Through Your Eyes
New York in the 1800s
Introduction || Task
|| Process || Conclusion
|| Evaluation
You are the curator of a new museum exhibit on the history of New York in the 1800s. That means you need to locate images for the exhibit that you think will best show visitors what life in New York was like during that time period.
In order to select images for the museum you need to determine what aspects of New York City life in the 1800s the exhibit should cover. You need to locate images that depict what you want the display to show and you need to write descriptions of the images you select so that visitors to the museum will know at what they are looking.
Please note, some of the materials linked in the process section of
this webquest are in .pdf. These documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
To download the free Acrobat Reader visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.
- You've decided the best place to locate images for the exhibit is
the New York Public Library's Picture Collection Online. Your first
step is to visit the site
to get an idea of the types of images available on the topic.
-
While at the site you determine that the best way to start locating
images is to browse through the folder titles and subjects in the
Browse section of the site. While browsing
through those sections you decide to take notes
(File in .pdf) on what's available on the topic.
-
After you finish browsing you know it's time to look over your notes
about the images you found and come up with a list of topics on New
York City life in the 1800s that you want the exhibit to cover. You
record the topics you are considering on the museum's Official
Exhibit Topic worksheet (File in .pdf). At the same time you also
decide to write down some thoughts about what you are going to look
for in the images you ultimately select for the exhibit. These you
also record on the Official Exhibit Topic worksheet.
-
Once you select the topics for the exhibit you are ready to go back
to The Picture Collection
Online Website. You again browse through the site but this time
you are collecting images for the exhibit in the My Gallery
section of the site. You'll then be able to print them out for use
when writing the image descriptions. Before you get started you decide
to read about how My Gallery
works in the Help section of the site.
-
As you browse through
the images on the site you refer to your Official Exhibit Topic worksheet
to make decisions about which images to include in the exhibit. When
you find an image that you would like to use you add it to your gallery.
-
When you've selected all of the images you visit your gallery and
print out the entire gallery so you can see the selections you have
made all together. You use the information from the site and your
thoughts about your reasons for including each image in the exhibit
to write the image descriptions. You use the museum's Official
Artwork Info. Worksheet (File in .pdf) to record the descriptions.
-
It's time to hang the exhibit. You are very excited about the images
you've discovered and think the exhibit is going to be a great success.
You know you've done a good job at selecting images for the exhibit.
Now it's time to wait and find out what the reviewers and visitors
think.
Although you thought the exhibit was good you never expected the kind
of response it's received after only the first week. Reviews in all
the major news outlets around the country are raving about what you've
put together. You are constantly getting phone calls and receiving e-mails
from people who want to find out where you located the images in the
exhibit. And, to top it off, some of the biggest museums in the country
are courting you for their staff. Congratulations!
The following questions give you the chance to evaluate what you learned about The Picture Collection as you worked on this webquest. (Please note: when
you submit the form below it will be sent to Picture Collection Online
staff. They will use the information you send to evaluate the success
of this webquest.)
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