The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove

Local History Project:The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove

IntroductionJohn James Audubon was a daring and colorful character renowned for his adventurous nature, his artistic genius, and his obsessive interest in birds. He explored the natural history of much of the central and eastern United States, painted almost 500 species, worked tirelessly to promote his project, and set a new standard for artistry and printing. Perhaps above all else, Audubon was a lover and observer of birds and nature. He knew that they needed and deserved conservation. The Center at Mill Grove was established in large part because of John J. Audubon and it continues to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earths biological diversity in Pennsylvania.Project OverviewWe will discuss Conservation in our Environmental Unit and talk about John J. Audubon, his work and efforts on conservation of the environment. We will also dialogue about the J.J. Audubon Center at Mill Grove and our local environment.Students will be using several Primary Sources to complete assigned projects.Take a virtual field trip to discover more about J.J. Audubon and the Center at Mill Grove. Use provided sources and ones that you discover.What Do You See? Each student will analyze a painting by Audubon and write a reflection about what you observed.Each student will write an editorial to the local newspaper about why it is important to conserve our local history and include information about the conservation efforts of the Audubon Society.VocabularyEnvironmentNaturalistFolioOctavoHabitatOrnithologyLithographyReplicaMigratoryConservationLocal Documents and DataPictures of John J. Audubons house at Mill Grove: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa3261/

Book (in our Library) - The National Audubon Society: Speaking for nature: http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBRecID=13292414&v1=1&SEQ=20120205094421&PID=A_7LKY3bIb32n66gE0qZIF0K6kp

Audubon Society Information: http://pa.audubon.org/AboutUs_History.html

Maps and Information about the John J. Audubon Center at Mill Grove: http://www.schuylkillriver.org/Detail.aspx?id=36

Florida Museum of Natural History - http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/naturalists/audubon01.htm

Information on John J. Audubon - http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/john_j__audubon/13864

http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdaudu.htm - provides a picture of John J. Audubon and a brief history about his life.Local Audio and Musichttp://www.archive.org/details/john_james_audubon_0808_librivox - use parts of some of the chapters of this audio to tell about his life

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcast/?podcastID=546 podcast that chronicles the history of JJ Audubons life and his work.

http://abirdshome.com/audubon/ - use to give examples of bird calls these are birds that JJ Audubon painted.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan27.html - The Owl Serenade sheet music related to birds and was recorded in 1850.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/dukesm:@field(SUBJ+@band(Birds)) bird-related sheet music.Assignment # 1 Virtual Field TripReview the sources on the previous slides to learn more about John J. Audubon and to view the digital collections of his paintings.Complete the Field Journal: Introduction to Audubon

Local Photos and Postershttp://www.art.com/gallery/id--a23630/john-james-audubon-posters.htm - gallery of paintings/prints created by Audubon.

National Audubon Society, the John J. Audubon Center at Mill Grove, the Library of Congress, and Literature from the Centerhttp://pa.audubon.org/centers_mill_grove.htmlhttp://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa3261/http://www.loc.gov/search/?q=audubon%20society&fa=digitized:true

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/John_James_Audubon.aspx#1 biographical information and several links to his paintings.

http://www.jjaudubongallery.com/ - a gallery of paintings/prints created by J.J. Audubon.

http://biblelessonsite.org/slideaudubon.html - slideshow of pictures about J.J. Audubon.

http://www.google.com/search?q=maps+of+john+james+audubon+in+PA&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pwo0T5u9NsfE0QGouLHPAg&ved=0CI4BELAE&biw=1280&bih=673 a Google search of images of J.J. Audubon, maps of the local area, and pictures of the area at Mill Grove and of his paintings.

http://www.audubon.org/ - Map of Audubon centers, offices, and sanctuaries throughout the U.S.Assignment # 2 Review the sources on the previous slide to learn more about John J. Audubon and to view the digital collections of his paintings.What Do You See? Choose one of Audubons paintings and analyze it using the NARA Worksheet.http://bb.plsweb.com/OR_Nav/worksheets/photo_analysis_worksheet.pdfWrite a one-paragraph reflection about what you observed.

Local Videohttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/john-james-audubon/introduction/106/ - Drawn to Nature and covers the life and work of John J. Audubon.

Talks about John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, Audubon, PA - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8876692139712966832#

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0780019784/mitrasites-20 - it is documentary about the life of John J. Audubon. Students would be able to gain knowledge about Audubons life and information about the Audubon Society.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqW8lWQaYpo This is a program that commemorates the two hundredth anniversary of the naturalist and artist, John James Audubon. It is done by the National Archives US Information Agency. They also offer a transcript of the video (http://archives.gov/social-media/transcripts/transcript-john-james-audubon-55178.pdf).

This is a video of a sampling of Audubons paintings. There is music to the slideshow/video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYYGMrnivSMAssignment # 3 Review the sources on the previous slide(s) to learn more about John J. Audubon, to view the digital collections of his paintings and about the local Audubon Society.Each student will write an editorial to the local newspaper about why it is important to conserve our local area/history and include information about the conservation efforts of the Audubon Society.Use the Newspaper Editorial template in MS Publisher.

General Resources for Projectshttp://www.audubon.org/ - Map of Audubon centers, offices, and sanctuaries throughout the U.S.

This site could also be used to learn more about John J. Audubon - http://www.common-place.org/vol-12/no-02/nobles/

http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/index.php?name=John%20James%20Audubon%20in%20Louisiana Audubon collection from Louisiana Digital Library.

Documents: NARA Worksheet, Field Journal, and Newspaper Editorial template in MS Publisher.

ConclusionSince we learned about conservation in our Environmental Unit, we focused our attention to our local history and local conservation efforts. These efforts were started by John J. Audubon and continue through the Audubon Society at Mill Grove. Through these activities your observation, analytical, and critical thinking skills will be challenged and hopefully sharpened. You will have the opportunity to make observations, reflect on your thoughts, and share your ideas and opinions about Audubon, the Audubon Society and conservation in general.Works Citedhttp://pa.audubon.org/centers_mill_grove.html - picture on Slide 1

http://pa.audubon.org/ - picture on Slide 6

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004669286/ - picture on Slide 8 http://pa.audubon.org/centers_mill_grove.html - picture on Slide 10

http://www.audiomicro.com/free-sound-effects/free-animal-sound-effects/free-bird-sound-effects - audio on Slide 8