In finding their artifacts House 42 confirmed their hypothesis that the Dutch were then trading these goods in the Americas. In the third strata or layer, they uncovered artifacts that were characteristic of Native American life in the 1600s. Students then chose an object and researched its style, examining texture, shape, color and artistic patterns. Based on similar attributes, the students then studied a different, but related object to determine the time, origin and identity of their chosen artifacts.

 

House 43 learned how to analyze critically where each artifact could have originated based on stylistic elements. Each student chose an object to study in depth, researching both at the Met and back in the classroom through books and online resources. They ultimately compiled a report on their individual artifact. Simultaneously, they read fables from the Silk Road focusing on the elements of a story and in particular on the moral. They explored how the lessons of these stories transcend time and place and can be applied right here and now. The students then each had a chance to write original fables set along the Silk Road around the year 1500. Once they were ready to publish, they rehearsed, animated and recorded their finished piece on an iPad app called Puppet Pals.