Movement and Migration: the Gold Nugget that launched the Gold Rush
Activity 3: The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit
- Watch the introductory movie together as a class [http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/nugget], then discuss the information presented in the film about the California gold rush.
- Visit the Virtual Object section in the Introduction [http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/onyourown/nugget] Ask students to remember the importance of closely examining material culture objects when using them as historical evidence. Provide them with a few minutes to use the Quicktime Virtual Reality version of the gold nugget that started the California gold rush.
- Allow students to spend time examining the sources in the Explore section of the gold nugget Object Lesson[http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/explore/nugget]. Remind students that the Explore section contains primary and secondary sources, organized into three main categories:
- The Object category contains sources related to the gold nugget as a piece of material culture.
- The Object in History category contains sources related to the place of the gold nugget within the context of the California gold rush of 1848-49.
- The Object in the Museum category contains information related to how NMAH acquired and displayed the gold nugget that started the California gold rush.
- Remind students that the video clips of the curators discussing the objects constitute the secondary sources on the site. All other materials are primary sources.
- Remind students that each primary source is accompanied by supporting information that is essential to critical historical thinking. First, at the top of the source is an annotation that provides contextual information. Second, at the bottom of the source, is information about its author, title, and date. Instruct students to consider all of this information carefully as they work.
- Ask students to investigate the objects and documents related to gold nugget and the California gold rush.
- Instruct students to go to the activity section of the site and curate their own virtual exhibit based on the following statement.
The gold nugget is an excellent example of the layers of meaning an object can have. It captured the imagination of thousands of people from all over the world who risked everything for a chance to make a fortune during the California gold rush.
- Students should give their exhibit a title and should type a thesis statement into the exhibit description text box.
- Then, students should order the six items (1-6) they selected from the gold nugget materials and annotate each item, explaining how it supports their thesis. Students should also consider all of the additional contextual information that they may have at their disposal (class readings, lectures, etc.) when they write these annotations.
- When students have completed annotating their materials, they should click the "Submit your virtual exhibit" button. The system will create an exhibit with a unique URL. Students should use the form provided to e-mail the URL to you themselves and to their teacher. They may also want to bookmark the page in their browsers.
- Finally, students should present their virtual exhibits and discuss them with the class.
