A comprehensive description of the canal’s physical features, operations, and history. Also includes summarized articles for students.

Provides the highlights of Panama Canal history for the period and encompasses the construction, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal. Includes a bibliography and selected reading list for further research.

See digitized images of newspapers chronicling the building and opening of the Panama Canal. Includes search strategies for further research.

Historic photos of working on the Panama Canal:

Overview of the Panama Canal’s history, including primary resources for students and a teaching guide

History of the Panama Canal

Video on the engineering principles involved in the canal.

In 2014, the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City Missouri produced an exhibit about the building of the Panama Canal for the Canal’s 100th year anniversary. As they describe the exhibit: “It offers visitors a brief history of the building of the Canal as seen through the eyes of A.B. Nichols, who amassed his collection of 1,200 original photographs, 1,300 blueprints and schematics, 100 maps, 250 letters and memoranda, and other items including diaries, postcards, news clippings, and hand-colored sketches and drawings throughout his ten-year tenure at the Canal. He added his own comments on events as they happened and added depth to the collection with cross-references that connect various pieces of the collection.”

Videos produced by The VideoWorks of Roeland Park, Kansas.

A front seat view of traveling through the Panama Canal.

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez along with The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros were both chosen as "Read With Jenna" March book club picks.  Christina Henriquez was the recipient of the grant that Sandra Cisneros started in honor of her father, The Albert Cisneros Del Moral Foundation Award, and counts Cisneros as an influence in her writing stories about the people and culture she knows.

In 2023, Wilton Library hosted the series "We Too Are Here: 100 Years of Great American Novels by Women'' led by Mark Schenker. The House on Mango Street was one of the books he discussed and his lecture is available on our YouTube channel.

The A to Z World Culture database has a plethora of information about Panama including the geography, culture, history, food, educational system, places to visit, and so much more. Also includes lesson plans and educational resources.

Select A to Z World Culture, sign in with your Wilton Library card, and select Panama from the drop down list of countries to explore.

Visit the CIA’s World Factbook for information about and images of Panama:

Visit the Panama Tourism site for information on when to go, where to visit, and where to stay

From the Homeschool Spanish Academy’s blog, a description of traditional Panamanian cuisine, with Spanish translations of ingredients and fun facts

From Chef’s Pencil, the top 25 foods of Panama with pictures and descriptions

Learn about the discovery and treatment of tropical diseases during the building of the Panama Canal. Includes links to digitized books from the period.

From the National Library of Medicine: “The First Mountain to Be Removed”: Yellow Fever Control and the Construction of the Panama Canal” by Paul S. Sutter. A detailed description of the efforts employed to control Yellow Fever during the construction of the Panama Canal.

Describes the efforts made to reduce the number of cases of malaria during the construction of the Panama Canal. Includes links to resources about Malaria.

“The Public Health Service in the Panama Canal: A Forgotten Chapter of U.S. Public Health” by Alexandra Minna Stern, PhD. Describes the work of the American doctors in controlling malaria and Yellow Fever during the building of the Panama Canal. Also includes information on how they shared their processes and results at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915

Panama joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2018, committing to work with CCAC partners to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants and deliver climate, clean air, health, and socio-economic benefits.

Drought is impacting shipping through the Panama Canal. The Woodwell Institutes explains how this drought threatens to disrupt global supply chains.

“Smithsonian Uses Fossil Records in Panama to Model Future Climate Change.” Smithsonian paleontologist are examining fossils to learn the migration patterns of plants and mammals after the isthmus appeared. This knowledge can help predict future climate change.

The BBC News details the effects that severe drought has had on the water supply for the Panama Canal, causing delays in ships getting through the canal.

In April, 2023, CBS News reported that rising sea levels due to climate change would potentially, by 2050, cause residents of a small Panamanian island to leave their homes.