 It's an honor
Look
up all the synonyms you can think of for honor or tribute. Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com are fun online
sources to use. Word Menu is What are the differences in meaning or
connotation between all of those terms? [Honor, tribute, memorial, commemorate,
remember, observe, etc.]
Find
out how the state goes about naming highways and bridges. What guidelines
are used to nominate someone for these official honors? What does it
take to have an official proclamation made by the city or state? Who
has received these proclamations? Are they usually living or dead?
Sometimes
honors are built in bricks and mortar or are cast in bronze or carved
in stone. Oakland is full of such honors. Look for them and keep a running
list on your next Oakland field trip. Check out the It's
an Honor activity for some of them.
What
people and events have been honored in Oakland? [Carnegie, Phipps, Frick,
Stephen Foster, Back, Galileo, Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns, Soldier
from Spanish-American War, George Westinghouse, Henry Heinz, Soldiers
and Sailors Hall] Research what these people did to earn their honors
(how many were built by others and how many were built by themselves?).
Sort
your list of honorees into some logical categories. What categories
have you come up with? [Examples: People and events; Pittsburghers,
non-Pittsburghers; Famous, Not Famous; Scholars, Business people, Religious
leaders, Artists, musicians, authors; Everyday people; Before and after
death, etc..]
How
many were Pittsburghers? [Foster, Frick, Heinz, Carnegie, Phipps] How
many lived elsewhere? [Bach, Burns, Galileo, etc.] What are some of
the less famous names you have seen?
How are buildings named after someone different from statues and other
kinds of memorials? What is a bigger honor?
What
do these tributes tell us about our values? What kinds of people do
we admire? What do the statues and memorials in Oakland tell us about
what that place is about? Would you have chosen the same people to honor?
Who would you add? Is there anyone you think did not deserve this honor?
Who? Would you choose different people to honor in Oakland than you
would for your home neighborhood?
What makes a good memorial? How would you like to remember someone?
Who would you like to remember?
To
explore these ideas and honor someone you admire, see the It's
an Honor activity.
[Back
to Oakland Special Edition]
| Who
does art? Who loves art? |
Collecting
Ourselves discussion
See also, Collecting Ourselves activities
Pittsburgh's
museums, libraries, archives, and individual collectors are keepers
of our cultural and natural heritage. Are
you one of those packrats--ahem, collectors?
What
do you collect? Why?
What
fascinates you about your collection? What is your favorite piece in
your collection?
How
do you decide what to add to your collection? Do you go for quality
or quantity? Why? How is "quality" judged for the things you
collect? Is that the same criteria you use to judge the quality of your
collection or to make buying decisions?
How are the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie
Museum of Natural History, Phipps Conservatory, and the Carnegie Library
different? How are they the same? How do you think the curators and
librarians there make their collection decisions?
What
are the special challenges in collecting living (or ex-living) things?
Is it right to collect living things?
What
are the special challenges of collecting art works?
What
are the special challenges of collecting books that are available for
loan?
What are some of the "rules" museums and libraries have about
their collections? What are the reasons for those rules?
In "Something about Oakland," Richard Armstrong, Director
of the Carnegie Museum of Art called the museum the "Palace of
the Imagination across from the Cathedral of Learning." What would
you call the Carnegie Museum of Natural History? Phipps Conservatory?
The Carnegie Library?
What other interesting collections are in Oakland? [Nationality Rooms,
the Center for American Music at Stephen Foster Memorial (library and
museum), Hillman Library and its Archive of Industrial Society, Hunt
Institute of Botanical Documentation at CMU, Rodef Shalom's Biblical
Garden, etc.]
What
other collections do you now about in our area? [Heinz History Center,
the Pittsburgh Zoo, the National Aviary, Clayton and the Frick Art Museum,
Old Economy are just a few.] For 65 museums in our area, visit the Greater
Pittsburgh Museum Council's web site.
Follow
up this discussion with these "Collecting Ourselves" activities:
-
Have students
share what they collect in our Collecting
Ourselves Gallery and read about other Pittsburghers' collections.
-
Caring
for your collection. Help students start off on the right
foot with their own collections. Learn how museums care for their
collections and decide how to add to them.
-
Botanical
Bounty. The special challenges of collecting living things.
 Related video stories
from "Something about Oakland":
- Carnegie
Museum of Art
- Carnegie
Museum of Natural History's Bug Room
- Carnegie
Museum of Natural History's Dinosaur Hall
- Carnegie
Library of Pittsburgh
- Phipps
Conservatory
- Nationality
Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning
Related video stories
from other programs:
[Back
to "Something about Oakland" Special Edition]
Symbols
See
also these related activities Symbolize, Nationality Rooms Treasure
Hunt, Oakland Walking Tour Treasure Hunt.
Related video stories:
Taking a Closer Look
It
can be challenging enough to look at art from our own culture! Art from other cultures and traditions
is even more challenging to understand and appreciate. But students
can learn to explore art from their own and other cultures-- reading
images is a skill that can be developed just like reading books.
Taking
a Closer Look (off-site link-- use your "Back" button
to return to this site) is a systematic way of looking at art from any
tradition, but it is especially useful for looking at art from non-Western
traditions. When you visit the wonderful collections and special exhibits
at one of Pittsburgh's museums or galleries, take this quiet activity
with you and let students get to really get up-close and personal with
a work of art!
Or
adapt the questions for classroom discussion about art from any culture. |
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