HI -STEAM - Weaving history into STEAM

Ask a student to share a story on STEM subjects and you might receive a story on Archimedes screaming out of his bath tub crying 'Eureka' or Thomas Edison's unsuccessful thousand attempts at inventing the light bulb but show them an invention or discovery in the timelines of history and ask them to share its story and you will find an air of stillness. Why? The core reason is subjects are taught in isolation and subjects are not woven into each other.

STEAM, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math is incomplete without its rich history and a compelling story as every success is achieved after immense failures so if you truly wish to instil values and appreciation through STEAM then promote a strong story telling component within the curriculum. Let me share some beautiful stories which could help reinforce concepts of STEAM and history or let's call it HI-STEAM.

How many of us watched the Gladiator and appreciated the combats between Russell Crowe and other gladiators & wished to know more about the Roman empire?  Let me share with you a story.

Rome from 37 A.D to 68 AD was ruled by a tyrannical ruler, Nero Claudius Caesar best known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and a passion for music. His thirst for power consumed him so much that he killed his mother, Agrippina as he felt she was promoting her stepson to power and his wife, Octavia. He rebuilt his city around his 100 acre Golden House after a huge fire broke out and nearly exhausted the Roman treasury. He further commissioned a 100 foot tall bronze statue of himself, the Colossus Neronis. After  a turbulent 13 year reign, the Roman senate declared him a public enemy and he ran away finally committing suicide. 

After the death of Nero, there was immense unrest with four rulers taking the throne one after another. The fourth ruler, Vespasian in 69 AD and his sons worked towards toning down the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare as the empire had come to ruins. To gather public support and love, they decided to build a new amphitheater known as the Colosseum on the site of the Golden Palace where public could enjoy gladiatorial combats and other forms of entertainment. The Colosseum opened in AD. 80 with a festival including 100 days of games. Let's take a peek into the Colosseum. 

Have you ever wondered how the architects in that era were able to cater to an audience of 50,000 people? 
The Colosseum measured 620 by 513 feet made of stone and concrete. It has a total of around 80 semi circular columns to support it. By 20th century nearly two thirds of the original Colosseum was destroyed due to natural disasters and neglect. In the 1990's restoration work has begun. 

So my questions to you are this:
1. In those days, there were no mikes or electricity, how did sound reach that large an audience?
2. The structure lasts even today, what makes it so durable?
3. Using today's latest technological and metallurgy analyze how do you propose to build a similar structure to last that many centuries and withstand natural calamities?
4. Evaluate the cost of creating this monumental structure today and would it be feasible?
5. The Colosseum catered to combats and games. With AI, ML and AR, human rights and social media at its peak, which games could be housed today and why?
6. Scout the timelines of various civilizations and compare and contrast the Colosseum to a similar structure in that particular era with evidences.
7. Emperors like Nero were tolerated for 13 years. As a citizen of today, share your views on people's tolerance towards despotic rulers and its predominance till date. More information on the ruler can be found on https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/nero

I am sure you are eager to find the answers and share with me as I am eager to receive the answers.

Share this story with your students asking for a presentation and you will have your students researching on Metals and Metallurgy in Chemistry, Sound in Physics, History of the Roman empire and Economics to evaluate its feasibility. Moreover, they will dabble with Artificial intelligence, Augmented reality and Machine learning and in the process build skills of critical thinking, analysis and evaluation, communication & collaboration and research and presentation.

Every story binds you and it is time our students were told a story for every innovation or discovery. Stories remain with you for life and am sure we will be able to relate to the Colosseum better today than yesterday.


Bibliography:

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/nero
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/colosseum/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/699183910878737928/