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You are the curator! Building a Museum of the 1920s and 1930s: A History WebQuest Ashley Gibson and Joyce Valenza Introduction |The Scene | Task | Process | Evaluation | Previous Exhibits |Conclusion | Resources
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You are the curator! Building a Museum of the 1920s and 1930s: A History WebQuest Ashley Gibson and Joyce Valenza Introduction |The Scene | Task | Process | Evaluation | Previous Exhibits |Conclusion | Resources
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Images from the National Archives and Records Administration;Some are from the American Memory Collections: Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/coolhome.html, America From the Great Depression to World War II http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html, By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaposters/wpahome.html, and Chicago Daily News http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/ichihtml/cdnhome.html
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Charles Dickens
"We are the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile." Will Rogers
The twenties and thirties were a dynamic period of boom and bust. In the 1920s Americans were discovering a new consumer culture. Our country was enjoying unprecedented prosperity and economic growth. By the 1930s an overwhelming portion of our population learned about poverty in a very personal way. Over these years the elusive American Dream appeared almost within reach, vanished from the hands of many, and experienced a variety of reinterpretations.
As a museum curator you will give young people a feel for this turbulent period of American history!
Welcome young curators! Springfield Township is pleased to announce a new museum to open this year--where else, but in lovely downtown Erdenheim! You have the opportunity to create a Smithsonian-like exhibit focusing on your area of historical specialty--the 20s and 30s. Museum director Ashley Gibson is awfully fussy about historical accuracy and aesthetics. Your exhibit must authentically represent the period to museum visitors. Using artifacts, news stories, and images, it must creatively draw the attention of all museum-goers!
Your assignment is to:
- Create an authentic looking exhibit to share with our museum visitors. Each item in the display should be labeled
- Create a written script that will appropriately explain the importance of your exhibit and its relation to the American Dream
- Present your exhibit in class using the script you have created
- Make sure your exhibit offers the class an interactivity. Engage visitors in your presentation!
- Document your sources with a Works Cited page
Depression shanty by Carly M.
Margaret Sanger
Flapper display by Joyce S.
You may choose any of the following categories or invent one of your own (with permission):
Technology in the 20s
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Era of Suspicion
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Prohibition & Organized
Crime
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Women's Movement
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Politics of the 1920's
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Sports Celebrities and Heroes
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Harlem
Renaissance
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Entertainment
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Lost
Generation
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African-American
Independence
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Rural vs.
Urban Values
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Art and
Architecture
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The Stock
Market
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Depression
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New Deal
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The Exhibit:
Make sure your exhibit uses an authentic (of the period!) format (See above. For instance, Flapper model in Charleston dance pose.)
Please includes the following somewhere in your exhibit:
Be historically accurate, but feel free to embellish and to be creative!
The Script:
You will need to describe your exhibit to visitors. Please use the attached organizer for your script. You will be formally introducing your exhibit with the help of this organizer.
Summarize your theme in one paragraph
Explain the overall choice / media / container you have chosen for the display in another paragraph
Explain and justify the inclusion of ten of the artifacts you have included in another paragraph
Your script should answer the question: How did the culture or events I explored represent, dispel, or reinterpret the American Dream? in a concluding paragraph.
The Documentation:
Submit a Works Cited page as well as an organizer as part of the package. Use MLA Citation format
The Presentation:
During your presentation:
Databases:
Use our databases, including:
Remember, though the Web is a rich source of information on the twenties, we have a fine collection of books in the stacks and in the reference area. Please check the Patron Catalog!
netLibrary will take you to more than 50,000 ebooks!
Some useful links:
Remember: MLA Citation format
Print a copy of the rubrics for your exhibit, script and presentation
You have been engaged in exploring history through an artistic expression. History is our collective stories, our artifacts.
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