In honor of Presidents Day (I have opted for the Associated Press Stylebook spelling), I wanted to share two websites where you can explore and learn about the Presidents of the United States in a fun, new way.

The first one is Google Earth. Always a great site for seeing the world at warp speed, Google Earth has a feature called the U.S. Presidents Showcase. Of course, you have to download the software for Google Earth before you can take the ride, but it is quick and easy to install and worth the trouble. The U.S. Presidents showcase allows you to travel the country seeing the birthplace of each president. A brief profile of the president appears showing when and where they lived and when their term of office was. It also shows a shaded map of which states voted during each president’s election. You can even see the White House in 3D!

The second site is the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery Hall of Presidents. In this online exhibition of the museum’s south wing gallery, you can find the portrait of each United States president up until Bill Clinton – although on Clinton’s page they show a bust of the president by sculptor Jan Woods, and no portrait.

If you happen to be one of those people who is snowbound today, or just find yourself with a little time to kill, have a blast meeting Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, and all the rest on Google Earth. Say hello to their portraits at the Smithsonian, too.

Have a terrific weekend.