A Walk in the Museum

This week in class, we were broken up into groups to create an exhibit for a museum that would help us better understand some of the aspect that went along with the Industrial Revolution. For our exhibit, my group was given the topic of child labor. To the right is the final product of my group's museum exhibit we worked on in class. Each group was given artifacts that correspond with your groups topic. My group and I began analyzing the pictures and notes that were given to us so we could write what each item is about. We then started to create the poster. We put on each artifact with their summaries and we then added other decoration that we thought would fit the topic. We chose to do a black background with chains going from each artifact because it represented the dark and depressing state these children were in while working in the factories. We added things like cotton balls and fabric to represent coal and textiles that the children worked with. My group wanted to really give off the feeling that these children were put through harsh and dangerous condition. After we were done and hung the poster, we got the check out the other groups posters.
     The first group I visited had the topic of family-used looms. Families would have their own looms in their houses that became very valuable. As new inventions were created and mills were becoming more common, the home looms were not up to working standards anymore. This caused a lot of families to move into the city and get jobs in factories.
     Another group I visited had the topic of transportation. I learned that the invention of steam engines helped increase transportation by introducing railroad systems and steam boats. Workers would use these new inventions to transport goods at a faster rate.
    The next group I visited had the topic of living conditions during the Industrial Revolution. I learned that with all the factories producing large amounts of goods, it caused major cities to become polluted. Workers who lived in the cities would become very ill and living conditions were becoming more and more expensive.
    The last group I visited had the topic of slavery during the Industrial Revolution. Slaves had a huge role in the productivity of the factories. With the increase of demand of goods, more slaves were put to work in the factories.