Rome Reborn in Google Earth

Educators with a passion for all things Roman have two opportunities to steep themselves in the land of antiquities, courtesy of Google.

Enter the Rome Reborn Project http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/. Sponsored by Google Earth, the application lets you view a three-dimensional re-creation of the streets of Rome (above) and 6,700 buildings that stood during the days of Constantine, specifically on June 21, A.D. 320.

Considered the founder of the Byzantine Empire, Constantine was also known as the first Christian Roman Emperor and is credited with bringing religious tolerance to Rome. This fact is evident in Rome Reborn, where educators can find the Temple of Heliogabalus, a Syrian sun god, and the Temple of Vesta, the Roman goddess of hearth, home, and family.

A project of the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities and directed by Professor Bernard Frischer, the 3-D ancient Roman overlay is intended to spark creative K–12 teaching. So Google is sponsoring a contest, inviting educators to submit curricula using Rome Reborn to the site. The top six projects will win prizes, including an Apple MacBook laptop, a digital classroom projector, digital camera, and 3-D Navigation mouse, plus $500 in gift cards to Target or Office Depot and an engraved Google “Top Educator” plaque. What, no laurel wreath? Entries are due by February 9, 2009.