Family Artifacts: Gateways to the Past

There is a famous saying that says you must understand the past to know where you are going in the future. This is certainly

true when you think about your past and what that will mean for you and your future.

If you take a look at your family’s artifacts, heirlooms and photos, you will find a huge history in your family that you

were not aware of previously. This past will clue you in to a number of things, including what your great-grandparents,

grandparents and parents were like in their younger days to what types of fashions they wore and what they enjoyed doing.

Or, studying family artifacts and records can clue you in to the history of the health of your family and give you an

opportunity to understand what types of illnesses are common in your family and what you should be on the lookout for when

you visit your doctor.

Studying family artifacts will also help you piece together the history of your family. Where did your family immigrate

from? Most likely, artifacts that your family still has will give insight to the lives the family led in their old country

and give an idea of why they decided that risking it all and coming to America was the best choice for them.

You could most likely spend hours looking at old records, artifacts and photos. It takes you back to a time that you were

not a part of and never will know firsthand. However, taking the time to look at all of it will give you an idea of what it

takes to make your future bright.

If you can see examples of mistakes your family has made in the past, you can take those mistakes and in turn find a way to

keep from making those same mistakes in your own life. You can also find a way to have potential family illnesses diagnosed

early and taken care of before they turn into serious problems.

So, if you have not already, schedule an afternoon to visit with your Grandparents about the past and ask them to relive

their good memories with you. Then, ask if you can see some of the mementos and artifacts that they have kept for years.

They will most likely be excited to share their lives with you and be thankful that you care. You, in turn, will find out

interesting facts about the past and where your family came from and where you can help take it in the future.

Understanding the past is indeed the key to understanding the future. Take your opportunity to find out more about the

family artifacts in your family while your Grandparents are still around. They will appreciate your gesture and you will

sit in awe of the stories and events that they have lived through in their lives.

Ancient Mayan Artifacts in the United States Today

If you paid any sort of attention in your World History classes in school, you would remember that the Ancient Mayans were a

civilization in modern day Mexico. Well, you might not have even had to have paid attention in your classes to remember that

bit of history.

However, you may find it ironic that many Mayan artifacts that have been recovered from the ancient civilization’s land is

now for display in the United States. Say what? Yes, many are here in the United States with others on display throughout

the world in places you would never have imagined.

Why? Well, the answer is simple really: educational purposes. Many people learn about the Ancient Mayan civilization in

school but cannot go to Mexico to visit the ruins for themselves. Therefore, the powers that be decided that sending ancient

artifacts on a tour of the United States was a great idea.

It can be, as long as the artifacts are handled nicely and are not damaged. It does gives children and others a chance to

see the artifacts from the land they have only read about and gives them a true visual to go along with their course studies.

Mayan artifacts have been on display in different locations throughout the United States for several years now and some are

even on permanent display in some prominent museums. Opponents of these actions wonder why it makes sense to put something

on display that did not even happen in America, but in Mexico. They do not understand the idealism behind it.

However, there is no idealism behind it. Exhibits of all types have traveled throughout the world for years without trouble

and it brings history to the people. We want to educate others and let the children become global citizens. If they do not

have the money to travel, this gives them they way they can see it for themselves, up close and personal.

As long as the education exhibits are being cared for properly, the touring exhibits are a great educational piece that

should continue to travel around for years to come. The United States should also look in to make traveling exhibits of

some of our finest documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That way people throughout the

country and world can see it without having to take a trip to Washington D.C. Many people, even people in the United States,

would love to see these things up close but cannot afford a trip to do so. Who knows, it may even inspire some children to

pursue political careers. That would definitely make it worth it.

The educational benefit of these artifacts far outweigh any sort of problems that they bring along with them. It is a great

way for kids to learn, for adults to share and for researchers to show off their work. It is a win-win situation for all

where people learn more than the thought they could.

The Titanic Artifact Exhibit

When people think about artifacts, they often only consider ancient artifacts from many centuries ago. They rarely think of

modern artifacts. But artifacts are any objects made by humans. Scientists study these artifacts not only to learn more

about the time period during which the artifact was made but also to learn more about the world in which we currently live.

The artifacts that were recovered when the wreck of the Titanic was found tell us about what life was like during that time

period. In addition, the condition of these artifacts also has helped scientists learn more about the accident itself. By

studying these artifacts, we can better understand what happened that fateful night.

Many people have been lucky enough to see the Titanic Artifact Exhibit. This exhibit has traveled the world and contains

approximately 300 artifacts retrieved from the wreck of the Titanic. The famous ship sunk in the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. Almost 1,500 people died when the ship went down. This tragedy has long fascinated the world because the Titanic was billed as an "unsinkable" ship.

In the years following the disaster, researchers searched the Atlantic for the remains of the ship. In 1985, the wreck was

finally discovered thanks to modern technology. Using great care, many valuable artifacts have been recovered from the ship. The Titanic Artifact Exhibit contains items such as pieces of the actual ship, along with personal belongings of the crew and the passengers.

The wonderful thing about the exhibit is that visitors see both the recovered artifacts and presentations about where and

how these items would have been used on the ship. The exhibit strives to create an overall experience for visitors so they

can understand what life was like almost one hundred years ago.

Using a time progression, the exhibit takes visitors through the phases of the ship. You see information and artifacts

pertaining to the design and construction of the ship. You also see displays detailing the discovery of the wreckage, how

the artifacts were recovered from the ship, and what is being done to preserve these precious objects from the past.

Over the past few years, the exhibit has visited many cities, and countless people have been able to see the artifacts

contained in this fascinating collection. In 2007, the exhibit can be seen at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British

Colombia, Canada.

Guests to the museum climb a gangplank to enter the exhibit, so they feel as if they are passengers on the ship. The

exhibit has recreated what some corridors on the ship looked like. In addition, visitors can see what cabins for passengers

in 1st and 3rd class were like. These cabins contain recovered artifacts. An outdoor cafe, also containing artifacts from

the ship, has been created for visitors to examine.

Even though the Titanic sunk almost a century ago, the artifacts retrieved from the ship still fascinate and educate the

world. These objects allow us to view a time in history that had a huge impact on the world.

What Can You Do With Those Artifacts in Your Home?

You have finally had it with the junk in your home. You conduct a thorough cleaning of the whole house and come up with a

ton of stuff that you would like to get rid of and save your house from becoming a museum of artifacts and ancient furniture

and knickknacks.

But hold on just a moment. As it turns out, you may be sitting on a gold mine so it will be to your benefit to search through

the selection of junk and find the treasures you can sell. Once you find the treasures, where should you sell them? eBay is

always a great choice to sell unwanted items because people from all over the world will have a chance to take a look at

the items and buy them if they are interested. There is always a buyer for everything.

That broken lamp? Could be worth a lot to a collector. Those old records? Some music junkie in Europe would love to add

them to his collection. You may hate your stuff, but other people might not and why not try to make a little bit of money

from getting rid of the artifacts in your home. You just need to set up an eBay account and follow the instructions.

Within a few minutes, you will be selling your artifacts online and will have buyers for them within hours or days.

Then, the most difficult thing after that will be collecting the money and keeping a straight face as you travel to the

post office to send off the artifacts to their new owners.

What if you do not want to sell things on eBay? You could hold a garage sale and let others come by and sift through your

artifacts and rejected items while you sit back with a nice glass of lemonade. Or, you could choose to not sell your

artifacts at all, and instead donate them to a second-hand store to benefit their charities. You will not only be helping

others, but you will also be able to mark the costs off on your taxes. Not a bad way to get rid of old junk you do not want

anymore.

Any of these ways would be fantastic choices to getting rid of the artifacts that have cluttered your home for years. Just

realize though that you will have to do this again at a later time and the stuff you and your family covet today will turn

into artifacts in just a few years. Styles and tastes change, however, you do not have to live with the artifacts of the

past forever. Simply purge the stuff you do not need anymore and enjoy your newly empty space-at least until you find a way

to put more junk into it.

And do not try to kid yourself, you will find more junk to fill your home. It is human nature. See, what are you doing

right now? Yes, that is right. You are thinking about going shopping. The cycle continues.

Make Your Own Family Artifacts for Future Generations

Do you remember when you were a child and you found time capsules to be so interesting? I know I did. I can remember looking

at a time capsule filled with artifacts from several decades prior to that time and I just sat and stared in awe of what was

inside.

The artifacts in the time capsule were things like magazines, newspapers, photographs and records dating back to the time

when the time capsule was buried underground for unearthing years later.

Now, if you have kids, think about how much fun it would be for them if you created a time capsule with things that will be

considered artifacts when the capsule is opened in fifty years. You can make it into a fun game where your kids can

brainstorm ideas of what they would want to include in the time capsule that would be good artifacts and examples of this

day in age and a representation of your family.

They will probably come up with a ton of crazy ideas. However, let them figure out what they would like to include and then

whittle the list down from there. Some ideas for artifacts include a current model cell phone, an mp3 player, some photographs,

newspapers and magazines from the current month and possibly some candy that people can look at and compare to the candy in

the future.

The fun will come when your kids will help formulate what you will put in the time capsule and then you can watch the

excitement in their faces when you prepare to bury the time capsule and then cover it for release in 50 years. Be sure to

record it somewhere so your children or their children will be able to open it at that time to take a look and compare what

has evolved between now and then.

This can turn in to a fun and educational game for your children that they will no doubt remember for the rest of their

lives. They could even do a demonstration of it in their classrooms and maybe inspire other children to pursue time capsules

full of family artifacts of their very own.

It will also be fun doing it together. There are so few activities anymore where kids and their parents can really get into

it and do it together all while having fun at the same time. Your kids grow up so fast that it is important to take the time

to help them grow and learn while spending as much quality time with them as you can.

Before you and your children know it, they will be grown up and have children of their own. Seize opportunities to create

lasting bonds that will last more than a lifetime. When they open the time capsules, they will no doubt remember the good

times you had together and your work as a parent will be done. Then hopefully they will carry on the tradition with their

own kids and grandkids.

What Will People Consider Artifacts in 100 years?

Do you ever stop to think that one day, the life we living now will be considered history? A weird thought because we think

of the past as back in the “olden days” where people had to walk barefoot to school both ways in the snow and they didn’t

have the Internet or radio to keep them company on boring Saturday afternoons.

An interesting thought is what will people consider to be artifacts when they look at us in 100 years? Will they look at

our high tech cell phones and laugh because we were so amused by the simple things in life? Will they look at the war in

Iraq and realize that it was the point when the world really started to break down? Will they curse us for ruining the

planet and the natural beauty of the Earth for them?

Chances are, they will look at our technology, our blogs, our photos and celebrity obsession and take that as the artifacts

from these years of our lives. It is not necessarily a bad thing, we do not know if the world will be in ruin in 100 years

or if it will be this utopia where world peace reins and world hunger has ended. What we do know is what we have here today,

and what we have is not that bad.

We have terrorism, we have war and we have enough violence to last lifetimes. We also have a lot of peace, love and hope

that can serve as lasting artifacts for the future. Future generations can look back at the artifacts we leave and know we

were a body of people who were trying to do the right thing while getting stuck in the mistakes of the past.

Hopefully people of the future will continue to learn from our mistakes and use our artifacts as guides to continually

improve the world. They could also just take a look at the party pictures that we leave and laugh because we at least knew

how to have a good time!

People can sit and hypothesize about the future and remember the past for what it was. What we can do is make our mark for

the future to show others and make them understand what we as people were all about. We worked hard, we played even harder

and we loved to make a difference. In the end, that will be all that matters.

Then, maybe in 200 years, the people will look back at us in history and recognize that this was the time in history when

people were really focused on doing the right thing and creating a better life for everyone in it, including the people of

the future.

Can they get all of this from the artifacts we leave behind? Of course! We have learn from past generations that way,

haven’t we? That is why we leave behind our mark, to show the people of the future what we did and where we are going. Who

knew artifacts told that whole story?

Find Artifacts in Your Home Town!

If you are anything like me, you probably think your home town is the most boring place on the planet Earth, especially if

it is a small town. But it is still probably boring if you live in a big city because there is a limit on what you can do as

a child growing up.

However, there is a way for kids to find something fun to do with their friends that does not involve getting into trouble

with the law or drugs. This game is sort of like a scavenger hunt and will appeal to all of the aspiring Indiana Jones

wannabes of the world. This game does not really have a name, but entails finding artifacts all over your home town or

neighborhood. Now, these do not really have to be artifacts, but can be anything you consider old and worthy of mention

as a unique item.

To play, approach it like a scavenger hunt. Have you child get a group of friends together and decide on the rules. For

instance, each child must find an interesting old rock, a piece of petrified wood and some really old pop bottles or cans.

The options are limitless because it depends on what you, your child and his group of friends deems to be worthy of the term

artifacts. Also, your child might consider something to be an artifact that is really only a couple of years old. But to him,

it is ancient.

Your child and his friends can then use their imaginations and create their very own treasure hunt and archeological

expedition with just a few things. It is the best way to get your kids and their friends outside to enjoy the weather and

truly be a kid. The kids get to flex their creativity and you get to rest easy knowing they are participating in a wholesome

activity that helps them think strategically and quickly.

Once your child and his group of friends have gathered their artifacts, have them meet to show off their wares. You never

know, one of the children may have found something that will spark off a conversation about the history of your home town,

history of the United States, the history of anything.

The game of finding artifacts is also one that can be played by adults as a twist on the traditional notion of scavenger

hunting. There are only so many restaurant straws and ketchup packets you can collect in these sorts of games. This gives

you an opportunity to go back to your childhood and find the joy in finding “artifacts.”

So, let your kids be kids and let them scavenge for artifacts. Then you can also be a kid again with your very own version

of the game. It is fun, it is free and it can turn out to be a great educational opportunity for your child. No video game

or sophisticated computer toy or cell phone can boast the same educational benefits that this game can have.

Just Face It, Your Kids Think You're an Artifact

Do you remember when you were young and you felt like you would never grow up? Thirty seemed like a really old age and you would not have to worry because it would take forever for you to get there anyway.

You also thought your parents were artifacts who must have been born in the Stone Age. They had no clue about what you liked and what kind of problems and issues you faced every day in life.

Well, you did grow up, and quickly. Now you are over thirty and have a couple of kids who are getting to be the age you were when you thought that about your parents. You, however, have made a conscious effort to keep your kids from thinking that you and your spouse are artifacts.

But it is not going to work, not matter how hard you try. You can think you are an amazing parent who totally understands
what your kids are feeling and going through because you went through it to at a time. But they do not think that way.

They think you are an old geezer who would not understand what they are going through in life even if it bit you in the pants. Do not fret about it. It is a common result of having kids who are growing up and they will also have kids who will treat them that way someday.

It is human (or kids) nature and it is futile to try and stop them from feeling that way.
The best way to go about it is to simply acknowledge that yes, you are artifacts and you have no idea what is going on with
their lives. Then let them try to figure out their problems on their own and eventually come back to you for guidance.

Trust this fact, it will happen sooner or later.

The most important thing is to remember that your kids do love you but they are going through that stage when they are
too cool for everything and life is the most unfair piece of work ever. Those feelings will pass and eventually you will be
best friends with your children again.

However, for now, let them think that they are the most amazing and smart people in the world who can figure out everything
for themselves. Remember, you are just artifacts who would not know a real problem like they have and you could not possible understand what they are going through.

Instead, simply sit back, relax and smile as they go through the teenage drama that all kids go through and laugh and say
that you told them so when they ask you for advice.

Then someday when they have their own kids, they will come back to you and say how their kids do not know anything and you
can remind them of their past and have a good laugh. Welcome to the unpopular parent club! Population: every parent in the world.