Through a series of summer institutes that include almost 4,000 miles of travel by bus, this project aims to immerse K-12 teachers in the Lewis and Clark Expedition experience. Institute study, workshops and activities will be supplemented by rigorous training on research methods, instructional techniques and classroom strategies for teaching U.S. history. An American History Roundtable will be created to promote networking among historians, teaching experts and classroom teachers, along with a website to make project materials available to all teachers. Led by historian Harry Fritz, the institutes involve travel along the Lewis and Clark route, taking advantage of "roadside classrooms"-historic sites for experiential learning and research. Partnering with the LEA are the University of Montana's History Department, Education Department and Montana College of Technology and Mineral Science, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Hearst Free Library, and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Content includes: Thomas Jefferson's constitutional republic and Cameahwait's way of life in 1804, slavery and the Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon and Louisiana, the course of western empire, Plains Indians, the horse/buffalo/warrior-society culture, Native American tribes in Montana, and other topics.