Who were the ancient Egyptians? Explore objects from ancient Egypt to discover how the Egyptians lived and what they believed in this Interactive Exploration featuring works of art from the VMFA's collection.

This resource consists of background information on Egyptian geography and climate, Egyptian life and society, role of the pharaoh, the purposes of ancient art, the role of scribes, hieroglyphics, the afterlife and mummification, Nubia (Egypt's southern neighbor), comparisons/contrasts to art from other parts of Africa, and a discussion on the legacy of Egyptian art (Egyptomania).

Woven throughout the informational narrative are several different types of looking, thinking and learning activities, all of which call on students' observation and critical thinking skills as they closely examine selected art and artifacts. Reflection questions that encourage deep thinking are featured, along with clickable popups on images that further explain Egyptian art and society. Activities like "Look At This," "What's the Story," "Be the Scribe," will bring student engagement, reflection, and critical and creative thinking to any ancient Egypt lesson!

Who were the Ancient Greeks? Explore more about the Ancient Greeks and what they valued as a society in this Interactive Exploration.

This resource consists of two different types of looking, thinking and learning activities. These activities call on students' observation and critical thinking skills as they closely examine selected objects from Ancient Greece. The activities explore the themes of mythology, religion, sport, and trade.

The "Look at This" activities provide close-up views with guiding questions and background information. Students will learn more about what the ancient Greeks valued as a society.

The "Surprise Me" activities offer pop-up hot spots on selected objects to reveal intriguing information about Greek religion, gods, goddesses, trade, sport and mythology. Students will investigate how these objects relate to Greek religion and human need for protection from harm and healing from disease and injury.

Spending time with a work of art can be an opportunity for thoughtful inquiry and ideation. For students, documenting their ideas as they work to interpret an artwork offers the chance to exercise metacognition. With this interactive exercise featuring an artwork from the Mughal Empire, students can gain insight into how they process information and formulate ideas. This activity is good practice for formulating research questions and synthesizing ideas.

Explore objects from Ancient Rome and discover how Romans portrayed themselves and wished to be remembered. This student-facing resource includes text, images, maps, as well as interactive exercises that call invite students to closely examine authentic objects from Ancient Rome.

The first three activities provide close-up views with guiding questions and background information. What will you learn about the connections between power, status, citizenship, and images in ancient Rome? How do these objects relate to identity and how people are portrayed or remembered? Who is represented and who is not?

The next three investigations offer pop-up hot spots on selected objects to reveal intriguing information about Roman culture, gods, goddesses, and mythology.

How do these objects relate to what the Romans thought was important?

The students will gain an understanding of the sources of information used by geographers and apply what they have learned to analyzing primary sources and secondary sources and synthesizing what they have learned into a secondary source of information.