Education & Outreach

Museum Education Programs

At the Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, opportunities abound for students and teachers to explore the history of tennis and the impact of its champions on the game's growth and development. Innovative programs designed around curriculum-based learning encourage the exploration of the Hall of Fame's world-class museum collection and multi-media exhibitions.

The History of Tennis

Covers civil rights, women's history, globalization, Rhode Island history, geography, and pop culture.

Civil Rights (Grades 5-8) Breaking the Barriers: African Americans and the World of Tennis explores the tennis players and coaches who broke the color barrier and changed the game for the better. Players profiled include Lucy D. Slowe, Dr. Robert Johnson, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, and Madison Keys.

Women's History (Grades 5-8) Women in Tennis explores the contributions women tennis players have made to the sport and society as a whole. Players profiled include Helen Hull Jacobs, Alice Marble, Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, and Venus and Serena Williams.

Rhode Island History (Grades 5-8) The Newport Casino explores Newport in the Gilded Age of the United States and the founding of the Newport Casino, its lean years, and eventually the establishment of the National Lawn Tennis (now International Tennis) Hall of Fame.

Rhode Island History (Grades 5-8) Tennis at the Newport Casino allows students to research the history of our tennis on this historic site using different sources and points of view.

Globalization (Grades 5-8) Tennis in the Olympics explores the history of Olympic Games—both with and without tennis—and the worldwide events which took place in those Olympic years. Younger students will learn about events and their timelines, while older students will learn about the cause and effect of major world events on the Olympic games.

Globalization (Grades 5-8) Tennis and War explores conflicts in modern history and the tennis players and Hall of Famers who participated in these conflicts, whether on the battlefield or on the home front.

Geography (Grades 5-8) The Traveling Tennis Players explores world geography through the travels of two modern-day tennis players over a busy few months on the professional tennis tours.

Geography (Grades 3-4) Barnstorm Like a Tennis Player! focuses on the geography of the United States while teaching students about Jack Kramer and his barnstorming pro tour of the 1950s.

Pop Culture/Literacy (Grades 5-8) Tennis and Material Culture looks at certain items in the museum and how they relate to the stories behind the history of tennis. Create an exhibition catalog for artifacts in our collection.

Communicating Tennis

Covers literacy and journalism.

Literacy (Grades 5-8) Tennis and Material Culture (see above)

Journalism (Grades 5-12) Bud Collins and the Art of the Interview introduces students to the three different types of stories used in journalism and teaches students how to correctly write one of these stories (feature). They will also learn about Hall of Fame journalist Bud Collins and his contributions to the sport.

Literacy (Elementary)The ABCs of Tennis allows students to explore the game of tennis and some of its vocabulary, while at the same time learn how to compile ABC books related to the game using various methods.

The Science of Tennis

Covers math, science, and physics.

Mathematics (Grades 5-6) Game, Set, Math explores the history of the Hall of Famers while students do various types of word problems.

Science (Grades 6-8) The Science of Tennis uses the Scientific Method to learn about the history of the tennis ball and how temperature affects the bounce of a tennis ball.

Science (Grades 9-12) The Physics of Tennis allows students to explore tennis by focusing on energy, force, systems, gravity, and motion of a ball.

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Lesson Plan Evaluation/Questionnaire