Mount Rushmore

Contributor: Samantha Penna. Lesson ID: 11995

Have you seen pictures or statues of famous people? There’s a mountain with the faces of four famous men carved into it! Discover the incredible story of this monument that took 14 years to create!

categories

United States, United States

subject
Geography
learning style
Visual
personality style
Lion
Grade Level
Primary (K-2)
Lesson Type
Quick Query

Lesson Plan - Get It!

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Watch this short video a tourist took at Mount Rushmore in 2009.

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  • Do you recognize any of the people carved into this mountain?

Mount Rushmore is a big mountain in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota. People also call it President's Mountain!

On this mountain, you can see the faces of four important American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The sculptor Gutzon Borglum started carving the presidents' faces into the mountain in 1927. He used dynamite to help shape the rock.

The workers made sure to fix any cracks they found while they worked. When Gutzon Borglum passed away in 1941, his son, Lincoln Borglum, finished the project.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore was built to help bring more visitors to South Dakota. A man named Doane Robinson thought this would be a great idea!

The monument stands for freedom and liberty and shows how America has grown and changed over time.

Mount Rushmore

Today, more than three million people visit Mount Rushmore each year. They come from all over the world to see this amazing mountain!

  • Would you like to visit Mount Rushmore? Why or why not?

Mount Rushmore

Move to the Got It? section to learn about the four presidents carved into the mountain.

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