The Making of Mount Rushmore
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| Audience/Grade: | 5-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Civil Engineering Construction Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): |
History of Technology Technology and Society |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Organization:American Parks Network |
| Description: | Excerpt from article: "Mount Rushmore National Memorial is as much a product of dreams and determination as it is the work of a talented sculptor. n 1923, Doane Robinson, the aging superintendent of the South Dakota State Historical Society, had a vision of a massive mountain memorial carved from stone so large it would put South Dakota on the map. Robinson told all who would listen of his dream of giant statues of Western figures such as General George Armstrong Custer, Buffalo Bill Cody, Lewis and Clark, and legendary Sioux warriors marching along South Dakota's skyline. Robinson spoke to local organizations and wrote letter upon letter. As his dream neared its completion, Borglum's biggest fear was leaving a mystery for future generations. In 1938, Borglum began carving a giant vault in the can-yon wall directly behind Mount Rushmore. Into this great hall, he planned to place records of the memorial, of Western civilization, of individual liberty and freedom. But Borglum's death and the country's entry into World War II intervened, and the Hall of Records was left unfinished. (In 1998, the National Park Service completed a scaled down version of the hall.) After Borglum's death, his son, Lincoln, spent another seven months refining the monument. On October 31, 1941, he stopped construction on the sculpture, leaving Mount Rushmore as we know it today: a truly American icon. Mount Rushmore represents the largest work of art on earth. Each face is 60 feet high, compared to the head on the Statue of Liberty, which is only 17 feet tall. Amazingly, there were no deaths and only a couple of injuries during the entire period of carving at Mount Rushmore. This is a remarkable safety record considering the workers regularly used dynamite and heavy equipment." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | mount rushmore dynamite |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Interesting case study of using technology for a large art project. |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Very low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | October 2007 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/content.asp?catid=92& |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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