My Chicago Online
Heidi Moisan, Chicago Historical Society, USA
http://www.chicagohistory.org

Demonstration: Demonstrations - Session 2

The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) is developing the "My Chicago" Web site for after-school practitioners. "My Chicago" comprises a variety of activities for children ages 6–12, using the symbols and design of the Chicago flag to explore the city’s rich and diverse history.

In addition to the "My Chicago" Web site, there is a printed companion guide that features interactive activities. The "My Chicago" Web site will launch in November of 2003 and the printed guide is currently available for your review.

The goals of the "My Chicago" Web site include: to create a Web site for after-school practitioners that provides a range of resources for exploring the stories of Chicago, including personal narratives, primary resources drawn from the collections of the Chicago Historical Society and museum exhibitions, to create diverse learning experiences that engage youth in the investigation and interpretation of history through the use of technology, and to help youth define their own place in time and make connections between the past and the present through stories and personal discoveries.

The Web site will be designed to include a range of interdisciplinary activities to engage Chicago youth in exploring their City’s history through specific events and making connections with how they and their families fit into this dynamic story. Using the stars and stripes of the Chicago Flag as an organizing framework, the resources and activities in this Web site will capture the multiple and diverse stories that make up the City’s rich and colorful past and ever changing present.

Specific web components include: an interactive Chicago flag where pop-ups tell the user the meaning behind the flag’s symbols, a Flash puzzle of Chicago’s World’s Fair, a trivia tour of the Chicago River where users navigate a boat through the city, a concentration game where users will have to match artifacts or photos of the Great Chicago Fire, a poetry activity where users create their own poetry using famous Chicago author’s works as inspiration, and weekly poll questions about Chicago history

This presentation will demonstrate the features of the Web site, discuss the development of the project, and review the process of working with Chicago Public School teachers in the piloting and testing of “My Chicago.”