Activity description:

This activity takes place over 2-3 weeks (or longer). Start it at the very beginning of the unit, and then complete the second part just prior to the Roedde House visit.

Part 1:

Students collect a variety of non-valuable artifacts (e.g., a photograph, food such as crackers or hot dog buns, a blown egg, photocopy pages, a piece of glass, a plastic spoon, types of cloth, articles of wood or clay, etc.). Each sample is then divided in half. One half is sealed in a ziplock bag and put in a box in a dry, dark place.

The remaining halves (which may be further cut into quarters) are then exposed to various physical effects which the class determines. For example, several samples could be exposed to water, buried in damp soil, taped to the window, put in the freezer or over a heating vent, taped to the floor in the traffic pattern, or touched daily by the class as they enter the classroom, etc.

As the teacher, you will want to help students brainstorm a variety of conditions that simulate what might happen to an exposed artifact or uncared-for-building over time. Having chosen a series of test conditions, students should then utilize a scientific approach in testing the artifact samples:

1. Set up a control group of samples (sealed in plastic and kept dry and dark). Why is a control group necessary?

2. Keep a record of the various test conditions (and locale, if necessary) utilizing the "Nothing Lasts Forever" experiment sheet or the more compact "Learning from Objects" sheet. Ask students why it is important to keep such a record.

3. Help formulate hypotheses about the effect of conditions before the test period.

Part 2:

At the end of two weeks (or just before the visit to Roedde House), collect the test samples and control samples. Have students compare and record the various physical effects. Were their hypotheses accurate? Why or why not? What effect would a longer exposure period have? (You may want to continue the test conditions for several more weeks or months and then re-evaluate.)

Ideally this exercise should help students reach conclusions about how artifacts should be stored, displayed and cared for in a museum such as Roedde House (or even how family treasures should be cared for at home). They can discuss the necessity for dry storage conditions, glass cases, low lighting levels, no temperature extremes, etc. Preservation of artifacts also involves protecting against theft and vandalism (e.g., grave robbing, malicious damage). How do museums control for theft?

Extension Activities:

Some time should be spent making students aware of change. Everything - our bodies, rocks, houses, food - is in a continual state of change or decay. Some materials break down considerably more slowly than others. Preservation may also slow down the rate of change, but nothing stops the process completely. Students may want to discuss what they can do to keep their bodies healthy (e.g., eat healthy foods, exercise, get enough sleep) and what they can do to tear it down (smoking, drugs, neglectful lifestyle, etc.). Are there any projections to slow the rate of change/decay for the future (suspended animation, for example). Students could also look at how we "preserve" things such as food in our society today (packaging to prevent contamination, chemicals, absence of air, high heat to kill bacteria, refrigeration, dehydration).