The 19th century was an age of invention and reinvention during which the modern industrial age developed. By the end of this era, society was poised to transform into one where the ordinary citizen would have a say in the running of their country and equality of rights and education would be extended to everyone, but not just yet…
The devices or instruments described in this booklet were invented for other purposes but they were quickly taken over as toys; if bought from a toy-maker, they would have been expensive and only for a select few. The vast majority of children would have played with sticks, stones and hoops and then when far too young entered the workforce to a lifetime of work. The death-rate of child labourers was very high due to the dangerous working conditions and many families were left without a ‘breadwinner’ in the 19th century.
The devices or instruments in this booklet can be examined individually in a single lesson over two years as some of the devices examine the same principle but in a different way (thaumatrope versus phenakistoscope). Thus progression is encouraged. Most of the curricular references are for 5th / 6th classes however, the “Living Things” references are for 3rd / 4th classes. Instead of designing the devices from scratch, templates may be found on the internet and that eliminates some of the difficulty that some students may experience. Thus differentiation is possible.
Essentially, the purpose of studying these devices is to do science through the lens (no pun intended) of history and specifically the 19th century and to realize how difficult it is to think in the way people from a previous era did. The science of the devices encapsulates chemistry (materials), biology (vision, brain, nerves), and physics (energy, optics). In addition to history, modern European language work in Greek is encouraged, thus integration is viewed as important.
The teacher’s notes provided aid planning and provide some background, but the key message is that children should always be given opportunities to explore, discover, design, make, experiment and find out as much as they can for themselves, so to the teacher I say, try to stand back and let the child thrive as much as possible.