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Social studies activity

Washington's Story: Lewis & Clark, Chief Seattle & Mt. St. Helens

On May 18, 1980, a mountain in Washington State exploded sideways — not up, but SIDEWAYS — and in less than two minutes, 230 square miles of forest were completely flattened. Mount St. Helens erupted so powerfully that the ash cloud rose 15 miles into the sky. People 900 miles away found ash on their cars! But 40 years later, the forest is growing back — animals returned, wildflowers bloomed, and the mountain is alive again.

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

On May 18, 1980, a mountain in Washington State exploded sideways — not up, but SIDEWAYS — and in less than two minutes, 230 square miles of forest were completely flattened. Mount St. Helens erupted so powerfully that the ash cloud rose 15 miles into the sky. People 900 miles away found ash on their cars! But 40 years later, the forest is growing back — animals returned, wildflowers bloomed, and the mountain is alive again.

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a before-and-after picture of Mount St. Helens: the tall peak in 1979, then the blown-out crater in 1980.
  2. Draw Mount St. Helens BEFORE: a tall pointy mountain with pine trees all around.
  3. On the other side of your paper, draw it AFTER: a flat-topped mountain with a giant hole, and the trees knocked flat like matchsticks.
  4. Ask a grown-up: 'Do you think something can grow back after something that powerful?'

Learning objectives

  • Wonder at the enormous power of a volcanic eruption
  • Notice the difference between before and after — that landscapes can change completely and suddenly
  • Ask questions about how nature recovers from dramatic change

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

The city of Seattle, Washington was named after a real person — Chief Seattle, the leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples who lived near Puget Sound. Seattle is the only major city in the United States named after a Native American leader. Chief Seattle was known as a wise leader who worked to find peaceful solutions when different groups of people disagreed. Today, the Seattle skyline — with its famous Space Needle — rises near the same waters where Chief Seattle's people fished for thousands of years.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a portrait of Chief Seattle and talk about who he was — leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples, living near what is now Seattle, Washington.
  2. Draw Chief Seattle standing at the edge of Puget Sound, looking out at the water.
  3. Next to him, draw the modern Seattle skyline with the Space Needle.
  4. Write or dictate: 'The city of Seattle was named after Chief Seattle, who was ___.'
  5. Talk about: Why is it special that a major American city was named after a Native American leader? Draw Chief Seattle and the Seattle skyline side by side.

Learning objectives

  • Identify Chief Seattle as the Duwamish and Suquamish leader for whom Seattle, Washington is named
  • Understand that Seattle is the only major U.S. city named after a Native American leader
  • Recognize Chief Seattle as known for seeking peaceful solutions
  • Connect the city of Seattle to the Indigenous people who lived there long before the city was built

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

When Lewis and Clark finally reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805, they had been traveling for 18 months from Missouri. They didn't discover empty land — they were guided through it by Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman who knew the terrain, the languages, and the people. The coastal Chinook and other nations they encountered had been trading, fishing, and building complex civilizations for thousands of years. Lewis and Clark were guests in a world that already had roads — they just couldn't read them. Today, Washington State is also home to the tech revolution: Amazon was founded in a garage in Bellevue in 1994, and Microsoft has been headquartered in Redmond since 1979.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Draw a map of the Lewis and Clark route from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean. Mark Washington State on the western end where the journey ended.
  2. Create a four-box storyboard: Coast Salish people thriving near Puget Sound (before 1800) → Lewis and Clark guided to the Pacific by Sacagawea (1805) → Mount St. Helens erupts (1980) → Seattle becomes a tech capital (today). Write one sentence under each box.
  3. Research: What role did Sacagawea play in the expedition? Write two sentences about a specific decision she made that helped the expedition succeed.
  4. Write a short paragraph: 'How was the Mount St. Helens eruption similar to — and different from — the arrival of European settlers? Both changed the Washington landscape dramatically. Which change was harder to recover from, and why?'
  5. Connection: Amazon was founded in a garage in Bellevue, Washington in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Draw a line connecting Sacagawea (1805) to Amazon (1994). What do they have in common? Think creatively.

Learning objectives

  • Explain Sacagawea's specific role in the Lewis and Clark expedition as guide, translator, and negotiator
  • Sequence four major moments in Washington State history from Indigenous civilization to today
  • Analyze the comparison between natural change and human activity as forces that change landscapes
  • Connect Washington's spirit of exploration across eras: Lewis and Clark, Mt. St. Helens science, Seattle tech

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Washington State is where the American tech revolution took root. Microsoft was founded in Albuquerque but moved to Redmond, Washington in 1979. Amazon was founded in a Bellevue garage in 1994. Boeing has been building planes near Seattle since 1916. Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971. In less than 50 years, the Seattle metro area transformed from a timber-and-fishing economy into one of the wealthiest tech corridors on earth. The Cascade Mountains contain more active volcanoes than anywhere in the U.S. outside Alaska — including Mount Rainier, which sits directly above a major metropolitan area. And the Coast Salish and Chinook peoples, who built complex trading civilizations here for thousands of years, are still here too.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Create a Washington State tech timeline: Boeing founded near Seattle (1916) → Starbucks first store (1971) → Microsoft moves to Redmond (1979) → Amazon founded in Bellevue garage (1994) → Amazon becomes world's most valuable retailer (2015). Write one sentence about each company's impact on the Seattle area.
  2. Research the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples: Who were they, where did they live, and who was Chief Seattle? Write a one-paragraph summary. Then research: Are the Duwamish federally recognized today? What does the answer reveal?
  3. Create a Washington State timeline from 1000 CE (Coast Salish culture) to 2000 (Amazon goes global) with at least nine events. Include: at least two Duwamish/Coast Salish events, the 1854 treaty negotiation, the Mt. St. Helens eruption, and the tech boom.
  4. Write a two-paragraph compare/contrast essay: 'In what ways was the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption more dramatic than the tech boom that transformed Seattle — and in what ways was the tech boom a more lasting transformation?'
  5. On a Washington State map, label: Seattle, Olympia (capital), Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Columbia River, Puget Sound, and the Cascade Range.
  6. Cross-state connection: Oregon's history involves the same Coast Salish and Chinook nations, the same Lewis and Clark route, and the same treaty agreements. What does that tell you about the limits of state borders as historical boundaries?
  7. Jeff Bezos started Amazon in a Bellevue garage in 1994 with about $300,000 from his parents as startup capital (estimate). He chose books as the first product because there were millions of titles and no single store could stock them all. If you had $300,000 today to start an online store, what single product category would you pick and why? List three costs you would need to cover in month one: inventory, website, and shipping.
  8. A Boeing assembly worker in Everett helps build the 777, which contains about 3 million individual parts. Draw a 777 from the side and label: cockpit, wings, engines, landing gear, tail. If a team of 100 workers installs 300 parts per hour, calculate how many hours it would take to install all 3 million parts. Sketch one tool or robot that could speed up wing assembly.

Learning objectives

  • Analyze Washington State's transformation into a global tech hub as a major economic turning point
  • Evaluate the Duwamish and Coast Salish peoples' history as foundational to understanding modern Seattle
  • Sequence Washington State's history from Indigenous civilization through the tech era with accurate connections
  • Compare natural and human forces of landscape change as a historical and ethical question

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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