History at Home
Shorter Projects
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Longer Projects
Iconic Buildings in Minecraft
Fire up Minecraft and create a version of an iconic Los Alamos building. Share your screenshot or video tour with us with the hashtag #LosAlamosHistory on Facebook and Instagram.
You might choose to build Fuller Lodge, originally built for the Los Alamos Ranch School in 1929. Or the Romero Cabin, where Victor and Refugio Romero and their family homesteaded at the beginning of the twentieth century. You could also create a newer Los Alamos building that’s important to you—maybe your school, or even Ashley Pond. It’s up to you to pick an iconic building from Los Alamos, past or present, and build it yourself! If you’d like to play in The Sims or another game that allows you to build your own building, go for it.
Here are some photos of a few historic buildings in Los Alamos:
Here are some examples of historical buildings recreated in Minecraft to get you started:
You might choose to build Fuller Lodge, originally built for the Los Alamos Ranch School in 1929. Or the Romero Cabin, where Victor and Refugio Romero and their family homesteaded at the beginning of the twentieth century. You could also create a newer Los Alamos building that’s important to you—maybe your school, or even Ashley Pond. It’s up to you to pick an iconic building from Los Alamos, past or present, and build it yourself! If you’d like to play in The Sims or another game that allows you to build your own building, go for it.
Here are some photos of a few historic buildings in Los Alamos:
- Architectural sketches of the Romero Cabin at the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/nm0153/
- Photos of the Tech Area from the Department of Energy: https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Resources/photo_gallery/tech_area_large.htm
- Photos of Fuller Lodge during the Manhattan Project from the Department of Energy: https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Resources/photo_gallery/fuller_lodge.htm
- Photos of the Big House during the Manhattan Project from the Department of Energy: https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Resources/photo_gallery/big_house.htm
Here are some examples of historical buildings recreated in Minecraft to get you started:
- Houses of Parliament by BlackDoorMovies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpXjtlUDVmQ
- Eiffel Tower by LanguageCraft and Maple: https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/paris---eiffel-tower/
- Fallingwater House by Lilnekochan: https://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/show-your-creation/screenshots/1591175-fallingwater-house-by-frank-lloyd-wright
Museum of My Los Alamos
What does Los Alamos mean to you? Create your own personal museum that shares your answer to that question. Create a virtual museum online (younger children might prefer to sketch out a museum on paper) and share your museum with us on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #LosAlamosHistory.
A great museum starts with an organizing question. Start your museum by thinking about what Los Alamos means to you. How would you share your answer with someone who you’ve never met and has never been to Los Alamos? What sorts of things are important to you about Los Alamos—History? Nature? People? Places? Decide on 3–5 major themes to illustrate your answer to the question. Consider creating your own questions to answer for each of your major themes. Then create your museum, sharing photographs, objects, videos, and stories.
There are many places to create a website for free online, including Google Sites, Weebly, and Wix. These sites will also share tutorials with you explaining how to create your site.
Here are some examples of online museum exhibits to get you started:
A great museum starts with an organizing question. Start your museum by thinking about what Los Alamos means to you. How would you share your answer with someone who you’ve never met and has never been to Los Alamos? What sorts of things are important to you about Los Alamos—History? Nature? People? Places? Decide on 3–5 major themes to illustrate your answer to the question. Consider creating your own questions to answer for each of your major themes. Then create your museum, sharing photographs, objects, videos, and stories.
There are many places to create a website for free online, including Google Sites, Weebly, and Wix. These sites will also share tutorials with you explaining how to create your site.
Here are some examples of online museum exhibits to get you started:
- National Gallery of Art, Fashioning a Nation: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/fashioning-a-nation/ggJCDunxd5wXLw?hl=en
- National Museum of American History, My Computing Device: https://americanhistory.si.edu/my-computing-device
- History Colorado, La Gente: Colorado’s Mexican History: http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/lagente/lagente_home.html
- Museum of Science, Da Vinci—The Genius: https://www.mos.org/leonardo/
Family History Interview
Be a historian for your own family history. Record an interview with someone in your family, maybe interviews with more than one family member, and use these interviews to create a documentary. Make sure you get permission from the people you interview before sharing the documentary with the hashtag #LosAlamosHistory on Facebook or Instagram.
What should your documentary be about? It’s up to you! You could collect favorite family stories or ask for stories you’ve never heard about childhood adventures. You might collect a snapshot of how different people in your family are reacting to the global events of today. Or ask an older family member what their life was like when they were your age and compare your experiences. You can record audio or video for the interview (a phone or computer can do this), and ask the person you're interviewing for permission to record your interview. Be sure to say the date and to introduce yourself and who you’re talking to at the beginning of the interview. Edit the audio or video if you want, you can even add family photos or music. Upload your finished documentary to YouTube, Soundcloud, Google, or another online sharing site.
Some tips for creating your family history interview:
What should your documentary be about? It’s up to you! You could collect favorite family stories or ask for stories you’ve never heard about childhood adventures. You might collect a snapshot of how different people in your family are reacting to the global events of today. Or ask an older family member what their life was like when they were your age and compare your experiences. You can record audio or video for the interview (a phone or computer can do this), and ask the person you're interviewing for permission to record your interview. Be sure to say the date and to introduce yourself and who you’re talking to at the beginning of the interview. Edit the audio or video if you want, you can even add family photos or music. Upload your finished documentary to YouTube, Soundcloud, Google, or another online sharing site.
Some tips for creating your family history interview:
- The Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage has an Oral History Interviewing Guide with example questions: https://folklife.si.edu/the-smithsonian-folklife-and-oral-history-interviewing-guide/smithsonian
- Family Tree magazine has guidelines for kids interviewing grandparents and family members: https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/now-what-interviewing-a-grandparent/
- Check out the Bobcast, the monthly podcast based on interviews that the students in the Barranca Elementary School podcast club create: https://samwaidler.wixsite.com/4th2019/barranca-news-monthly-podcast
Links to More Local Resources
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In creating History at Home, the Los Alamos Historical Society is supported by a generous grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Mexico Humanities Council.