Life and Death: Pompeii and Herculaneum

Gr 9 Up—This companion piece to the museum's exhibit of the same name incorporates sound effects, animation, video, and interactivity. A short, but dramatic, film sequence on the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, opens the production and leads to a map that serves as a table of contents. Pins mark Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other sites on the Bay of Naples. Tapping on one of these locations will bring viewers to a street map of the chosen area and a list, including such topics as "Urban context," "Commerce," and "Wealth and status."Under each topic, viewers will find narrated images, video commentary by scholars, photographs, and informative text. Listeners will hear Pliny the Younger's eyewitness recollections of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 (narrated by Royce Cronin), learn that a significant number of Herculaneum's residents were prosperous freedmen, and view more than 250 colorful photos of artwork and artifacts.The images are clear and sharp. The valuable zoom capability allows for close-up views of jewelry, frescoes, mosaics, graffiti, carbonized furniture, and more. Also provided is a reading list with some live links. Purchase this production for students of history, art, and archaeology. For teachers looking for multimodal resources to support the Common Core State Standards, this app fits the bill.—Daniel Greene, U32 Middle/High School, Montpelier, VT