Ancient Greece Geo-Generations Unwrapping Mummies Activity Index

<< The Acropolis illuminated at night. Image by Larry Lee Photography/CORBIS

Design a new subway station in Athens that will include a museum of ancient artifacts, artworks, and ruins.

Imagine this: You're a construction worker digging a hole in the ground for a new subway system, when you suddenly come across a gorgeous painted bowl, the likes of which you have never seen. What would you think? Would you take it home for your mantelpiece or alert the media? What's a bowl doing down there, anyway?

Something similar happened nine years ago in Athens, Greece. While digging a new subway system, construction workers found 2,500-year-old artifacts and artworks. As they dug, they uncovered ancient roads, shops, baths, and water systems, as well as carved bowls and other precious items. Read more about Athens's "Metro Museum."

Would you like to be involved in this exciting discovery? Here's the scenario: because you're special, the city of Athens has selected you to design a new subway station, complete with a museum where travelers can enjoy the long lost wonders of their ancient city. Find out what artifacts, artworks, and architectural ruins you might include. Then draw a floor plan of the subway station, showing where you will place everything.

Younger Xpeditioners: Choose one of the artifacts, artworks, or ruins you've seen, and write a story that includes it as part of the action or background. You might write about the people who kept a beautiful vase in their home, or perhaps about the life of a rat in an ancient Greek sewer. Use your imagination!

Older Xpeditioners: Would you like to be an archaeologist? Imagine that you have the opportunity to dig up ancient Greek ruins. Describe the things you would be most excited about finding, and explain what those things reveal about daily life in ancient Greece. What questions do you have for further archaeological exploration?

Parents: Discuss with your kids some of the things that might be discovered if you were to dig under your city or house. Native American artifacts? Graves of 19th century settlers? The foundations for previous homes in your neighborhood? Sewer pipes and fiber-optic cables? If you're feeling ambitious, do some sleuthing in your city's government offices or archives to find out what's really down there.