The Hamilton Education (EduHam) Program started as a collaborative effort between Lin-Manuel Miranda and The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to use the musical Hamilton as a vehicle for educational enrichment, bringing history alive for young audiences through the arts.
The program was created to integrate American history education with the arts by allowing middle school and high school students to experience the musical and delve into its history—engaging students in civics and inspiring a new generation of young historians.
In the program, students learn how Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, incorporated primary sources into the songs he wrote for the show. Following Miranda’s process, students create their own performance pieces. As they analyze primary sources and Hamilton song lyrics, students develop literacy strategies for reading complex texts. They can apply these strategies to any complex text they encounter in the future.
The program’s website provides a wealth of resources in English and Spanish that introduce students to the people, events, and documents of the founding era. The diversity of people, documents, and events in the research library extends beyond Hamilton to encompass the broader founding era (from approximately 1774 to 1797). Students discover and nurture their creativity by exploring history through the stories of the people who lived through the American Revolution and the early decades of the new republic.
The EduHam program is free and open to students in grades 6–12 anywhere. Students can learn at home with their families or under the supervision of a teacher at school.
Students demonstrate mastery of the founding era in creative ways—in songs, monologues, poetry, and scenes, for example. Once they’ve chosen a topic that excites them, students work collaboratively to create and present their piece in the classroom.
Any student, teacher, or parent can participate in the online EduHam program. Along with access to the research library and curricula, online participants can enter their students’ performance pieces in a competition and lottery for a chance to see the show in person in New York City.
Teachers, parents, or guardians with students in grades 6–12 must create a free Gilder Lehrman account to submit their student work for consideration in the competition or the lottery. The competition application will close on December 15, 2025. The lottery application will close on February 15, 2026. The teacher who submitted the application for a winner will be notified by email by February 28, 2026.
Competition and lottery winners will be flown to New York City with a designated number of adult chaperones during April, May, or June 2026 to attend a Hamilton Education Program full-day theater experience, including a matinee performance of Hamilton, along with high school students from the New York City area. Travel arrangements and costs (including flights, transportation to/from the airport, hotel stay, and a per diem for meals) will be covered for the day before the prize until the day after the prize (three days, two nights).