From the Smithsonian Institution:

The Smithsonian Libraries today launched three courses of selected content on iTunes U that focus on topics in early aviation and space history. This release increases exposure of Libraries material and is an innovative way to reach new audiences.

Three of the Libraries’ courses are available now:

The Great Moon Hoax

Early Aviation and the Media 

How Things Fly: Parts of an Aircraft in the World War I Period

More courses will be rolled out during the first half of 2014 with additional topics related to transportation: Women in Aviation, Worldwide Aircraft Design and Experimentation in Pre-World War I, Ballooning and Airship Dirigibles: Lighter-than-air Aircraft History, Military Aviation in World War I, Early Rocketry Development, The Development of the Automobile in the 19th and 20th Centuries and Railroad Development in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

For students, the courses include vocabulary and guided questions to help process more difficult materials. For teachers, the courses include learning goals, common core standards for grades 6–12, national history standards and a guided-inquiry section that suggests how the courses and materials can be effectively used in the classroom or school library. They are designed to be self-paced experiences, and it is up to the teacher or student to decide which parts of the course they use.

The courses are built around materials from the Libraries’ Galaxy of Images and the Smithsonian Digital Library, supplemented with additional resources from the Smithsonian Channel, Smithsonian magazine, Air and Space magazine and NASA materials.

To access the courses, click here.

See Also: Collection Search Center Database From the SI

Oveer 8.52 million catalog records of museum objects, and library & archives materials. More than 963,000 of these records contain online images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other online resources.