Grade Range: 9-12Resource Type(s): Reference Materials, Primary SourceDate Posted: 6/3/2010
Tell the story of early American science with an online exhibition and digital reproduction of the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map. This hand-drawn star map, created in 1780, reflects a story of scientific curiosity and the practical applications of astronomy in colonial America. Simeon De Witt, a map-maker who served as surveyor general under George Washington, created the map using astrolabe models and his own knowledge of the sky.
Museum education
The astrolabe is an astronomical calculating device used from ancient times into the eighteenth c...
Colonial America, War of Independence, astronomy, science, Washington, George, surveying, map, topography, colonial period, surveyor, constellation, calendar, colonial era, celestial map, globe, Revolutionary War, map-maker, Continental Army, map-making, American revolution
A biography of Maria Mitchell which includes extensive quotes from Maria Mitchell’s journal...
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