It is with great sadness that I announce the end of the Ancient Civilizations programs. Whether or not these programs will be returning in the future I am still unsure. Therefore, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all those children and parents who loyally came to as many as they possibly could. I enjoyed having all of you at my programs and I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did.
Ancient history is something that I have loved since I was a child, younger, even, than those who come to my programs! I hope that in the coming years, all the kids who came to my programs will remember the things they learned. Perhaps the historical information will be forgotten, but I hope they will remember the love of ancient history I tried to instill and also the realization that learning can be fun.
It is up to you now to find ways to make learning fun for yourselves.
These programs were designed to encourage children to read, but they did something for me, too. Since beginning these programs I changed majors at my university and I am now dedicating my life to studying ancient history, particularly Egypt.
It has been an immense joy to share my love of ancient history with you all. Thank you all very much!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Mysteries of Ancient China and the Aztecs
Due to business in both school and work, I've been a little behind in the Archaeology world! I apologize to my readers!
On January 28, we had a very, very successful Mysteries of Ancient China program! Kids were able to taste various teas and the favorite turned out to be a green tea: jasmine. This suprised me quite a lot! They said chamomile was too light and Moroccan mint was too strong! They also had a splendid time learning about weiqi and xiangqi, and I delighted in explaining it! What I knew, anyway! I am certainly not an expert! You can view the pictures here, or you can go to the China page here.
On February 18th, we had the Aztecs program, which only brought seven kids. They all enjoyed xocolatl, or Aztec chocolate with a modern twist. Basically, it was Abuelita! If you are unfamiliar with that, go to your nearest grocery store and buy some because it's delicious!!! Unfortunately, I was sick that day so I didn't prep the room as well as usual. However, you can find some pictures here, or you can go to the Aztec page here.
On January 28, we had a very, very successful Mysteries of Ancient China program! Kids were able to taste various teas and the favorite turned out to be a green tea: jasmine. This suprised me quite a lot! They said chamomile was too light and Moroccan mint was too strong! They also had a splendid time learning about weiqi and xiangqi, and I delighted in explaining it! What I knew, anyway! I am certainly not an expert! You can view the pictures here, or you can go to the China page here.
On February 18th, we had the Aztecs program, which only brought seven kids. They all enjoyed xocolatl, or Aztec chocolate with a modern twist. Basically, it was Abuelita! If you are unfamiliar with that, go to your nearest grocery store and buy some because it's delicious!!! Unfortunately, I was sick that day so I didn't prep the room as well as usual. However, you can find some pictures here, or you can go to the Aztec page here.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Egypt Makes the News
There are a couple of great articles about Egypt this December. The first is an article that appeared on msnbc.com about two tombs found in Saqqara from the 5th or 6th dynasty.
The second article gives us evidence that everyone's favorite rebel pharaoh Akhenaten is the father of our most famous pharaoh Tutankhamun! Now they are trying to discover the mother of King Tut.
Happy Holidays!
The second article gives us evidence that everyone's favorite rebel pharaoh Akhenaten is the father of our most famous pharaoh Tutankhamun! Now they are trying to discover the mother of King Tut.
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Egypt Lectures
On Tuesday and Wednesday (12/16, 12/17), I was delighted to give a total of seven lectures about ancient Egypt to various students at the Round Lake Middle School in order to extend the Ancient Civilizations series to those unable to participate in the exclusive programs (only 20 students are allowed at each program). Despite a sore throat at the end of the lectures, I had a fabulous time!
We watched a PowerPoint presentation, looking at some very lovely (and creepy) pictures and paintings of Egyptian people and culture, and we also took a close look at some of my favorite artifacts: my statue of Anubis, my four canopic jars, a statue of Bast, a cult statue of Amun-Re, and my copy of the game Senet. We also took a look at my archaeological tools--the hand pick was kept at a distance after it broke during the first showing!
My favorite part of the presentations, of course, was sharing my passion for ancient history with these hundreds of young students! They were all very attentive and respectful, and highly inquisitive, too! There were times where they stumped me!
It was a splendid opportunity for me and I look forward to do more of these presentations in the future!
Special thanks to the staff at the school for organizing this event!
We watched a PowerPoint presentation, looking at some very lovely (and creepy) pictures and paintings of Egyptian people and culture, and we also took a close look at some of my favorite artifacts: my statue of Anubis, my four canopic jars, a statue of Bast, a cult statue of Amun-Re, and my copy of the game Senet. We also took a look at my archaeological tools--the hand pick was kept at a distance after it broke during the first showing!
My favorite part of the presentations, of course, was sharing my passion for ancient history with these hundreds of young students! They were all very attentive and respectful, and highly inquisitive, too! There were times where they stumped me!
It was a splendid opportunity for me and I look forward to do more of these presentations in the future!
Special thanks to the staff at the school for organizing this event!
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Mysteries of Ancient Greece
The final program of the season took place Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Participation was few due to the winter weather, but those who came definitely brought their enthusiasm! In our longest yet study of ancient Greece, kids learned about the Persian Wars, Greek theater, literature, and philosophy, the alphabet, and even the Minoans and the Mycenaeans! For Bonus Activities, they made ostraka, i.e. voting ballots, drama masks, and tasted some delectable Greek treats like dates, cheese, and wine sparkling grape juice! Also this time, due to time contraints caused by finals week, I implemented a new structure for the program, which the kids thought was easier to follow and more fun! We all had a great time and look forward to returning next year to discover the Mysteries of Ancient China!
View Greece pictures here. Also, you can click on the links to the left to see past Greece programs and others in the Ancient Civilizations series.
View Greece pictures here. Also, you can click on the links to the left to see past Greece programs and others in the Ancient Civilizations series.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt
On Wednesday, November 26, 2008, our little (and some not so little) archaeologists returned for the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt program just before going off to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had some new participants, which was wonderful. Izzy was kind enough to man the Guess This Entrail booth and kids had a fun time guessing what the actual materials were instead of guessing which entrail they were supposed to represent. Nevertheless, fun was had by all. They also made their own cartouches and pyramids all the while learning about various Egyptians topics from religion to warfare to Senet! Don't forget, you can play online Senet courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art right here.
To view pictures of this program, you can click on the tabblo below, or visit the Egypt link to the left to view even more!
To view pictures of this program, you can click on the tabblo below, or visit the Egypt link to the left to view even more!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Top Archaeological Discoveries of November
In the news Friday was an article about a spectacular discover of a bronze chariot found in a tomb from what used to be Thrace (now Bulgaria). It dates to the 2nd Century BCE. More can be found here.
And of course, who can ignore the new pyramid discovered in Egypt?! I will let everyone's favorite Egyptologist, Zahi Hawass, tell you all about it in this video. Yay Dr. Hawass! <3
In AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) news, we have:
A report on the restoration project of the Temple of Athena here.
And of course, who can ignore the new pyramid discovered in Egypt?! I will let everyone's favorite Egyptologist, Zahi Hawass, tell you all about it in this video. Yay Dr. Hawass! <3
In AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) news, we have:
A report on the restoration project of the Temple of Athena here.
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