What words best describe Halloween? Spooky? Scary? Terrifying? Like many of us, you probably like to be scared. Well, this Halloween we’re giving you the chance to really strut your creative stuff. You get to write your own tale of terror. But we at AntiquityNOW are giving you a challenge. We’re providing you the beginnings and endings of stories, which means you pick one beginning and one ending to bookend your story. And—drum roll—you must include an element of ancient history in your story. Just look around at today’s books and movies. How many have to do with time travel to an ancient place, an artifact that has magical powers or a mystery that had its origins in Ancient Egypt or Rome or Mesopotamia? The distant past is filled with possibilities for storytelling. Continue reading
Tag Archives: education
Tomorrow’s Children: Reminder for Call for Entries for 2016 LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video
The lurid headlines grab our attention. Another brutal civil war. A wave of sickness claiming a country’s most vulnerable. Corrupt governments siphoning off a nation’s wealth and relegating its people to poverty and ignorance. Generations of tomorrow’s children doomed before they are born.
It sometimes seems so hopeless to think that anything can salvage humanity when for thousands of years we’ve done our best to destroy ourselves and the planet that we claim as home. But human beings are tenacious, and hope continues to weave its tendrils into our efforts, no matter how daunting the circumstance. This is why AntiquityNOW launched LegacyQuest. It is our own small way of seeking a better future by understanding and preserving the past. A past that through its archaeological and historical evidence both condemns and exalts the human condition. A past from which we can learn the foibles and frailties of human endeavor and always hope for a better, more harmonious, tolerant and free world. We dedicate LegacyQuest to that aspiration by giving young people a new way of looking at the world around them. And in that new vision, we at AntiquityNOW hope to inspire future generations to realize we are what our ancestors wrought, and that what we do today influences all the tomorrow to come.
Click here for more information about LegacyQuest or visit our LegacyQuest web page.
Posted in Culture, Education, Kids: Culture, Kids: Public Life, LegacyQuest, Public Life
Tagged AntiquityNOW, cultural preservation, education, film competition, film festival, global understanding, heritage preservation, history competition, LegacyQuest, middle school social studies, social studies competition, social studies education
In Praise of Teachers—4,000 Years of Preparing the Next Generation
UPDATE! This post was originally published on May 7, 2013. As long as humans have existed, people have learned from one another. It’s in our DNA. This is the genetic matrix upon which great civilizations evolved and centers of knowledge arose. For those who become the teachers, they take on the mantle of an ancient and noble art. AntiquityNOW is an enthusiastic supporter of teachers and their contributions through the often tumultuous but ever intriguing course of history. In that spirit we will be announcing on Tuesday, October 14 a very special resource tool specifically designed for teachers that can help them demonstrate to their students how the ancient past is not as distant as they may think. Stay tuned!
For more about inspiring and influential educators throughout history, check out our slideshow celebrating World Teachers’ Day 2013.
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Who was your favorite teacher or professor? Can you still remember his or her lectures, an activity you did in class, a lesson that changed the way you think about the world? Great teachers make an indelible mark on their students and are often remembered long after those students leave the classroom. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day, we take a look back at some of antiquity’s greatest educators and how we continue to use their teachings and methods today. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Education, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Buddha, Confucius, education, Jesus, Socrates, Teacher Appreciation, teaching
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Competition on the Ancient Roman Runway
This week we’re bringing you another fantastic LegacyQuest Honorable Mention film entry from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania. It’s a high stakes competition show that would fit perfectly on any modern network. Based on the popular Project Runway and Who Wore It Best, this video keeps you on the edge of your seat as ancient fashion is compared to modern stylings. This film was created by middle school students Jada, Erica, Campbell, Talia and Sammy under the guidance of their teacher, Preston Bannard. Continue reading
Graffiti From Ancient to Modern Times: Memorialization, Human Expression and the Art That Will Not Die
Credit: Lincolnshire Medieval Graffiti Project
Graffiti has been around since time immemorial. From ancient caves to carved mountainsides to splendiferous murals, pictures have been splashed and carved on walls and surfaces throughout time and across cultures. Self-expression, political agitation, vendettas, advertisements—all reasons for some to bring out the paint and depict what moves them most. There is something inherently primal in the need to memorialize one’s self and time. Indeed, graffiti’s immediacy and rawness of expression can astonish, whether found deep in the caves of Lascaux or in the modern day artistic gyrations of the anonymous British artist Banksy. Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Origins, Art, Blog, Communications, Culture, Public Life
Tagged ancient graffiti, ancient history, Ancient Origins, AntiquityNOW, education, Lincolnshire, medieval graffiti
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! World News Live: Roman Architecture Edition
The student filmmakers in the next video in our Exploring LegacyQuest 2014 series received an Honorable Mention for their fantastic work. This entry from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania illuminates Roman architecture and its connection to modern architecture. It was created by middle school students Veda, Hope, Risa, Emily and Abby with the help of their teacher, Jeannette Keshishian. Continue reading
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Greek Storytelling: A Modern Twist on Persephone
In week three of our Exploring LegacyQuest 2014 series we’re featuring the festival’s third place winner. This entry from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania takes a fun and original approach to uncovering the ancient Greek practice of storytelling. It was created by middle school students Allison, Saachi, Jattu, Emma and Ivonna with the help of their teacher, Jeannette Keshishian. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culture, Education, LegacyQuest, Literature, Public Life
Tagged Ancient Greece, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, education, film festival, LegacyQuest, Persephone, storytelling
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Fashion: A Makeover Show
The second video we’re featuring in our Exploring LegacyQuest 2014 series is the second place winner of the festival. All about fashion in the ancient world, this entry hails from The Baldwin School in Pennsylvania. It was created by middle school students Meghan, Julia, Amanda, Frances, Grace and Sasha with the guiding hand of their teacher, Jeannette Keshishian. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culture, Education
Tagged ancient fashion, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, cultural heritage, education, film festival, Greek mythology, LegacyQuest
Exploring LegacyQuest 2014! Social Media: Dreaming Through the Ages
Over the next several weeks we’re going to be featuring each of the 2014 LegacyQuest video entries in a blog post exploring the video and its creators. We are so proud of the students and teachers who took part in this year’s inaugural festival and we want to share their work with the world. Continue reading
Announcing the Winners of the Inaugural LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video Festival
AntiquityNOW and Archaeology Legacy Institute are proud to announce the winners of the 2014 LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video Festival. This was LegacyQuest’s inaugural year and we were delighted with the high quality of the entries and all the hard work of the students and teachers who participated. We were selective as to the criteria for the competition, wanting children to have as professional an experience as possible. The entrants certainly lived up to the high standards that were set for them. We look forward to many more successful festivals in the future!
The winners were announced at The Archaeology Channel (TAC) International Film and Video Festival in Eugene Oregon on May 11, 2014. TAC is a program of Archaeological Legacy Institute.
It’s not too soon to think about next year’s LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video Festival. Click here for details on the 2015 competition.
And the winners are…
First Prize
Social Media: Dreaming Through the Ages
Morganton Day School, Morganton, NC.
Second Prize
Fashion 2
Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Third Prize
Storytelling 2
Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Honorable Mentions
(in alphabetical order by title and school)
Architecture 1. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Architecture 2. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Architecture 3. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Fashion 1. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Fashion 3. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Sports 1. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Storytelling 3. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Dancing Through the Ages. Morganton Day School, Morganton, NC.
AntiquityNOW 