March 20th is the Spring Equinox, where the earth’s equator is the closest part to the sun – historically this marks the first day of the season.
Early civilizations used the equinoxes along with the solstices to divide the year up. Traditional gatherings take place across the world at key locations. In the UK Stonehenge is the famous meeting point, where people watch dawn break with celebrations. Stonehenge has acted like a giant sundial for over 4000 years tracking the passage of the year. A less-known older site is featured in the presentation.
With the Equinox now upon us, this is the perfect time to announce a new free presentation for youngsters at www.otsf.org/tellingtime – a classroom tool for teachers to remotely teach their students how ancient civilizations used monuments like the Stonehenge to track time.
The OTS Foundation for Neolithic Studies (a USA non-profit 501c3) is working to build a program of educational outreach that will culminate in a video series. They have built a studio and started a plan, but are seeking help to do this at the level it deserves.
They’re applying 30 years of working with educators, archaeologists, anthropologists, art historians, architects, engineers and more specialists to fill a gap in the understanding of human development. They have recently outfitted a studio/set in Myakka City, FL for the purpose of producing educational outreach about prehistory, the oldest buildings on earth and the launch of civilization.
A spokesperson from The OTS Foundation for Neolithic Studies (www.OTSF.org) said:
“We know from long experience that effectively representing a pivotal time before anything in history had happened requires an inventive approach to education. Why? Because the people who changed the earth forever did not think as we think; aspects of this scenario are as abstract as a Neolithic artifact“.
Expanding from their basic presentations the OTSF goals is to collaborate with the best possible minds to produce content of the highest quality, and to relay this in an exciting educational manner. It’s a subject they feel has been under the American educational radar, and something from which valuable lessons can be re-learned.
Anyone interested in collaborating for this new educational project can contact Matthew Paulson at: info@otsf.org.
