A Virtual Tour of Ellis Island
Have you ever wondered why there are so many different cultures in the United States? How did they get here? And, what did they encounter searching for that Great American Dream?
For over a century America has become what is known as a “melting pot.” The”melting pot” is a metaphor used to describe how immigrants who come to America eventually become assimilated into American culture, thus creating multiple cultures that have blended into one.
There are many reasons why people from all over the world came to America. Those reasons included religious and political oppression, war, work, school, and ultimately a search for a better life or what many called the American Dream.
In the late 1900s, immigrants began their journey to the New World via steamboats. Those steamboats would take them into New York Harbor where depending on their social class they would be able to begin their new lives in America or be ferried to Ellis Island. Immigrants who were taken to Ellis Island would have to undergo a very long process, sometimes lasting hours to see if they were healthy enough to pass inspection. If not, there was a chance they could be sent back to their country of origin. In fact, 2% of immigrants did not pass and were deported almost immediately on the same ships that they had come in on.
Thanks to modern technology we can learn so much more about the immigrants who first came to America including their journey to America and their experiences at Ellis Island through the virtual interactive tour. The virtual tour is almost as incredible as being there in person. The tour includes a summary of each process an immigrant had to go through at Ellis Island and included photos, videos, and commentary from actual immigrants from the 1920s. Listening to their stories, you are able to get a sense of what it was like on Ellis Island before it became a museum and landmark. You will also be able to find out why immigrants no longer pass through Ellis Island. To find out more check out the Virtual Field Trip.
Thanks for checking out my blog post!
Bayta Owens #GEN2108
Hyperdocs
The Hyperdoc I found was one that is a template for elementary school teachers. Since I want to be an elementary school teacher, I thought this was an interesting website because it has a whole bunch of Hyperdoc templates for teachers to use. The specific Hyperdoc that I clicked on was called places in my town, https://hyperdocs.co/document/show/1822. It helps students to put together words from a quizlet, a sentence, and a picture, all about a singular word. It is an interesting lesson for elementary children because it helps them with their vocabulary. I think Hyperdocs are an interesting way of teacher because instead of lecturing for an hour, it is more interactive and will keep students engaged. I think that students would also rather learn off of a Hyperdoc than having their teacher talk for so long because it gives them something to do. Overall, I think Hyperdocs are very beneficial to teachers and students because it keeps everyone more engaged and interested.
Julie Barron
Virtual Field Trips
This week in class we were given the opportunity to explore and pick a topic that we would find interest in to know more about. The one that stuck out the most to me was the Ellis Island Interactive Tour. This tour spoke on how there had been more than 12 million immigrants that made their first migration stop in America. It was recorded to happen between the years of 1892 and 1954 that mist people can trace back their family’s history back to Ellis Island. This interactive tour allows people to find out facts that happened back in this time period, as well as getting images from the history, personal stories from people, and the impact that Ellis Island had on American history.
Thanks for Reading ! 🙂
The 9/11 Tribute Center
The 9/11 incident was an important day in US history and I personally have visited the Tribute Center. They have improved it over the years and have implemented a video conference tour. When you go there you can see monumental items and pieces of history. The tour guides will also tell you about the history of the tragic incident. The 9/11 Tribute Center is a great place to visit to learn and experience more about the 9/11 incident.
Virtual Field Trip
For my virtual field trip I chose to view the National Museum of Natural History exhibits. These exhibits were based on animals and it contained many cool facts and the history of species. The first exhibit I viewed was about Henry a large African Elephant. Henry weighed in at somewhere around elevon tons and stood thirteen foot tall.
The live tour link is here: Tour
Along with this amazing elephant they were lots of cool other exhibits like insects including live tarantulas, butterfly’s, dinosaur bone structures and plenty more. I love reptiles because they are the closest thing to dinosaurs and seeing these massive creatures stand tall is interesting and it would be so amazing to see them when they were alive. The two creatures that really caught my attention were the Brontosaurus and the predator x. The Brontosaurus was the herbivore dinosaur that was extremely large and had very long necks in which they used to eat the leaves off of tall trees. Predator x is my favorite dinosaur ever. This creature was fifty feet long and kind of looks like the lochness monster. They have very long necks and were the kings of the ocean along with the Megalodons.
This tour was amazing to see and after virtually walking through the museum I can say that I would really like to see it one day. The one floor alone has different sections in which were the fossils/dinosaurs, mammals from around the world, human origins, a fossils lab, and an amazing section on ocean creatures.
Chichén Itzá
It can be difficult to travel internationally, particularly in a world still dealing with a pandemic. However, through Virtual Field Trips we are able to experience the world in new ways.
Chichén Itzá has an interesting history and was inhabited by multiple civilizations over the past 3000 years. There have been settlements that were mysteriously abandoned and we are still learning new information about these people and their lives.
In addition to the ancient buildings, there are also amazing natural features. There are massive rainforests surrounding the site. There are also interesting sinkhole features called “cenotes.” These cenotes were created by collapsing caves but created access to water for drinking and agricultures. One large sinkhole, named the “Sacred Cenote,” was used as a ceremonial location in among indigenous cultures.
All in all, it was interesting to take a trip without going anywhere. Virtual Field trips allow us to experience the world in a new and interesting way.
Thanks for reading! If you like what you read (or don’t like what you read) let me know! @PatrickWCrowell
A Trip to the Smithsonian
For my virtual field trip, I decided to look at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I had gone to the museum during my 8th grade field trip to Washington DC, but didn’t remember much about it. Immediately I was drawn to a temporary exhibit called Critical Distance. It takes its visitors through a holographic pod of orcas to see the challenges these endangered whales face.
I also then looked at the Ancient Egypt exhibit. Growing up, I loved learning about ancient Egypt and vaugely remember loving experiencing that exhibit during my first experience at the Smithsonian.
I then came across a newly added “Mega-toothed shark” which was hung on display in 2019. This shark, commonly known as the Megalodon hangs in the dining area of the museum. The picture on the website is amazing, and I would love to see it in person!
The final exhibit I was drawn to was the Sant Ocean Hall. The website shows a massive preserved squid, as well as a jaw of the megalodon. I have also always been interested in marine life and love the ocean! Seeing all of these exhibits in real time is a thrilling experience.
Check out the rest of the exhibits at this link! https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits
Thanks for reading!
Ellis Island
The virtual tour I chose to take was of the historical Ellis Island where more than 12 million people made their first steps into America between 1892 and 1954. At first, I considered switching to another tour since Ellis Island is something that I have learned about before. In starting the tour though, I realized what a different perspective I was learning about it from. This tour takes you step by step through the arrival process of an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island, starting at the boat and ending at the “Kissing Post” where family and friends waited for their loved ones. In between these immigrants went through an extensive process, doctors would board their ship and do an initial health inspection to look for any signs of disease. Sometimes this process took days. After they entered Ellis Island and registered, they had to go through legal inspections which consisted of 29 questions they would ask each person. If their answers differed from the answers they originally provided they could be detained. Next, they went through a medical exam, again, if they failed, they could be detained. Legal detainees would have their cases go to trial anywhere from a few days to a month. Medical detainees would be treated at the island’s hospital or kept in quarantine for days to months. Their medical records would then be reviewed by a Board of Special Injuries and the board would determine whether they would be allowed into the US or sent back to their home country. Taking this virtual tour through the immigration steps helped me to learn much more about what many of our family members and ancestors went through to become American citizens.
Take take the tour yourself, click this Link.
Virtual field trip under the sea!
by Shelby Garrison, Garris37
I took a virtual trip under the sea! I saw pictures and videos of coral reefs fish and tons of beautiful parts of sea life! These pictures and videos were under a marina! There were so many coral reefs, of all different shapes and sizes! Tons of unique and colorful fish as well! This trip just makes me want to go scuba diving or snorkeling. I don’t think the pictures do these parts of our world justice. This site had hundreds upon hundreds of photos of our beautiful sea.
Blog post 7
Francesca Stahl
The Virtual field trip that i decided to take was the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo Japan. This interested me because I want to travel in the future and often ponder what other places far from the USA look like in a daily setting to compare and contrast. After taking this virtual field trip I noticed this crossing and landscape is very similar to Times Square in New York City. I say this because there are lots of people crossing streets, lots of people commuting, And the laughter of those taking in the views or conversing. The one thing that I did find interesting was, there were not a lot of cars and those that did cross paths were not the newest or best looking. The cabs were all black or green that must have been over 20 years old. The regular people were driving more compact older SUVs or small cars. The laughter and commentary reminded me a lot of home. The buildings had similar infrastructure and designs to them. Lots of Billboards with moving pictures & background music or wording. In my eyes, there was so much to take in along with similarities & most definitely differences. It was a really cool and interesting virtual experience. I think that one item I can take away from this is even though people and culture are different, a lot of the roots & fundamentals of life are similar in the simplest of ways.
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