WebExhibits: Calendars through the Ages
(www.webexhibits.org/calendars/index.html)
Grades 5-12, with parental supervision
Part of the larger WebExhibits online museum from the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, this website examines the origins and history of calendars.
When arriving at today’s link, use the upper menu to decide what topic you would like to explore:
- Years & Months – Learn about the astronomical events on which a calendar is based then use the sidebar menu to dig deeper into the astronomy of calendars, see a perpetual calendar, the phases of the moon within a given month, the history of our calendar, terms used, and more.
- Various Calendars – Discover the differences in the Gregorian calendar (which most of us use) and the Chinese, Christian, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, Mayan, Roman, and other calendars past, present, and future.
- Our Week – How did the 7-day week come to be? Where did the names of the days come from? What other connotations are associated with the days of the week? These questions and more are answered in this topic.
- Timeline – Not your typical history timeline, this is a timeline of interesting calendar facts.
Visitors will also notice on the main menu “Node View”. From here you can navigate through a cloud map of the site to narrow your research.
With a new year upon us, this website provides an interesting look into the passing of time and a unique history study unit.
