NUBIANET AND DIGNUBIA, 19922008 AND BEYOND: ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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NUBIANET AND DIGNUBIA, 1992-2008 AND
BEYONDACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Ronald W. Bailey Northeastern U/Savannah State
U _at_UICU/NCBS Info Tech Workshop, 7/24/08
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1992 ROOTED IN STRUGGLE Town/Gown,
Campus/Community

• Cooperating with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
  in their community outreach activities for the
  opening of the permanent gallery of Nubian or
  Kushite art (1992)

MFA Largest collection of Nubia artifacts
outside of Khartoum, Sudan
Dana Chandler, AAMARP
3/26/1968
Kush Club teens dig nubian roots at MFA Bay State
Banner Sept. 1, 1994 (Theresa India Young)
Black Studies Initiative Joyce Grant Peggy Kemp
Roxbury Heritage State Park
Madison Park Development Corporation (Danette
Jones)
Museum of the National Center for African
American Artists (Barry Gaither)
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(No Transcript)
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Africa and Human Origins

• 3 KINDS OF DATA
• FOSSILS/Archaeology
• DNA/Biochemistry
• LANGUAGES/Linguistics

What civilizations did the earliest humans
create? ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, MODERN
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NUBIANETS MISSION 1992

• The main mission of the project is to create a
  community of teachers, scholars, students,
  educators in museums and libraries, and others
  who want to learn and teach about Nubia as a
  significant ancient civilization, and to
  integrate this knowledge into the school
  curriculum, informal educational activities, and
  self- study programs. The project also seeks to
  promote the use of new technologies in humanities
  education and contribute to the pool of
  culturally diverse educational materials
  accessible to all learners using these
  technologies.

KEY COLLABORATORS DR. TIM KENDALL, formerly with
Boston Museum of Fine Arts MARCIA BAYNES, 8th
Grade Teacher, Cambridge VA
Marcia Baynes at AFI
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EARLY HISTORY

• 1993 Nubia Institute (Funded by NEH, ES-22447-92)
  
• 1994Nubia Institute (funded by NEH,
  ES-22644-94). Professional development programs
  for teachers, including summer institutes.
• 1994-1996 Planning for a Documentary on Nubia
  (Funded by NEH, ES 25129-95). With Judith McCray,
  Juneteenth Productions
• 1995 5-hour teleconference, "Nubia, Ancient and
  Majestic" broadcast over MCET (Massachusetts
  Educational Telecommunications Network. Produced
  by Michelle Halsell, hosted by Marcia Baynes)
• 1998-2000 NubiaNet A Website and Resources for
  Studying Ancient African and World Civilizations
  funded by NEH through the Education Development
  Center
• 1998 Hosting conference of the International
  Society of Nubian Studies with Museum of Fine
  Arts and others

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NubiaNet
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATORS
1998 International Conference
An anticipated outcome Tara Morrison, Africana
major/Nubianet work-study assistant now Park
Ranger in Charge, African Burial Ground
PARTICIPATING SCHOLARS Bill Adams, Frank
Snowden, etc.
Published by Dept. of African-American
Studies Northeastern University
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Welcome to digNubia!
digNubia introduces young people to archaeology
through an exciting archaeological find the
remains of the ancient African civilization of
Nubia in northern Sudan and southern Egypt that
emerged over six thousand years ago.
Nubia
Geared to middle school children 8-14
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Components of digNubia

• A traveling exhibit intended for after school
  centers, boys girls clubs, small museums,
  churches, libraries
• A web site filled with information about
  archaeology and ancient Nubia (http
  www.dignubia.org)
• A documentary film entitled Nubia and The
  Mysteries of Kush

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digNubia Traveling Exhibit
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digNubia Venues, 2003-2008

• 2002 Harriet Tubman House, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport,
  Connecticut
• Concordia Educational Technology Center, Vidalia,
  Louisiana
• Zeum, San Francisco, California
• 2003 The Tech Connection and School Age
  Children's Camp, Monterey, CA
• Francis C. Hammond Middle School, Alexandria,
  Virginia
• Family Center and Imagine Nation Museum, Bristol,
  Connecticut
• Greater Philadelphia Federation of Settlements,
  Philadelphia, PA
• Office of Emergency Shelter and Services,
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Dakota Science Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota
• 2004 I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium,
  Orangeburg, South Carolina
• Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia
• Afro Studies--U. of Florida/Sante Fe Community
  College, Gainesville, Florida
• Georgia Southern University Museum, Statesboro,
  Georgia
• 2005 Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art,
  Midland (MI) Center for the Arts
• Putnam Museum of History and Science, Davenport,
  Iowa
• 2006 Youth Museum of West Virginia, New River
  Park, West Virginia
• Children's Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
• 2007 New Jersey History Museum, Trenton, New
  Jersey

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digNubia Web Site
www.dignubia.org
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Good Press Coverage!!
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digNubia in SavannahFebruary 6, 2008- March 9,
2008Adams Hall, Savannah State University
Preparation
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digNubia in Savannah
MAJOR ACHIVEMENTS in Savannah Weekly delegations
from Savannahs rec centers, staff professional
development session New digNubia brochures for
outreach (7000) Ten showing of documentary on
COMCAST
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digNubia in Savannah
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SUDAN and NUBIA 2008 CRISIS

• In 2006, a 100 miles stretch of the Nile River
  that has been home to human civilizations since
  the beginning of time will be flooded when the
  Merowe Dam is completed in 2007. While
  well-known ancient sites such as Jebel Barkal,
  will not be destroyed directly, there are
  concerns that environmental changes such as
  changes in the level of the water table will
  wrought massive damage.

See http//www.nubiansociety.org/MDASP_appeal.htm
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Working on Nubia The Future

• Updating Websites DigNubia and NubiaNet
• Documentaries 2006 Salvage Campaign and Nubia
  and Human Origins with Juneteenth Productions
• Edit and Distribute 150-200 hours of videotape
• Use the Web for Ongoing Photo Documentation
• Continue to travel DigNubia exhibit with
  Update/brochure
• Organize Delegation of K-12 and College Educators
  to Sudan
• digNubia Cybergame Exploring Ancient Africa
• Adopting Gebel Barkal, a World Heritage Site as a
  Curriculum Project
• (http//whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid31id_site
  1073
• (cybercasting by archaeologists in the field,
  live webcam shots of ongoing excavations, all
  highlighting Nubia, ancient African
  civilizations, and historical/cultural heritage
  preservation and technology)

CAN WE COLLABORATE?????
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Broader Implications for the Future TECHNOLOGY
LEARNING TOOLS
VISUALIZATION
PRESENTATION
EDUCATION
ONLINE
EDU-TAINMENT/GAMING
INTERPRETATION
See Alkalimat, Social Informatics of the Black
Experience The Emergence of a Research
Literature Champion, Otherness of Place
Game-Based Interaction and Learning in Virtual
Heritage Projects (Nieves)
Crystal Island Science Learning/FI-NCSU
Babylon
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BUILDING CAPACITY PLACES PROCESSESTHE
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA COLLABORATION OF
AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUMS, PLACES, AND SPACES
(CAMPS)
Beach Institute (1867)
First African Baptist Church (1777)
Savannah State University (1890)
King-Tisdell Cottage
Dorchester Academy (1871)
July 2008 Proposal Pending, Institute for
Museum and Library Services. 150,000
Willow Hill Renaissance Heritage Center (1874)