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The beginning of recording human civilization
‘At the start of prehistoric times, our ancestors most likely lived in caves, to shield from danger and bad weather. They started making huts that were similar to teepees from sticks and animal skins. Because they were hunter gatherers, they needed to move around a lot to find new food, so it was important that their homes…
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The Glass Age 1300-present
‘The end of the Iron Age is generally considered to coincide with the Roman Conquests, and history books tell us that it was succeeded by Antiquity and then the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the 1300s that another material, glass, could lay claim to a material age. Glass in its natural form has been with us since lightning…
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The Steel Age 1800s-present
‘The development of steel can be traced back 4000 years to the beginning of the Iron Age. Proving to be harder and stronger than bronze, which had previously been the most widely used metal, iron began to displace bronze in weaponry and tools. For the following few thousand years, however, the quality of iron produced…
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The Steel Age 1800s-present
‘With more than 1.6 billion tonnes of steel produced globally each year, steel is one of the most abundant man-made materials on the planet today. An alloy, it is made up almost exclusively of iron (as much as 99 per cent), while its secondary component carbon contributes up to 2 per cent by weight. Carbon is added to…
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The Aluminium Age 1800s-present
'The story of aluminum’s history of use in the U.S. now stretches over 100 years. The start was a modest one, however. Because of the complexities of refining aluminum from ore, aluminum was considered more rare and precious than gold or silver through most of the 19th century. A pure form of the metal was first…
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The Aluminium Age 1800s-present
‘Given that it is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, aluminium was always going to play a leading role as an engineering material. The problem has always been that it only rarely occurs naturally in pure metallic form and is locked away chemically in 270 different minerals. Despite the difficulties in extracting…
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The Aluminium Age 1800s-present
‘Given that it is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, aluminium was always going to play a leading role as an engineering material. The problem has always been that it only rarely occurs naturally in pure metallic form and is locked away chemically in 270 different minerals. Despite the difficulties in extracting…
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The Plastic Age 1907-present
The following week the students arrive at class even before Rip. They are loving this class and hope that he has plans for future classes. The school bell rings and Rip apologizes when he walks in for not being in class earlier. “I had a meeting with the principal,” says Rip. “He wants me to teach another class so if you…
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Tiffi starts working on her project
Tiffi is so excited about working on a project. She has to do some googling to see what prehistoric age she would like to visit. When she gets home she opens up her lap top and gets a snack and a drink. “What age should I look for?” Tiffi asks herself. “I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe I should look for the…
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Tiffi finishes her project
It does take Tiffi too long to find an interesting video. That was a very good video and it explains it very well. So now Tiffi wants to do it on this age but she needs something that she can put on a poster or picture. That’s it! “I’m going to do a pictorial picture just like the earliest writings!” exclaims Tiffi. It…
