Format
1. Students will learn why spices, silk, and other products were important enough to make explorers begin to search for new routes to Asia.
2. They will learn about the impact of Christopher Columbus's voyages, including new products introduced to the Old World that only grew in America.
3. They will learn about the lives of the explorers and sailors who went on these voyages of exploration, including the tools they used to navigate the seas. They will be able to see how some of these navigation tools worked.
*This entire program will be a very interactive conversation with a Museum Educator, who will ask questions and offer the students the opportunity to do the same.
Objectives
1. Students will be able to explain at least two economic goals of European exploration and colonization by examining spices traded around the world during the 1500s.
2. Students will be able to describe at least two technological advancements that influenced European exploration in the 1500s by examining artifacts in the museum collection.
3. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by synthesizing at least two examples of European motivations for exploration and colonization from artifacts, maps, and images in the museum collection.
Standards Alignment
State Standards
History and Social Science SOLs (VDOE 2023):
WHII.ab, WHII.1c, WHII.3abc
USI3ab