This article introduces the fifty states project, a year-long study of the United States that uses crowd sourcing to bring authentic materials into the social studies classroom. The project started five years ago, when author Kelly McPherson decided that she wanted to have a care package sent from all 50 states to help students learn about the nation. McPherson knew that if the students could touch, smell, and taste artifacts from each state, those experiences would help students remember what they learned. "Whether the artifacts being examined relate to popular culture or social history, they illustrate the stories of individuals and groups and can be vehicles to stimulate interest. Artifacts stimulate students' curiosity and help them focus on social studies, providing them with something concrete that they see and touch and serving as a springboard for students' questions." Over the years, McPherson has solicited the help of friends from all over the country to collect some fantastic artifacts and make social studies come alive for her students. Their experiences with the care packages are often meaningful and help them relate to the world outside of school, making this a great example of authentic learning. The learning goals of the fifty states project include: (1) learning the location of each state; (2) important facts and dates in its history; and (3) its culture, resources; (4) industries; and (5) memorable facts. Students will be able to compare and contrast the information that they learn about new states with their knowledge of their home state as well as infer and draw conclusions about borders, regions and other commonalities. They will also make connections with people they have never met and places they have never been.