The Education provides lesson plan ideas for teachers of K-12 students. It’s a great way to incorporate these sites in your social studies and science curriculum.
Kuddos to my student Matthew who sent me this website. We are on the Mesoamerican section right now in my history course. The ballgame was an integral and pervasive activity throughout Ancient Mesoamerica. It is in their history, religion, and art. It was one of the most socially and ritually important activities in the Ancient Americas.
The website “The Mesoamerican Ballgame” explores the history and significance of the ballgame throughout history. You can explore an interactive timeline, study its history among various cultures, and even see vide of the game being played today! It also includes lesson plans and activities for students of all grade levels.
With the debt crisis and pending austerity measures in Greece, one of the great losers in this could be the Antiquities of Ancient Greece. Already plagued with deficiencies in conservation, preservation, guarding (as highlighted in the recent armed theft at Olympia), Greek antiquities face further cuts. Greek authorities are reaching out to private investors and philanthropists, but without much success.
To read more about the campaign to preserve Greek Antiquities, see the article at MSNBC.
The Smithsonian has a blog where you can read about the Civil War via contemporary newspapers. You can read how the country experienced the lead-up and break out of the war in a ll of its angst, propaganda, and agony. It’s a fascinating online exhibit!
Thieves robbed the museum at Olympia (the site of the ancient Olympic Games). Two armed masked men smashed display cases and grabbed priceless artifacts (at least 60) after overpowering guards at the museum.
In the wake of the chaos of Greece’s financial crisis, violent crime (targeting art) has skyrocketed. To read more about the theft, see the article at BBC News.
One of the greatest considerations of all those who work with material objects (be it art, artifacts, buildings, etc) is conservation and preservation. In spite of our greatest resources and attempts, degradation and, ultimately, destruction of material cultural is the reality – nothing lasts forever… or can it?
“The development of digital technologies has exponentially magnified the amount of data we’re collecting, simply because we have the tools now to collect a lot more information much more easily than we did in the past,” Adam Rabinowitz, Ph.D.
So while archaeologists, art historians, and conservationists may not ultimately be able to indefinitely preserve objects themselves (susceptible to destruction in war, theft, negligence, or just natural processes), they may be able to retain and disseminate the information indefinitely. To learn more about these endeavors, see the article in Live Science.
The Vatican has one of the most extensive collections of scholarly, religious, and literary collections in its tomes. However, the cost of its maintenance and the realities that even the best resources will not preserve them forever, has had the Holy See looking for a more permanent and high tech solution. Many see the use of technology as not only serving a conservation need, but also allowing greater access to its collection.
To learn more about the Vatican library and its endeavors to preserve its collection, see the article at MSNBC.
Recently, my AP Art History kids and I took a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. I decided that it would be a great opportunity for the students to play with Google Goggles - we could see how it works in practice and I could bug my students for input on the best ways to employ this tool for school. If you’re not familiar with Google Goggles, check out this video below:
I gave them the opportunity to earn extra credit and encouraged those without Smart Phones to share. I gave them the assignment to use Google Goggles on a minimum of two (2) pieces (they could do more if they wanted) and to answer the following questions:
Were the results quick?
Were the results accurate?
Does the information appear thorough?
What type of resources does Google locate?
Does it solely return secondary resources or primary as well?
Any other observations of note?
I also encouraged them to include pieces that did *not* pull up on on Google Goggles, as we want to see its breadth. The students were eager to use the tools on the trip – borrowing each other’s and even my own phone to try it out. We noticed some stark differences between sculpture and paintings, as well as Modern Art and “Classical.” Sculpture would often not pull up, unless you took the photo from a very specific angle (and even then, you had to take two or three pictures). Paintings were more readily able to be found via Google Image search – the exception being Modern Art with more saturated colors (such as a Rothko). As per usual, I was thoroughly impress with what my students produced.
Here are a few examples of their findings (some with pictures):
Overall, the students found Google Goggles easy (and even fun) to use. However, it does need some further development. Still, they almost universally told me that they would be using it on all future museum visits to learn more about the art around them. One also mentioned that she would be going to Europe with her family during Spring Break and that she planned on giving it a whirl in Italy with the monuments.
