Field Projects

The Living New Deal and its national online map of New Deal public works is a great resource for high school and college students. Since New Deal legacy is still everywhere, hiding in plain site, we advise teachers and students to undertake field projects to seek out New Deal sites and their history.

The search for sites can be a fantastic treasure hunt, which requires getting out to look, taking photos and videos, online searches, and trips to the library, the local historical society, and so on. There students can find confirming information about the site, when it was built, the government agencies involved, how much it cost and how it has changed over time — and learn about history and civics at the same time. 

For starters, check out our online map and geolocate yourself; it will zoom in on your area and show what sites are already in our database.

We provide advice on researching New Deal sites here and student should be sure to dowload our Practical Tips sheet for field researchers.

Good field research can be rewarded by seeing the findings posted on the Living New Deal national map. Your discoveries can be submitted online here or via the Living New Deal app for iPhone, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

We welcome both entirely new sites and additional information on existing sites (better facts,  better photos).

Happy Hunting!