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One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Tragedy and Transformation: Looking at San Francisco’s Chinatown with Primary Sources

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

Much of the city, including its Chinese immigration enclave, Chinatown, was destroyed by tremors and fires. While this was a devastating tragedy, it was also an opportunity to rebuild and renew. Below is a series of photographs from the Library's Prints and Photographs collections that offers a path for student engagement with San Francisco's pre- and post-earthquake Chinatown.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Paint, Poisoning, Proportions, and Public Health and Policy

Posted by: Danna Bell

Throughout history, humans have sought out substances to color, coat, and cover dwellings, objects, and bodies. Modern inorganic pigments and dyes joined natural and organic substances used by the ancients. The properties of one substance, lead white, once made it the pigment of choice in white paint. However, the toxicity of lead contributed to a public health crisis.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Mapping the Ocean Floor, Marie Tharp, and Making Arguments from Evidence (Part 2)

Posted by: Danna Bell

Textbooks and teachers often tell students about German scientist Alfred Wegener who went public in 1912 with his theory of continental drift. The scientific community did not widely accept Wegener's ideas during his lifetime and often derided colleagues who entertained the theory. Wegener passed away in 1930. Even as Marie Tharp was creating maps in the 1950s, scientists were actively constructing ideas and compiling evidence related to seafloor spreading and magnetic striping.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Mapping the Ocean Floor, Marie Tharp, and Making Arguments from Evidence (Part 1)

Posted by: Danna Bell

What might a map from 1977, a poster from 1944, and a newspaper article from 1915 have in common with three twentieth century wars and the theory of plate tectonics? These three digitized artifacts in the Library of Congress’s collection have quite a bit in common when it comes to the emergence of evidence supporting a key theory in Earth science.