Themepark

exploration
History

By exploring history, we seek to understand the lives of people who lived in the past. Historians--the people who study history--try to piece together a realistic picture of life in previous years by examining the writings and artifacts belonging to different time periods.

It is commonly understood that learning about the past is fundamental to an understanding of the present. History provides a context for evaluating contemporary culture and all its institutions.

The study of history provides us with a framework for understanding and appreciating the human condition. Beyond this, the study of history is enjoyable. It combines the excitement of exploration with the pleasure of discovery.

 

Places To Go    People To See    Things To Do    Teacher Resources    Bibliography

Places To Go

Alphabets
Travel to ancient Phoenicia and learn about the origins of the alphabet that we use. Early man used pictograms to communicate ideas. An alphabet made it so much easier to convey information. Instead of learning thousands and thousands of pictures to communicate, humans could just combine 20 or 30 letters to make all the words they wanted. An alphabet made it easier for humans to write about their history.
American Memory Project
The Library of Congress's American Memory Project contains multimedia collections of digitized documents, photographs, recorded sound, moving pictures, and text related to American History. 
Antiques Roadshow
Visit Antiques Roadshow to explore the history of the stuff in your attic. The highest-value appraisal for anything ever brought to Antiques Roadshow was a collection of 17th century Chinese carved rhinosaurus horn cups in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their value was estimated to be from $1 million to $1.5 million.
The Easter Island Tablets
Take a trip to Easter Island and explore its enigmatic stone tablets containing a form of writing called Rongorongo. Archaeologists have never been able to decipher this script to discover what it means about the history of remote group of Islands.
Find A Grave
It’s fun to explore history through famous graveyards. Learn about Billy the Kid, Ralph Waldo Emerson or Thomas Edison by viewing their gravesites.
HyperHistory Online
HyperHistory presents 3,000 years of world history with a combination of colorful graphics, lifelines, timelines, and maps. Over 2,000 files are interconnected throughout the site.
A Brief History of Bicycles
Travel to Europe and the United States in the 1880s and 1890s as the bicycle swept through society. The simple introduction of the bicycle into everyday life changed history. In 1986, Susan B. Anthony wrote: “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel.”
Romulus and Remus
Travel to Rome and explore the history of how this city was founded. Hint: it has to do with twins and a wolf.
Ships of Discovery
Visit the depths of the ocean to explore history. The artifacts from shipwrecks can provide historians and archaeologists with valuable information about the past. In 1982, one of King Henry VIII’s ships, the Mary Rose, was raised from the ocean floor after 437 years. Historians recovered and cataloged thousands of artifacts that now reside in a museum at the Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth, England.
WebChron: Historical and Cross-Cultural Chronologies
The site consists of a series of hyperlinked chronologies developed by the instructors and historical articles prepared by students intended for use in history classes. The chronologies present alternatives to conventional historical periodizations; the articles allow students to share information with one another and with the world.
Who's Alive and Who's Dead?
Not sure which historical figures are alive or dead? This website can help.

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People To See

Conversations with History
Read unedited transcribed interviews with distinguished men and women from all over the world at this site.
National Women's Hall of Fame
Explore the biographies of The Hall's inductees, learn about the history of the women's movement, tour a photo gallery, and nominate choices for future inductees. 
Time 100 People of the 20th Century
This site features a list of those individuals who most influenced the last 100 years. They are broken down into five fields of endeavor: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Artists & Entertainers, Builders & Titans, Scientists & Thinkers, and Heroes & Icons.

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Things To Do

EyeWitness
Explore history through the eyes of those who lived it at this site that illuminates the past through personal narratives and other first-hand sources. 
Scope Systems: Any Day in History Site
Ever wondered what historical events happened or what historical figures were born on your birthdate? You can find out here.
World History Archives
Find documents to support the study of world history from a working-class and non-Eurocentric perspective.

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Teacher Resources

Teaching with Historic Places
Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created a variety of products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom.
Utah Centennial Studies
The purpose of the project was to provide teachers with creative, innovative lessons on a wide variety of Utah history topics and issues. The lessons range from process-centered instruction to community based learning: from Utah's rich historical past to our present statehood centennial celebration.
Utah: Then and Now
Utah has had many different peoples who have called it home. This unit of study covers Utah's peoples up to the time that the transcontinental railroad connected the 2 coasts of the United States in 1869.

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Bibliography

  • Beckner, Chrisanne. 100 Great Cities of World History. Bluewood Books, 1995.
  • DeJauregui, Ruth. 100 Medical Milestones That Shaped World History. Bluewood Books, 1998.
  • Hakim, Joy. History of Us. Oxford University Press Children's Books, 1999.
  • Jackson, Ellen B. Turn of the Century. Charlesbridge Publishing, 1998.
  • The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. Larousse Kingfisher Chambers, 1999.
  • McGovern, Ann and Anna Divito. If You Lived 100 Years Ago. Scholastic, 1999.
  • Prescott, Jerome. 100 Explorers Who Shaped World History. Bluewood Books, 1996.
  • Roehm, Michelle and Jerry McCann. Girls Who Rocked the World 2: From Harriet Tubman to Mia Hamm. Beyond Words Publishing Company, 2000.
  • Tyler, Jenny and Robyn Gee, Anne Millard. The Usborne Book of World History. E D C Publications, 1986.
  • Van Loon, Hendrik Willem and John Merriman. The Story of Mankind. W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.
  • Welden, Amelie and Jerry McCann. Girls Who Rocked the World: Heroines from Sacagawea to Sheryl Swoopes. Beyond Words Publishing Company, 1998.
  • Yenne, Bill and Christine N. Perkins, Tony Chikes. 100 Authors Who Shaped World HistoryBluewood Books, 1996.
  • Yenne, Bill. 100 Events That Shaped World History. Bluewood Books, 1993.
  • Yenne, Bill and Dr. Morton Grosser. 100 Inventions That Shaped World History. Bluewood Books, 1993.
  • Yenne, Bill. 100 Men Who Shaped World History. Bluewood Books, 1994.
  • Zeman, Anne and Kate Kelly, Cecil Moffitt. Everything You Need to Know About World History Homework: A Desk Reference for Students and Parents/4th to 6th Grades. Scholastic, 1995.