You know how much I love the bookmobile, right? Well, The Library of Congress has a bookmobile on steroids that is currently cruising the nation and stopping in towns and cities to let kids get up close and personal with history. The project is called the “Gateway to Knowledge” Travelling Exhibition and was built inside of a specially designed 18-wheel truck that is driven by docents Abigail Van Gelder and her husband, Josh. The truck is filled with facsimiles of treasures and artifacts for kids to check out during each stop. The project was launched in September 2010 and the truck is currently rumbling across the south and mid-west visiting 60 different sites to let lucky kids do some hands-on learning. When the LOC truck arrives in town, the sides expand to 3 times their normal size to make room for museum displays and computer banks. Then the doors open and the kids pour in! The project was designed as a creative way to bring the Library of Congress to rural areas of the country and let communities see the great bounty of knowledge in our largest public library (kind of like a huge Library of Congress public relations road trip).
Some of the cool objects (facsimiles of course) they packed up for the trip are the 1507 Waldseemuller Map, a 1455 Gutenberg Bible, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and Walt Whitman’s poem “Leaves of Grass”. Imagine all the lessons and investigations teachers could present to prepare their students with enough background knowledge to actually appreciate such coolness.
Since Wheatfield, NY isn’t on the “Gateway to Knowledge” route, I went to the website to check out the Maps and Mapmakers link under ‘educational resources’ and was incredibly impressed - this one link allows kids to investigate the layers of a historical map and then lets them create their own map based on what criteria is most important to them. At the end of the exploration there is a writing component that asks students to analyze the original map, compare it to their own map and draw some conclusions - outstanding!
The mission of the LOC is “to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions.” That seems to be exactly what they are doing - one parking lot at a time. You can ride along with the LOC on the “Gateway to Knowledge” blog!
Some of the cool objects (facsimiles of course) they packed up for the trip are the 1507 Waldseemuller Map, a 1455 Gutenberg Bible, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and Walt Whitman’s poem “Leaves of Grass”. Imagine all the lessons and investigations teachers could present to prepare their students with enough background knowledge to actually appreciate such coolness.
Since Wheatfield, NY isn’t on the “Gateway to Knowledge” route, I went to the website to check out the Maps and Mapmakers link under ‘educational resources’ and was incredibly impressed - this one link allows kids to investigate the layers of a historical map and then lets them create their own map based on what criteria is most important to them. At the end of the exploration there is a writing component that asks students to analyze the original map, compare it to their own map and draw some conclusions - outstanding!
The mission of the LOC is “to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions.” That seems to be exactly what they are doing - one parking lot at a time. You can ride along with the LOC on the “Gateway to Knowledge” blog!
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