Turning Point of the Wheel
Kendra Walton, Andrea Pasic, Julia Thomasula, Nerisse Acabado
Senior Division
Group Website
We chose this topic because we felt it met all the criteria of this year’s National History Day theme and requirements. We feel that the invention of the wheel is truly a turning point in history, because wheels have improved trade, travel, and the work force drastically. Without wheels most of the great inventions today would not exist. The invention of the wheel has improved every civilization since 3000 BCE. Also, our topic does not just affect one country, but the world as a whole. We feel our topic reminds everyone that one idea in ancient Mesopotamia has forever changed humanity and it is something everyone needs to be aware of.
We started this project by researching where the wheel was first invented; we got this information from a novel called Living in Ancient Mesopotamia. This was a great starting point to see what the wheel was used for back in 3000 BCE. We then proceeded to research how the wheel was made; this information was collected from 1001 Inventions that Changed the World written by Jack Challoner. These research notes gave us a lot of background knowledge on our topic.
We then started to conduct research on present day wheels, and their current uses. Sharon Thales novel, Wheels and Axles to the Rescue showed us the everyday items we use that involve some sort of wheel. The “History of Trucking” article published on Job Monkey gave us detailed information about the evolution of truck driving. As we continued our research on wheels, we found information about the predicted use of wheels in the future. In the article “Wired Wheels” written by Larry Greenemeier, he describes all the different ways engineers are planning on using wheels in a more environmentally friendly way.
Our final product may look simple and to the point, however tremendous effort and time went into this project. Although our topic seems it may be easy to research based on the amount of great inventions and how much it has evolved, researching these great inventions and engineer's was not so simple. Finding the facts and important dates and places was a struggle, because so many sources had different information. Another obstacle we faced was the problem of certain group members not trying their best. However, we were able to give our group members the extra push they needed. In the end, we were able to overcome the obstacles and as a result our project is something we are all very proud of.
We feel our topic is extremely important, because without the wheel humanity would not be as nearly civilized as it is today. Transportation would not exist; there would be no cars, trucks, bicycles, or trains. The famous chariots of ancient Greece and Rome would not be recognized, nor the wagon wheels used around the world. The evolution of the wheel has created many jobs and is responsible for improving economies. The various ways wheels have changed humanity have truly been a turning point in history because many countries around the world would not be as economically stable, or even exist for that matter.
We started this project by researching where the wheel was first invented; we got this information from a novel called Living in Ancient Mesopotamia. This was a great starting point to see what the wheel was used for back in 3000 BCE. We then proceeded to research how the wheel was made; this information was collected from 1001 Inventions that Changed the World written by Jack Challoner. These research notes gave us a lot of background knowledge on our topic.
We then started to conduct research on present day wheels, and their current uses. Sharon Thales novel, Wheels and Axles to the Rescue showed us the everyday items we use that involve some sort of wheel. The “History of Trucking” article published on Job Monkey gave us detailed information about the evolution of truck driving. As we continued our research on wheels, we found information about the predicted use of wheels in the future. In the article “Wired Wheels” written by Larry Greenemeier, he describes all the different ways engineers are planning on using wheels in a more environmentally friendly way.
Our final product may look simple and to the point, however tremendous effort and time went into this project. Although our topic seems it may be easy to research based on the amount of great inventions and how much it has evolved, researching these great inventions and engineer's was not so simple. Finding the facts and important dates and places was a struggle, because so many sources had different information. Another obstacle we faced was the problem of certain group members not trying their best. However, we were able to give our group members the extra push they needed. In the end, we were able to overcome the obstacles and as a result our project is something we are all very proud of.
We feel our topic is extremely important, because without the wheel humanity would not be as nearly civilized as it is today. Transportation would not exist; there would be no cars, trucks, bicycles, or trains. The famous chariots of ancient Greece and Rome would not be recognized, nor the wagon wheels used around the world. The evolution of the wheel has created many jobs and is responsible for improving economies. The various ways wheels have changed humanity have truly been a turning point in history because many countries around the world would not be as economically stable, or even exist for that matter.