The National Council for History Education (NCHE) selected Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the site of the 2005 NCHE national conference, at the invitation of French and Indian War 250 (visit their website at: www.FrenchandIndianWar250.org), the Pittsburgh-based group commemorating the anniversary of the French and Indian War, and in conjunction with the new exhibit on that war at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center. The conference was held over three days, April 21-23, 2005, and was headquartered at the Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel, across from the Ft. Pitt Museum at the forks of the Ohio River. Participants were a part of the national commemoration that was intended to raise public awareness of seminal events in America's early history.

Over 700 History educators--K-12 teachers, curriculum specialists, school administrators, historians, and people from historical libraries and museums--convened in Pittsburgh. Attendees updated their knowledge of history, added to their teaching strategies for often-neglected portions of American History such as the French and Indian War, and learned about new and important teaching resources and historical sites in the Pittsburgh area. A major goal of the conference was to help teachers bring history to life for their students.