| Magic and Technology in Early Modern Europe |
| Written version of Anthony Grafton's 2002 lecture titled, “Magic and Technology in Early Modern Europe.”.In his lively and entertaining presentation, Grafton showed how “the notion of a mathematical or artificial magic” rose from the ancient art of natural magic, embodied in such things as prayers and talismans, to the complex optical, hydraulic and mechanical devices that “not only rivaled, but actually outdid, the creative powers of nature itself.” The machines and automata that emulated nature and the movement of living beings were so astonishing at first that the engineers had to seek independent authoritative testimony that the devices were the product of engineering skill, not occult practices. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Viking Learning Center |
| Website featuring historical, cultural, and archaeological contexts for the Vikings. Includes bibliography, teaching guide, explanation of runes, description of a Viking board game, maps, and a glossary.
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| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Caliphs & Kings: Art and Influence of Islamic Spain |
| Online exhibit displaying the culture and artwork of Spain during the 8th to 15th centuries, when it was under Islamic control. Includes close-up views and detailed descriptions of selected objects . |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Czech Book Covers of the 1920s and 1930s |
| Online exhibit featuring Czechoslovakian book covers from the 1920s and 30s. During the period between the two World Wars, the Czechoslovak Republic was an important and prolific center for avant-garde book design. Includes information on the four artistic movements prominent in Czechoslovakian avant-garde book design: Poetism, Constructivism, Surrealism, and Socialist Realism. Includes selected biographies, a bibliography, and an image gallery searchable by movement, author, or date. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries |
| Online exhibit describing the age of discovery and highlighting Portuguese conquests and trade agreements on the Indian Ocean and in Africa, China, Japan, and Brazil. The Portuguese voyages of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries led to the first real interaction amongst the world’s peoples, creating an unprecedented interchange of knowledge, techniques, imagery, and ideas which inspired the creation of great works of art. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic |
| Online version of an exhibition commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the ship and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the zeppelin's fiery fall. Both luxury vessels carried mail. The stories of the disasters are illustrated with letters and postcards. Includes lesson ideas for teachers. |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Living in the Atlantic World 1450-1800 |
| Section of the online exhibit On the Water: Stories from Maritime America focused on the web of maritime connections between Western Europe, Western and Central Africa, and the Americas that made up the Atlantic world. Learn how Atlantic-based trade shaped modern world history and life in America. Topics covered are the tobacco and sugar trades, the Middle Passage and the transatlantic slave trade, and the piracy that plagued the Caribbean Sea and North American coast during this period. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| The Kristen Ollies Collection |
| Collection of stamps of Queen Elizabeth II. Started by third grader Kristen Ollies in 1999. Follows Queen Elizabeth's life through Ollies' collection. Intended to inspire others to begin stamp collecting. |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| The Queen's Own |
| Comprehensive collection of British stamps from Queen Elizabeth II's personal holdings. Includes information on postal reforms, selections from King George V's collection, and stamps for coronations. |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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