence was used to convict the Rosenbergs? Explore the VENONA documents on http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00017.cfm to discover what the government revealed 40 years after the case was closed. Reopen the case in your classroom and debate the Rosenbergs’ innocence or guilt. Investigate the history of a famous Cold War double agent or mole. Develop a psychological profile of the spy, and try to explain why he/she chose to spy and how he/she ultimately felt about that choice. Find spy choices here.