It was approximately 40,000 years ago that mankind first donned a pair of shoes. During humanityåÕs long history of footwear, and an equally broad array of styles, the basic fundamentals of Western shoemaking remained mostly unchanged until the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1800s, the small state of Massachusetts revolutionized the shoemaking industry, cladding the feet of consumers nationwide in unprecedented numbers. One of AmericaåÕs original colonies, Massachusetts found itself at the heart of the nationåÕs shoemaking industry by attracting and retaining skilled shoemakers and shoe machinery engineers. Only when the technology that Massachusetts' shoemakers invented became available beyond the state did the industryåÕs market expand throughout the country. Even with the spread of industrialization, Massachusetts remained the largest producer of shoes in the United States through World War I, responsible for nearly forty percent of AmericaåÕs shoes and home to an equal percentage of its shoemakers. This exhibition was created as part of the DPLAåÕs Public Library Partnerships Project by collaborators from Digital Commonwealth. Exhibition organizer: Anna Fahey-Flynn.

Who's the REAL meat eater here? Let's do some math and find out!

Students practice skills of addition, subtraction, word problems and graphing and develop their own theories about why meat consumption is so different across the world.

Learn the names of bike parts in this book. Includes audio narration in seven additional languages with text in English.

Explore careers in biological science. This site is run by Howard Hughes Medical Institute and includes many types of virtual laboratories, animations, virtual exhibits, and interactive activities.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists discuss their attempts to grow human body parts in a jar.

This ZOOM video segment shows how to create a self-contained environment and explores evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

This lesson plan incorporates many subjects! Students create a flow chart after studying the "Evolution," of computers. Also provides adaptations and references to use. (To access this lesson plan, you must register with Crayola.com. Registration is free and takes only a few moments to complete.)

In this video adapted from NASA, two members of a NASA research team working to produce carbon nanotubes share some background behind this new technology, show examples of how it will be useful, and explain the various tests being performed to ensure readiness for spaceflight.

Lesson 4 is a step-by-step guide for the classroom which focuses on exploring and acknowledging the presence of Black people in the future and in space-related fields. It starts with students reading and discussing an interview with Samuel R. Delany. Then, students view a Black Futures artwork and information about Black astronauts, reflecting on the implications and spaces where they would like to see Black people fully represented. The lesson concludes with a design challenge task to make the best spaceship, either out of origami or recyclable trash. There is a recommended work time of 20+ minutes for building the spaceships, and students can submit their work for publishing on Instagram or email. The lesson is part of the #Kinfolk and #BlackFutures campaigns.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Augmented Reality, Internet Connectivity, Laptop/Desktop, Smartphone, Tablet, Tablet or Smartphone.

Students are introduced to the circulatory system, the heart, and blood flow in the human body. Through guided pre-reading, during-reading and post-reading activities, students learn about the circulatory system's parts, functions and disorders, as well as engineering medical solutions. By cultivating literacy practices as presented in this lesson, students can improve their scientific and technological literacy.

In this video, Paul Andersen explains how society influences the natural world through increasing science, engineering, and technology. As the world population increases, it will require more natural resources and it will impact the global conditions. Society can control some of these changes through regulations. A K-12 teaching progression is also included. [5:22]

Find out how serious head concussions can be in this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW.

In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, use your knowledge of bridge design to match the right bridge to the right location in a fictitious city.

Bridges come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and lengths and are found all over the world. It is important that bridges are strong so they are safe to cross. Design and build a your own model bridge. Test your bridge for strength using a force sensor that measures how hard you pull on your bridge. By observing a graph of the force, determine the amount of force needed to make your bridge collapse.

This activity s a student project to construct and test the load bearing capacity of a scale model bridge from toothpicks.

Contains plans for five lessons that ask students to create PowerPoint presentations about shared experiences like field trips or other activities. Students take pictures of what happen, and then explain the sequence of events in words and images. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as assessment and reflection activities.

Construct and measure the energy efficiency and solar heat gain of a cardboard model house. Use a light bulb heater to imitate a real furnace and a temperature sensor to monitor and regulate the internal temperature of the house. Use a bright bulb in a gooseneck lamp to model sunlight at different times of the year, and test the effectiveness of windows for passive solar heating.

A bungee jump involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. Design a bungee jump that is "safe" for a hard-boiled egg. Create a safety egg harness and connect it to a rubber band, which is your the "bungee cord." Finally, attach your bungee cord to a force sensor to measures the forces that push or pull your egg.