Renaissance Fun is about the technology of Renaissance entertainments in stage machinery and theatrical special effects; in gardens and fountains; and in the automata and self-playing musical instruments that were installed in garden grottoes. How did the machines behind these shows work? How exactly were chariots filled with singers let down onto the stage? How were flaming dragons made to fly across the sky? How were seas created on stage? How did mechanical birds imitate real birdsong? What was ‘artificial music’, three centuries before Edison and the phonograph? How could pipe organs be driven and made to play themselves by waterpower alone? And who were the architects, engineers, and craftsmen who created these wonders? All these questions are answered. At the end of the book we visit the lost ‘garden of marvels’ at Pratolino with its many grottoes, automata and water jokes; and we attend the performance of Mercury and Mars in Parma in 1628, with its spectacular stage effects and its music by Claudio Monteverdi – one of the places where opera was born. Renaissance Fun is offered as an entertainment in itself. But behind the show is a more serious scholarly argument, centred on the enormous influence of two ancient writers on these subjects, Vitruvius and Hero. Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture were widely studied by Renaissance theatre designers. Hero of Alexandria wrote the Pneumatics, a collection of designs for surprising and entertaining devices that were the models for sixteenth and seventeenth century automata. A second book by Hero On Automata-Making – much less well known, then and now – describes two miniature theatres that presented plays without human intervention. One of these, it is argued, provided the model for the type of proscenium theatre introduced from the mid-sixteenth century, the generic design which is still built today. As the influence of Vitruvius waned, the influence of Hero grew.

Learn from the Engagement Masters Education is a battle for attention. Whether you are a teacher trying to reach a classroom full of students or a parent trying to prepare your child for the world to come, getting our audience to just listen can be a real challenge. When students have access to personalized entertainment sitting in their pockets, anything that doesn't jump out and grab their attention right away is easily drowned out. But there is a place where even today all those modern distractions melt away--Disneyland. When you're there, you're not only in a different world, you're in Walt Disney's world. Whether you are Peter Pan flying over London in Fantasyland or a rebel fighter struggling against the First Order in Galaxy's Edge, you are 100% engaged. Sights, sounds and even smells ensure that your brain is locked into the experience. If we can bring those techniques into our teaching, we can create engaging experiences for our students, grab their attention, and boost their learning. You'll improve your teaching and create a place students want to visit. In this book we'll learn from the world's greatest engagement masters--the Disney Imagineers. Through narrative visits to attractions throughout Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, you'll experience a visit to the park as we share memories and see how the Imagineers make it all work. We'll be guided by Imagineering icon Marty Sklar's Mickey's 10 Commandments of Theme Park Design as we turn our classrooms into the most engaging places on Earth!

Educational resource for teachers, parents and kids!

This book surveys the major advances that were made in art, architecture, sculpture, science, medicine, transportation, and culture.

At her glass-blowing apprenticeship, Renaissance reveler Jessie Morton?s crabby boss and his creepy nephew are causing her problems. But when the man playing the Grim Reaper is killed, Jess has to find the lady, lord or serf whodunit.

Suggests one hundred ninety-nine events to raise money for nonprofit organizations, including 50/50 raffles, cakewalks, dunk tanks, money trees, rummage sales, ballroom dance lessons, walking billboards, and bachelor auctions.

At the urging of her friend, Heather, shy fifteen-year-old Jennifer decides to try out for the annual Renaissance Faire outside of Larkspur, Colorado, and she gets a part playing a milkmaid. The faire is fun and exciting and helps to bring her out of her shell, allowing her to deal with the grief from her father's recent death. When she uncovers a mystery, one that threatens her and the life of a small boy, she finds the strength and courage within herself to save the day and emerges a confident and mature teenager.

Fun with Stuff is a collection of humor columns, many of which first appeared in a Southern California Mensa publication. But don't be frightened; they're not all that intellectual. Hardly. Instead, these are true life stories and exaggerated fabrications that everyone can relate to. Laugh along as Bruce Smith relates tales detailing: A comedy of errors as Bruce and his wife make an attempt to travel in an RV. The origins of the saying, "your hair looks like a cat sucked on it." How you simply can't trust the drink sizes at fast food restaurants. How the phone company wrongly accused the author of calling porn numbers in Africa. A workshop where anyone (well, almost anyone) can learn to write a joke. Enjoy these and other classic columns, regaled by people who wish to remain anonymous as "hilarious," "mind-bogglingly funny," as well as "disorienting and bizarre." "What are laughing at?" people will ask you. "Fun with Stuff," you'll answer. "Bruce Smith is a comedy genius. You should buy it. Really. I'm not kidding. Like right now."

A chronicle of the years between 1100 and 1453 describes the Crusades, the Inquisition, the emergence of the Ottomans, the rise of the Mongols, and the invention of new currencies, weapons, and schools of thought.

Forty-five finely detailed, ready-to color illustrations depict an Italian peasant couple in wedding dress, children of a German royal family garbed in velvet, an English lord and lady in riding outfits, and more.