Teaching & Learning
- Lesson Plans
- Articles and More
- Online Courses
- Best of the Web
- Standard Course of Study
- New Teacher Support
- Field Trips: Discover NC!
- Education Reference
- Multimedia Library
For Students
About LEARN NC
LEARN NC, a program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Education,
finds the most innovative and successful practices in K–12 education and makes them available to the teachers
and students of North Carolina — and the world.
North Carolina Transportation Museum
Spencer, NC (http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/spencer/spencer.htm)
Resource summary
- Appropriate grades: K–12
- Subjects: social studies (North Carolina, United States history)
- Provider: North Carolina Historic Sites
- Special requirements: A media player is needed for the video.
More from LEARN NC
- The Road Taken This lesson will introduce and reinforce main transportation routes for people and goods in North Carolina. Students will enhance map skills including using cardinal and intermediate directions, using a mileage chart, and planning transportation routes. Students will reinforce their knowledge of resources found in North Carolina as well as name and identify the three regions of North Carolina.
More on the web
- Trade and Transportation in the United States Students will imagine what it would be like to operate a plane, train, or truck along a trade route across the United States.
- National Railroad Museum Read about the earliest beginnings of railroad history in the United States, from steam engines to the first locomotives. Also learn about the growth of the industry, how trains helped build our nation, the golden era of railroads, and the future of railroading.
Tools
Legal
This catalog record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. This license applies to the content of this page only and does not apply to the referenced website.
“The North Carolina Transportation Museum is located on the site of Southern Railway's steam locomotive repair facility in Spencer in Rowan County. While the museum is young, founded in 1977, the story of the Spencer Shops reaches back more than one hundred years. In 1894 New York financier J. P. Morgan created the Southern Railway. A new shop complex, begun in 1896, was located halfway between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The shops were named in honor of Southern's first president, Samuel Spencer.”
At your online visit to the Museum, you can read about and explore the exhibits, including the Flue Shop, the Master Mechanic's Office, and the Robert Julian Roundhouse. Take a few minutes to watch the online video that explains the history of steam railroads in North Carolina.
If you are planning a live visit to the museum (rather than a virtual one!), this site includes all the information you need to know such as hours of operation, a map, special events, and fees.
See the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction documentary Spencer Shops