Retirement

Not sure where all the time has gone. School year started with me still teaching my online US History class. We met family for a week at Yellowstone National Park in early September and now late September has our kitchen torn up waiting for sub-contractors so I begin the finishing process.

This was our fourth trip to Yellowstone, first time after school year has begun and the park always amazes me. There is so much to study and education examples abound. Questions of the how, when, and why, nature kept running through my mind. I understand the science behind the "millions of years" for some of the canyons to form and then you read about the floods in Colorado, which occurred just as we were leaving YNP, and you wonder if really understand geologic time. Seems a flood can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

To Start a Business

 August 15 meant a trip to Midwest Distribution (United Methodist relief organization) where several of us spent the day working. Those of us who were assembling school desks noticed that there were a large number of old sewing machines. This took me back to my early years where I would sit and on the floor at my grandmother's house and push that floor pedal up and down to watch the needle work. No electricity needed.

Why does the United Methodist Church collect, literally, dozens of these machines and get them working in perfect order? I have made five mission trips to the Amazon region and was still puzzled by the 21st century need for these types of sewing machines.

Two gentlemen rework these machines by cleaning, oiling, and fine tuning the gears. They are then "shrink wrapped," placed on palates and shipped to regions around the world where there is no electricity but cottage businesses can thrive with this advancement over hand sewing. Wow, I am so bombarded every day with 21st century technology that I forget there is a significant segment of the world that still goes without electricity.

What if more of us sacrificed a few "things" and started giving money to organizations that are producing small solar panels for use in these areas of the world where consistent electric supply is still years away. My challenge today (STEM) for teachers is to have their classes work on solar and wind power generators that are small and easily assembled. They must be able to withstand harsh climates, be easy to set up and take down. The footprint must be minimal.

I know these types of products are being created but our students might come up with a simple product, lighter, stronger, more efficient means of bringing electricity to the less fortunate of the world.

To Design a Plow in the 19th Century

 Returning to my travels to Grand Detour and the John Deere home. Illinois contained vast amounts of prairie and farmers found that centuries of growth was hard to turn so the soil could be planted. The image to the right is of the iron plow typically used by farmers. They could plow for about ten feet in the thick grassy soil of Illinois before the dirt had to be scraped away. Think about that, ten feet, scrape, plow ten feet, scrape. Think about the difficulty for the animal(s) pulling the plow.

The image to the right is what John Deere designed using steel. What do you notice about the iron plow and steel plow? Anything in the angles used, the more highly polished finish of one versus the other?

The image to the left is looking straight on at the John Deere plow. Deere had no way to make the steel, where did it come from? What advantages does steel have over iron? Why? What is the importance of polishing in the process? Can you approximate the angle of the blade? What if it were greater? Less? Concave versus convex face? How much less power did the animal have to exert to pull the steel plow? How much more land could be plowed in a day? What would this do to food production? Population growth? Price of food produced? What other technologies would this development inspire? How would this development aid in farming the later settled territories of North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas?

Image to the left is a side view of a later steel plow, notice the wrap around effect that has been added. Why?

To Quill or not to Quill

Visited the Arts in the Park this afternoon in Washington, IL and it was truly amazing. The creativity NCLB is attempting to kill was in full bloom among a vast array of artists. One booth in particular caught my eye and I was so caught up in the skill that rather than post all my questions I am simply going to include the link to The Quirky Quiller site and encourage everyone to visit. This is Science-Technology-Engineering-ART-Mathematics and this person should be guest speaking in the local school (Rochester, IL you are missing the boat!).

Please take time to visit the site, click on the history link if, like me, you have no idea what Quilling might be.

http://www.thequirkyquiller.com/index.html

To be an artist

 Personal home repairs have kept me away for a few days but I wish to return to a previous topic........the blacksmith. My wife and I visited the John Deere home in Grand Detour, IL and the images on the left are of the final blacksmith product. The "leaf" was originally a 3/8" x 3/8" piece of steel.  Questions about the product:

• What is the best working temperature of the coal used by a blacksmith?
• Repeat question, What is coke?

• Why don't blacksmiths use charcoal?
• How long did it take to produce the leaf? (answer, less than 15 minutes)
• What produced the gold hue in the finish?
• At what temperature was that golden hue applied?
• The leaf is considered "sealed" for outdoor use, what does that mean?
• What product sealed the leaf?

• Is this helping you think of a blacksmith in totally different terms than you previously did?
• There were no drawings, does this mean it's art?
• The leaf is three dimensional, what does that mean?
• How do you think the blacksmith views the process in his/her mind? 

• Why might this type of skill be valuable in the 21st century?
• Why might other 19th century skills be valuable today?
• How do the bellows that a blacksmith uses to stoke the fire work?
• What is the danger of the bellows?

To Build a Church

St. Peter's Church, Grand Detour, IL. Don't miss this stop if you are visiting the John Deere home. My questions today are rambling and hopefully will interest people of a wide variety of backgrounds.

Church questions:
1. What is the history of the Episcopal church in the U.S.?
2. What is their background? (from what group did they come from)
3. Do they have any unique differences from their Catholic brethren?

4. What is a diocese?
5. Where did the word come from?

Geology questions:
1. What is limestone?
2. How is it formed?
3. Where are the largest deposits?
4. How hard is it compared with granite or other rock?

5. How is it mined?
6. What is it's value? (is it expensive)
7. How easily is it shaped?

Construction questions:
1. How thick is the foundation?
2. How deep in the ground (assume there is a basement)? This would mean, how deep below the floor level of the basement would the foundation have to be?
3. How was mortar made in 1849? Where did the materials come from?
4. How were the archways formed?
5. Why do the windows have a pointed peak instead of a rounded peak?
6. How was the church heated?
7. How was glass made in 1849?
8. The interior has plaster walls, was the interior framed after the exterior stone was laid?
9. How long did a stone mason apprentice in 1849? What were the most common tools of the trade? Did John Deere make any of them?

To Build a Wagon

 Sommer Park, Peoria, IL. Wonderful example of the type of cart pulled by many Mormons on their journey west. Others used this type of cart but it was not as common. The balance is amazing and without a load it is easy to pull. That being said, I was struck by the number of questions that entered my mind while examining this mid-nineteenth century means of transporting goods.

First, the cart:

1. What was the best type of wood?
2. What kind of saw was used to cut the various sizes used? 
3. How long did it take to dry the wood? Air dried or had kiln drying become common?
4. How heavy could the load be and still have a single man handle it?
5. How easily could a harness be attached and an animal used? Was this impossible?
6. Pegs or hand made nails? Glue? If so, what type would hold up to the elements?
7. How much did this cart cost if you bought it new in 1850?

The wheel:

1. Again, what is the best wood? Oak, maple, pine, hickory?
2. How did the builder decide the number and size of he spokes?
3. Would thicker spokes and fewer be a better wheel? What would thicker do the width of the wheel? Did the width of the wheel make it easier or harder to pull? If the cart, fully loaded, weighed in at 500 pounds how much force would it take for a 165 pound man to pull it on the level prairie? Don't get me started on the amount of force needed to pull it up the hills, across the streams, rivers, and through the mud after a rain.
4. How often did the hub have to be greased? What was the grease made from in 1850? How much did the grease impact the energy needed to pull the cart?
5. What held the spokes in place? How long did a wheel last on the trip west? How thick was the axle?
6. What tools helped shape the spokes? Were they turned on a lathe? Start thinking about the ways to power a lathe in 1850?
7. What finish was applied to the wood? How often did it need reapplied?
8. How thick was the metal rim put over the wood and how long did that last?
9. What are the angle sizes created by the spoke? If the wheel has a diameter of 4' can you figure out the specific size of each angle?
10. Why didn't they attach one of the old Roman measurement tools to the wagon so it would drop a little rock every mile? How would that be done?

The people:

1. How many calories per day would a person burn pulling this cart fully loaded on the way west?
2. How much would it help the person pulling the cart to add a leather "harness" over their shoulders to help distribute the weight?
3. How many miles per day could a person travel? How long would it take to travel from Nauvoo, IL to Utah, pulling one of these?

Another combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics.

To be a Blacksmith in the 1850s

 Spent time at Sommer Park in Peoria, IL this afternoon examining Illinois rural life as lived in the 1850s. I was intrigued by the blacksmith and his skill with metal. Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, AND Art can all be taught through watching a blacksmith work. Questions pour from your mind as you stand and admire the skills possessed by this individual........working from no drawn plans.

1. What are you burning? 
2. How do you start the fire?
3. How is the bellows piped to increase the heat?
4. How long is the metal, once red hot, workable?
5. What is the name of the stone platform that holds the fire?
6. Upon what do you hammer the heated metal?
7. When were these first made and how?
8. Where were the first blacksmith's?
9. How do you weld metal?
10. How do you know when its heated enough to work?
11. How do you visualize the finished product?
12. What if you make a mistake?
13. Where did you learn about what metals are best for what products?
14. Where did you learn what metals are easiest to work with and provide greatest strength?
15. How long did you apprentice to learn the trade?

To Build a Home

We have been blessed to travel this country and as history teachers our travels always mean stops at historic sites that lead to hours of discussion about how to use the information in lessons. Non-educators are probably surprised to find out that a "summer off" was never really a part of our life. Summer was the opportunity to research (all on our dime) and find materials that might be used to engage students in the coming school year. 

The three photos above from three different locations show totally different construction techniques. Yes, the bottom one has been restored but it was still constructed differently than the upper two images. Why? If you enjoy thinking about where our ancestors lived, what did the land look like and how did they get there this post is for you.

The top picture is from the plains region, note the use of sod/mud bricks.

1. Why?
2. What was the climate? Terrain? What drew people to the plains region of North America? Were they misled? Lied to? Would you have gone?
3. How were the walls constructed? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this style? What was the interior floor made from?
4. How many people could live in this house?

The middle picture is another high plains home but built later when lumber was more readily available.

1. Why would you settle here? What strengths of character must you possess to live here? What might a female think of living here?
2. What might this family have done for a living?
3. Why isn't anyone still living here?
4. What kind of climate might they have experienced? What kind of food could they have raised or grown?
5. What domesticated animals would do well here? What wild animals do well?

The lower photo is from Minnesota.

1. What type of climate? Extremes of temperature?
2. How were the logs made?
3. Why aren't they nice and straight and laid one on top of the other?
4. What kind of wood might they have used? How were the logs held in place?
5. How were the shake shingles for the roof made? Type of wood?

What kind of tools were used to build homes in the mid to late 19th century? What was used for insulation? What about windows? Did everyone have access to glass? If not, what else works as a window covering that would allow light in and keep bugs out? Where did nails come from for homes (when needed)?

Would you be willing to spend 3 months fixing up and living in a similar house in a similar location? What would be the most difficult part?

To Build a Thai Pavilion

Olbrich's Botanical Garden in Madison, WI is the location of this Thai Pavilion. Please click on my information images  to gain some background. No questions from me, yet. Soak in the images and come up with your own list. My apologies for the image quality, we arrived toward mid-day after getting lost on the Madison Bicycle Path several times. The temperature moved into the 90's so I have a haze.

1. 

To Plow the Prairie

Returning from a short trip we made a stop at this site and it is this theme that I want to explore today. Illinois is known for its prairie history and my first two photos provide some information to read and a visual to give the reader an idea of how the prairie originally looked. To compare, my wife is 5' 1" so you now have a reference point from which to think about travel through that original prairie grass.

Farmers who moved to Illinois and saw this prairie were disappointed. A place that couldn't support trees everywhere could never support farming. How many times are our assumptions wrong? Some questions for research:

• Where was John Deere born? When?
• Describe the geography of area where he was born?
• How is iron made? What was the problem with iron plows?
• How is steel made? When was it first made in the U.S. and by whom?
• What advantage did steel have over iron? How did Deere recognize this advantage?
• Where, in Illinois, were the above pictures taken? Describe the geography of this area?
• What differences do you notice in the geographic descriptions of the two areas? Similarities?
• What did John Deere do with his new invention? What business plan did he follow?
• Who worked with Deere the most?
• Where did Deere eventually move? Besides the namesake corporation what other evidence of Deere exists in that community?
• Back to the plow, how many acres per day could be plowed with an iron plow? What about the new steel plow?
• How did you sharpen an iron plow? Steel? How often did this need to happen?
• In 1837 a plow normally had how many "bottoms?" 
• What was done to prepare the prairie for plowing? 
• What other products did Deere and his company eventually develop and market?
• Today, how many employees does the namesake company have and where are they located?

To Create A Tool From Stone

Take some time to study the 3 images taken of the same stone tool. The owner says it has been dated back several thousand years and as I held the tool I could see where it was used as a grinder and as a hammer. Early technology, a small step toward more complicated tools developed by those who walked this earth before any of us.

The five small cones are a whole different matter. How could these have been used? Why were they used? Did all tribes use some form of these or only particular tribes? 

Finally, a pile of rock. How would you begin to make a tool from the larger chunk. Post a comment.