VOLUME 7, ISSUE 5

Top Stories

Ben Franklin's Lightning Rod

What would you think if you saw a man chasing a thunder and lightning storm on horseback? You would probably wonder what on Earth he was trying to do. Well, if you lived in the 1700s and knew Benjamin Franklin, this is just what you might see during a terrible storm. Ben was fascinated by storms; he loved to study them. If he were alive today, we could probably add "storm-chaser" to his long list of titles.

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Primary Source of the Month:
B[enjamin] Franklin of Philadelphia

This engraving, which was one of Franklin's favorites, places him at a specific moment in time. As a lightning storm rages outside the window to his right, Franklin turns to observe the device on his left and waits for the presence of electricity in the air to ring the bells.

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Teaching Strategy: Benjamin Franklin and Electricity

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most innovative and versatile men of his time. His concern for the public good led him to devise practical and effective inventions to address real problems. For example, he conducted complex experiments that helped to advance knowledge of the properties of electricity. He also invented several important devices to make electricity safer, including the lightning rod. In this lesson, students learn about some of the important discoveries Franklin made through his electricity experiments.

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Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources for Your Classroom

Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials dealing with 18th-century life, including:

• The Remarkable Benjamin Franklin (book)
• A Glorious System of Things (video)

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Teaching News

Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute Scholarships Available
Are you interested in attending the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute but unable to find the funds? Scholarships are now available to attend the Institute during the summer of 2009.

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Quotation of the Month

"Furnished as all Europe now is with Academies of Science . . . the progress of human knowledge will be rapid and discoveries made of which we have at present no conception. I begin to be almost sorry I was born so soon, since I cannot have the happiness of knowing what will be known a hundred years hence."

-Benjamin Franklin, letter to Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, July 27, 1783

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