On January 20, 2009 President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.  The ceremony is called the Inauguration, and it will take place in Washington, D.C. in front of the Capitol Building.  After the ceremony there will be a parade to the White House (see map below).  The 2009 Inauguration is special in many ways.  Barack Obama will be the first African American president of the United States, and his inauguration takes place the day after we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 19th).  The theme is “A New Birth of Freedom” which comes from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address because 2009 is the bicentennial birthday (200 years) of former president Abraham Lincoln (who was born in 1809). 

The parade goes from the Capitol to the White House.

A Special Inauguration

Barack Obama will be the first African American U.S. President.

The Inauguration is the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

It will also honor Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial birthday.

The official site of the Inauguration where you can learn more about the theme “A New Birth of Freedom.”

The Promise

The Parade

Links to More Info

Find out what happens on Inauguration Day from the morning church service to the Inaugural Ball at night.

Learn what happened during previous inaugurations.  Be sure to check out the “So Help Me God” video on that page!

For each inauguration, a huge new platform is built in front of the Capitol.  Keep track its construction with this slideshow.

Learn about the history of the nation’s capital city, Washington, D.C.  There’s games, coloring pages, and more!

Barack Obama has his own page just for kids.  Watch the videos to see how children made a difference in this election.

Since the 2009 Inauguration hasn’t happened yet, take a look back at the 2005 Inauguration on Time for Kids.

This page on the Time for Kids website answers some of the questions you probably have about the Inauguration.

Learn more about previous U.S. Presidents on the White House site.  There are short bios and coloring pages.

Find out what the president’s many important duties include on this read aloud site by Scholastic.

Click to download a printable trifold brochure to keep handy on Inauguration Day.  (Created by Carol Simopoulos)

Discover what the weather was like on each Inaugural day, and see which ones had extreme weather!

Click here to see this activity in a new browser window

This site has some great packets to download—a Countdown to the Inauguration and an Activity Book!

On this Kaboose site you will find many craft ideas and templates to go along with the Inauguration.

This is the unofficial guide to the Inauguration.  Here you will find facts and trivia about the past and present inaugurations.

Click to download additional resources to use in your classroom.  (Created by Carol Simopoulos, et.al.)

A guide to online resources about the history of American presidential inaugurations.

Designed for ESL students, this page has easy lessons and fun activities for all students including ESL.

Classroom resources for Presidential Inaugurals, including links to primary resources. 

Help your students learn more about the United States' executive office and the lives of people who have held the presidency with these resources.

Information about presidential documents, the US presidents, and presidential libraries. 

A daily examination of policy challenges, public discussions, memos to the president elect, and a weekly podcast.

On the “Democracy Project” website you can be president for a day and see what a typical day for the president is like.

The U.S. Marine Band is the “President’s Own” band and will be playing at the Inauguration.  Learn more about it on this interactive site.