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One rainy day, my Roman Technology class students were discussing Roman roads. We got distracted as we watched a student traverse the swampy area outside my classroom; as he ran through the rain, you could tell that he immediately regretted trying to use this pathway. As he tried to keep his feet from getting soaked, he did that dance-like motion of pulling up his legs quickly as he ran. We felt sorry for him.
Every time it rains (a frequent occurrence in Louisiana), this space between the two halls at our school fills up quickly with water and becomes unusable. Due to water build-up, it tends to stay that way. It was on this particular day as we watched that pitiful kid get his feet wet that one of my students jokingly mentioned how much a Roman road might help this situation. Eureka! That comment sparked a fruitful class conversation about how Roman roads helped to keep water off the road structure itself.
The Glasgow Middle School "swamp" after a small rain.
You can see the slight curvature of the Street of Abundance in Pompeii. © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons
Thus, we decided then and there that we would try to build a Roman road (on a smaller scale) through this area of campus as a way to learn about surveying, soldiers, ancient and modern civil engineering, and road building materials. We had just finished an exciting project on Roman kilns in which students built their own small brick ovens to fire pottery in. We were "fired up" to try another big project!
And then...Friday, March 13, 2020, was the last time I saw those students as we shut down indefinitely for the pandemic. In the next school year, I adjusted my Roman Technology classes to be taught virtually with take-home kits for each kid. When we reopened, only some of my students returned to in-person instruction, and I did not want to leave out the kids at home. Our Roman road project would have to wait...
Each Roman Technology lesson is a blend of history, STEM, and the engineering design process. Students recreate the products and processes of ancient Roman daily life through hands-on history STEM labs. Investigating material culture (the objects of everyday life) allows students to more deeply understand the lives of ancient people who can't speak for themselves.
The Roman Roads Project is a special one because not only will we be learning about ancient Roman roads and modern ones, but we'll also be performing a needed service for our school. Our halls will be less crowded, and students will get more sunshine with this added outdoor walkway!
And here we are, awaiting the opening of school in August of 2022 with the exciting prospect of making this project finally happen! Interested in our project? We can't do this alone. We're going to need the expert help of civil engineers, construction managers, bricklayers, and surveyors. So reach out if you can help!
Follow us on Twitter @MagistraRoy and on our Blog. All STEM Leads to Rome.
Lesson Resources:
Eric Poehler's The Traffic Systems of Pompeii. Oxford, 2017.
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