This wall map, developed with archaeologists and educators at major universities and institutions, as well as primary and secondary school teachers, is designed for elementary school children and highlights the most endangered sites and cultures around the world. It is available for order here. NOTE: Sizes smaller than 29″ X 23″ are NOT recommended.
The Puffin Foundation has awarded SAFE a grant towards the production of the map. In order to continue this important work, SAFE needs your support.
We are now working to enhance the map’s educational impact by developing our Give History a Future initiative to reach a valuable resource for protecting cultural heritage: our young children.
Give history a future is an educational program being developed by SAFE that focuses on the importance, relevance, and vulnerability of the world’s cultural heritage—and the need to preserve the endangered sites and monuments for future generations. It explains how ancient objects constitute building blocks of human history and instills the idea from an early age that the historical information that ancient objects contain is even more valuable than the object’s beauty or monetary value.
Give History a Future will comprise a unique set of educational materials that employ traditional and new media to teach students at various grade levels about the importance and vulnerability of the world’s ancient cultures. The first—and core—component of Give History a Future, The World’s Ancient Cultures in Danger wall map described above, was completed in 2008. Below are some of the other elements being developed that we look forward to releasing soon. We welcome your suggestions and can work with you. Please contact us with your ideas or if you would like to work with us.
- Regional/national Ancient Cultures in Danger wall maps that on the problems specific regions or nations face.
- Interactive, online maps that explain threatened antiquities.
- A teacher’’s guide with guidance for instructors on providing basic knowledge to students so they can become future stewards—not destroyers—of our shared cultural heritage.
- A children’s book with a positive message that illustrates the importance of antiquities and their preservation.
- An engaging, interactive computer game that teaches players how to help preserve our heritage.
- An online, interactive demonstration that illustrates the meaning of archaeological context and why the looting of archeological sites robs us of important information about the past.
- Lesson plans that comply with several NCSS and NCHE standards and teach the meaning of cultural heritage in an accessible and memorable way.
- Essay competitions in which students submit research essays or short stories about the importance of preserving cultural heritage.
