Ripped Apart: A Civil War Mystery

Ever wondered what it’s like to work at the Smithsonian? With the sudden and curious departure of her last intern, Museum Curator Isabella Wagner needs your help solving a mystery dating back to the Civil War. Could there be ghosts trapped in the basement of the National Museum of American History?

Download Ripped Apart: A Civil War Mystery, to find out.

Assume the role of a Smithsonian intern to solve puzzles, find clues, decipher documents, and explore cartes de visite photographs from the museum’s collection. These small photographs were an early form of social media -- collected and shared with family members and friends in the mid-19th century.

Through stunning high resolution imagery the app simulates the type of investigative work done by Smithsonian curators, fellows, and interns while it provides players age 13+ with the same thrill of discovery our staff experience when solving an historical mystery. The game explores slavery and abolition, gender roles, and political differences between the North and South and gives players multiple perspectives on the causes, course, character, and outcomes of the Civil War.

PLEASE NOTE: The app includes beautiful 19th century photographs digitized from the Smithsonian’s collections and may take several minutes to download. We recommend connecting to Wi-Fi to download this app to help get you playing as soon as possible.

FEATURES:
• Immerse yourself in the stories of everyday Americans during the Civil War
• Explore photographs and belongings of four 19th century Americans
• Find clues and analyze artifacts to discover their identities
• Decipher 19th century documents to uncover evidence
• Experiment with the science of 19th century photography using your iPad’s camera
• Create digital Cartes de Visite and share them on social media
• Designed for the iPad’s high resolution display

After playing the game, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu/ripped-apart to learn more about the real stories and behind the scenes research that went into creating it.

Terms of Use: http://www.si.edu/termsofuse/
Privacy Policy: http://www.si.edu/privacy/
Teachers’ Guide: https://americanhistory.si.edu/ripped-apart/teacher-guide