Monday, August 29, 2011

Virginia Convention of 1861

Virginia Convention of 1861
http://collections.richmond.edu/secession/

On a fateful day in February 1861, delegates from all of Virginia's counties met to decide how the state would respond to a number of recent events, including Abraham Lincoln's election and South Carolina's secession. Ultimately, they voted to remain in the Union, as there was still hope at that moment that a compromise would be forthcoming. Two months later all of this changed, as the same delegates moved to secede from the United States. This remarkable website from the University of Richmond contains the fully transcribed text of these debates, along with interactive maps, information about the delegates, and a brief primer on the convention. Visitors can use the tools on the right-hand side of the homepage to get started, or they can also use the "Suggested Searches" area to search for words like "war" and "slave". Also, visitors should not miss the "Data Visualizations", which include a timeline and a graphic representation of the votes for secession by county. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The Physics Professor's Ultimate Resources

The Physics Professor's Ultimate Resources
http://www.collegeonline.org/library/articles/physics-professor-resources/

Created by the CollegeOnline organization, this website corrals a number of websites together from institutions like the University of California - Irvine, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Utah. First-time visitors can scan through seven different subsections, such as "Geometry/Trigonometry", "Tools", and "Optics". A good place to start is with the "Virtual Labs", as they offer a mélange of websites from physics labs around the country, complete with research summaries, interactive web activities, and so on. Moving on, the "Optics" area provides a fine explanation of visual illusions, Newton's color wheel, and a place where visitors can build their own rainbow. Finally, the site is rounded out by a nice "Miscellaneous" section that offers sine wave demonstrations, lunar phase illustrations, and a space time lab game. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Monday, August 22, 2011

Driven: True Stories of Inspiration

Driven: True Stories of Inspiration
http://www.exploratorium.edu/tv/index.php?project=99

With a rotating series of quotes from Jack Kerouac, Victor Hugo, and Khalil Gibran, the homepage for "Driven: True Stories of Inspiration" is quite visually enticing. Created by the Exploratorium in San Francisco, this website provides interviews and conversations with creative types from all over. These vignettes seek to answer and explore questions like "How are creative investigations sparked?" and "What does a state of inspiration feel like?" Included here are profiles of San Francisco-based musician Thao Nguyen and Gerd Mairandres, who works as the head of the wig and make-up department at the San Francisco Opera. Most of the profiles are about five minutes long, and visitors can click on the "Upcoming" tab to learn about those that will be released onto the website shortly. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Witness to the Early American Experience


Witness to the Early American Experience
http://maass.nyu.edu/

What was the early American experience like in New York? How can anyone accurately tell such a story? The people at New York University's Fales Library, working in conjunction with the New York Historical Society have done quite a job via their extensive holdings. As the homepage states, "here you can explore the history of New York through the words of those who lived it." The materials on the site in the "Archive" area include dozens of letters, newspapers, broadsides, legal records, and maps that tell the story of New York from the early Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam up to the British occupation of the city during the American Revolution. Moving on, the "Tour" area offers some key documents from the period, including an early property deed from New Amsterdam and a letter from George Washington about sending 4,000 troops to New York in 1781. Finally, the site has a few lesson plans and related materials in the "Learn Resources" area that are worth checking out.  >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Housing Association of the Delaware Valley Photographs

Housing Association of the Delaware Valley Photographs
http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fp245801coll13

In 1909, concerned Philadelphians and reformers looked around their fair city, and saw terrible slum conditions. That very year, the Philadelphia Housing Commission was formed, and over the years they would lobby to create a comprehensive housing code. In 1915, the enforcement of this code began, and the organization later became the Housing Association of the Delaware Valley. Their photographic archive became part of the collections at the Temple University Libraries. Recently, staff members there digitized over 3,100 photographs that document housing interiors, exteriors, streets, privy vaults, housing projects, and sanitation conditions from 1897 to 1972. Visitors can search the complete archive by keyword, or they can just browse around as they see fit. As a whole, the collection documents the story of Philadelphia's 20th century experience, and the images are quite eye opening. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

AIGA Design Archives

AIGA Design Archives
http://designarchives.aiga.org/#/home

The American Institute for Graphic Arts was founded in 1914, and today it is simply known as AIGA. The archives of the AIGA have thousands of images, including entries from their annual juried design competition, which started in 1924. Visitors can view a list of all the "Collections", or they can choose to "Browse" the archives. Visitors choosing "Browse” are offered their choice of filters such as "format", "industry", "location" and "color". The color filter allows visitors to choose from 120 colors, and the results are beautiful; visitors will want to spend their time trying different selections here. Moving on, the discipline category covers thirteen areas, such as "Promotional Design and Advertising", "Environmental Graphic Design", "Package Design", and "Typographic Design". Visitors inclined to view by collection, should definitely look at "The Mental Menagerie: A Five Year Retrospective", which has contemporary animal images. Visitors with a certain humorous sensibility can decide if the designs in "The Humor Show" really are funny, and they may be pleasantly surprised by some of the material here. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

International Center for the History of Electronic Games


International Center for the History of Electronic Games
http://www.thestrong.org/online-collections/icheg/

With an auspicious name like "The Strong", you know there's something interesting cooking on over in Rochester, New York. The Strong is a "highly interactive, collections-based educational institution devoted to the study and exploration of play." One of its programmatic "arms" is the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG). On the ICHEG section of The Strong website, visitors can make their way through 17,000 different items related to the history of gaming. The images of these items are divided into seven categories, including "Console Games", "Handhelds", and "Arcade Games". Each item contains a brief description, along with information about the game’s manufacturer, materials, and country of origin. The "Arcade Games" section is quite an exercise in compelling nostalgia, as visitors can investigate the physical appearance of arcade classics like Donkey Kong, Popeye, and Dug Out >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/