USA 250 & Colorado 150

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America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including reproduction Declaration of Independence, other artifacts, books, and games

Anniversary Pop-Up Exhibit for Libraries

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including reproduction Declaration of Independence, other artifacts

About the Kit

Colorado 150 America 250 logo

2026 is a big year for Colorado, as we commemorate the founding of the US and the state! 

This kit (more of traveling exhibit) is all about the power of the written word, offering library users a chance to reflect on fundamental national and local history, a quarter of a millennium after the country’s founding, and beyond. The objects (both educational as well as symbolic) make the history impactful and present, allowing patrons of almost all ages to explore and learn about history and civics. Audio resources complete the experience.

The contents relate to two landmark moments and evoke their contexts with hands-on activities: The adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the establishment of the State of Colorado.

With an emphasis on primary sources, quotations, and supporting texts, patrons can celebrate, reflect, and get creative, while learning about and discussing what shaped the country’s founding and subsequent expansion, with a focus on factual historical research.

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including reproduction Declaration of Independence, other artifacts, books, and games

Contents fall into four categories:

  1. Supporting written material: books,* quotes, and fact sheets;
  2. Artifacts/replicas: reproductions, flags, compass/sundial, and archeology kit (included for the rest of 2026 only); 
  3. Games & pastimes, particularly from the colonial/Revolutionary period; and
  4. Activity supplies including printing, discussions, and more. 
QUOTE: A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason. – Thomas Paine, 1776 Common Sense
100 historical quote cards are included.

*Books are suggested titles libraries may wish to stock themselves, for use in activities, or displayed for patrons’ perusal (but not for checking out). In order to facilitate ongoing discussions beyond the kit, some of the books included have a Colorado Book Club Resource sticker on the cover to show corresponding sets in the State Library’s book club collection – each set has 8+ copies and can be requested by the library for 8+ weeks per loan.

The kit’s creator wishes to respectfully acknowledge that the land that makes up the State of Colorado is the homeland of countless Indigenous people for many thousands of years.  

Use

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including reproduction Declaration of Independence, books and supplies

The kit may be set up as an interactive “pop-up” exhibit in libraries, perhaps on several tables or one large display, depending on library resources and what staff wish to display. 

  • The items included can be used for the basis of a show-and-tell type demonstration using the objects to drive experience, or more drawn-out, intensive discussion, or some combination of both, depending on audience, staff preparedness, etc. Library staff may choose to take some or all of the contents for a dedicated hands-on, staff-led event or scheduled program with a group. 
  • Library staff can also set the exhibit up for passive programming (where patrons can interact with the contents without guidance). If you go this route, please display in a prominent, supervised location. We do not advise displaying items with small parts without supervision, as they could cause choking.

To maximize your space, pair this kit with a printable exhibition fabricated locally, for example see History Colorado’s free “Exhibition for Community Organizations”. 

NOTE: The items in this kit are not meant for individual patron checkouts.
Please keep all the items in the library for the duration of the loan. 

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, compass and craft materials

Audience

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including flags, artifacts, and games
  • For libraries that want a ready-made way to celebrate either or both occasions and, beyond summer 2026, have a way to introduce early American and Colorado history into the library space in an interactive way. 
  • Contents and activities of interest to anyone curious about local and national history. 
  • The kit is generally family friendly and contains enough material that it can be easily customized to most audiences.
  • As this kit is about early US history, it includes some outdated language and there are references to violence that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Library staff are encouraged to think critically and use their discretion when choosing what to feature/discuss.

Beyond the kit

This kit is a starting point for learning about the colonial era and the expansion that followed. US and Colorado history are huge fields of study in their own right, and as such the kit is not designed to be all-inclusive, but instead offer ways into a few topics in an accessible way. The kit speaks to some people, groups, and moments, but cannot possibly account for all perspectives, experiences, or events. When learning about history, we should always be conscious of whose perspective is presented as the norm, and what may be missing. We hope the kit will provide plenty of avenues for further research and contemplation (see the Resources links below).  

America 250/Colorado 150 exhibit items on table, including reproduction Declaration of Independence, other artifacts, and games

Contents

Written material/books (bold indicates a set of 8 in the Book Club Resource)

  • Colonial Williamsburg Hotch Potch ABC Book
  • Early American History Trivia & Family Party Game book
  • The Declaration in Script and Print: A Visual History of America’s Founding Document
  • The American Revolution at 250: Twenty-Four Historians Reflect on the Founding
  • Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution 
  • The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence 
  • Atlas of Indian Nations – National Geographic Society
  • Colorado: A Historical Atlas
  • The Great Book of Colorado: The Crazy History of Colorado with Amazing Random Facts & Trivia
  • Colorado Then & Now 
  • Historic Photos of Colorado Mining
  • The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding
  • 1776 by David McCullough
  • The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado
  • An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
  • A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, Isabella Bird 
  • Fact sheets:
    • Declaration of Independence (plus painting)
    • Revolutionary War/Flags
    • US and Colorado constitutions
    • Westward Expansion/Manifest Destiny
    • Shape of Colorado/Researching and Verifying Historical Facts: Five Tips
    • A Brief Timeline of Colorado History (up to 2026 – Wikipedia)
    • Annotated text of the engrossed declaration (Wikipedia)
  • Laminated quote cards (100)
  • Laminated item cards
  • Laminated activity sheets
    • Game of Quotes
    • Misc. activities
Quote card: "Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade!" Benjamin Franklin, 1750 Poor Richard's Almanack.

Game/pastimes

  • Pewter jacks in leather bag 
  • Bilbo catcher
  • I Hardy playing cards
  • Alphabet dice game
  • Table top quoits
  • Cup and ball 
  • Fox and Geese game
  • American Revolutionary War Knowledge Cards Deck
  • Colorado-Opoly board game
  • Drum and drumsticks
  • Mini gramophone bluetooth speaker

Replicas/reproductions

Title page of Common Sense by Thomas Paine: Common Sense; addressed to the inhabitants of America
Click to view the high resolution PDF.
  • Four Documents of Freedom in envelope:
    • Declaration of Independence
    • Constitution of the United States
    • Bill of Rights
    • Gettysburg Address
  • Declaration of Independence metal pane
    • Display with ballpoint quill pen and holder
  • Facsimile of the 1st edition of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
  • Reproduction Colonial Money – Set A
  • Reproduction Colonial Money – Set B
  • The School of Manners pamphlet
  • Battledore pamphlet
  • Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop
  • Gadsden 3′ X 5′ flag
  • Bennington 3′ X 5′ flag
  • Join or Die 3′ X 5′ flag 
  • Betsy Ross flag 3’ X 5’ 
  • Sundial Compass
  • (For the rest of 2026) Colorado Archeology Kit

Activity supplies

  • Brush pens calligraphy markers
  • Single star rubber stamp – 1.5″
  • 50 Stars rubber stamp – 2.75″
  • 1776 Betsy Ross flag rubber stamp – 2.75″
  • Red, green, blue, orange, and red archival ink pads – 3.75″ x 2.5″
  • Black ballpoint pens
  • #2 pencils
  • Vintage/parchment paper 
  • Alphabet and number stamps (chunky)
  • Alphabet and number stamps (classic – wooden box)
  • Tracing paper
  • Red, white, and blue post-its

Miscelaneous

  • Adjustable black metal book easels
  • Fourth of July table runner

Resources

America 250/Colorado 150

Declaration of Independence

Curricula/programming

Primary Sources

Reading lists

Book Club Sets Available from the State Library

Audio

America

Colorado