Renaissance

The Renaissance was an extremely creative time which began in Italy in the 14th century and continued throughout Europe for the next 300 years. The Renaissance--”rebirth”--was marked by the rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman ideas and enormous achievements in the arts and sciences. William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler were among the creative geniuses of that time. Learn more about this significant period in Western history through the many direct links on The Times Launch Point Web site:

https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.

Level 1

The Life of a Child in Elizabethan England: Though Renaissance children had many household chores, they also played games such as hopscotch, leapfrog and blind man’s bluff. Find out what daily life was like and how clothing revealed a person’s social status.

https://tqd.advanced.org/3588/Renaissance/Town/Children.html

Exploring Leonardo: Leonardo da Vinci not only painted the Mona Lisa, he was a vegetarian pacifist who also invented weapons. Try some activities that teach you about linear perspective, a system that helped Renaissance painters achieve more realism in their paintings by creating the illusion of space and distance.

https://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/

The Art and Science of Fifteenth Century Navigation: See how the discoveries of latitude and longitude, as well as the invention of the astrolabe, revolutionized exploration and the art of map-making.

https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~feegi/

Level 2

Virtual Renaissance: Thieves during the Renaissance were locked in a cage without food or water. Meet law-abiding citizens of the time period while exploring the Globe Theatre, the Sistine Chapel, the University of Padua and the Hospital of the Innocents.

https://tqd.advanced.org/3588/Renaissance/GeneralFiles/Introduction.html

Palladio’s Italian Villas: Visit country houses or “villas” designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Find out how his principles of design dramatically changed Western architecture and remain an important force even today.

https://www.boglewood.com/palladio/home.html

A Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Instruments: Did you know you could make music with a serpent, a lizard or a hurdy-gurdy? Find out about the amazing musical instruments used during the Renaissance era.

https://www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us/antiqua/instrumt.html

Level 3

Art of Renaissance Science: Galileo and Perspective Renaissance artists based their works on the theories of Renaissance scientists. Discover other contributions of scientists during the Renaissance, particularly Galileo. Learn what common bonds existed between science, architecture and art.

https://bang.lanl.gov/video/stv/arshtml/arstoc.html

La Renaissance: Until 1550, the word “renaissance” was simply used to describe a return to an ancient Roman method of painting developed by Giotto di Bondone. Learn how this word became associated with a specific period of great cultural achievements and find out how these developments were experienced in different countries.

https://sunsite.unc.edu/wm/paint/glo/renaissance/

Vatican Exhibit Main Hall: Mathematician Archimedes and geographer Ptolemy were just some of the Greek influences that spurred Renaissance thought. View important documents in the history of mathematics, medicine, music and archeology.

https://sunsite.unc.edu/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/Main_Hall.html

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Jeff Chien, Daniel Moon, Anna Manring and Larry MacPhee.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

Leonardo da Vinci drew prototypes for what modern inventions?

CLUE: See Exploring Leonardo

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 50 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: The barrel cactus’ pleats enables it to expand and store water when it rains.