Name____________________________
Per_____
Score______/ 20
Old Time Entertainment Webquest
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many changes were taking place in society.
Americans had more leisure time, more money to spend on entertainment, they were
more enthusiastic about sports, and they were developing a spirit of fun. Soon, a
whole new commercial recreation industry was developed to supply inexpensive
entertainment for all Americans. Using the resources provided, you will begin to
explore this new world of entertainment. Please answer the questions below as you
go.
1. Go to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/vaudeville.html
What is vaudeville?
2. Go to http://www.houdinitribute.com/houdini.html Click on the link that says
Houdini’s biography. Who was Harry Houdini? Why did I include him in the section
on vaudeville?
3. Click on some of the links to view pictures of Houdini and his acts. What were 2
of Houdini’s stunts.
4. Pretty soon a new form of entertainment began to give vaudeville competition.
What is a nickelodeon? (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_movie_theater )
5. Where was the first nickelodeon built?
6. Why did nickelodeons die?
7. Another popular form of entertainment was the circus. Ladies and Gentlemen,
boys and girls, go to http://www.circusweb.com/cwhistory.html Scroll down to the
last two paragraphs on the page. What was the first American circus made up of?
8. Go to http://www.circushistory.org/history.htm Click on the Photos link on the
left. Then click on the links in red to view pictures of the circus. Be patient! The
pictures will appear towards the bottom of the page.
9. If you didn’t want to see the circus, perhaps you’d want to visit an amusement
park. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_park Scroll down to the
section on Trolley Parks. What did the trolley line have to do with amusement
parks?
10. Some of the first amusement parks in the United States were opened on Coney
Island, New York. Go to http://history.amusement-parks.com/coneyislandpages.htm
Click on the link Amusement Parks of Coney Island. What were the names of 3 of
the very first amusement parks.
11. Choose one of the parks to explore. Read the captions that go along with the
pictures. What types of rides were in these early amusement parks?
12. Sports also became popular in the 1800s. People wanted to watch and
participate. Go to http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/ . What sport quickly
became America’s favorite?
13. Look to the left of the page and click on the timeline link. Who invented the
sport and when?
14. The increase in education that we read about in Section 1 meant that reading
became a popular pastime. More and more people began reading newspapers and
magazines. They were also reading something called “dime novels”. What were dime
novels? What were popular topics of dime novels?
(see http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri015.html )
15. In addition to reading, sports, and other amusements, music became a popular
diversion. Thomas Edison invented a machine that allowed people to listen to music
at home without having to produce it themselves. What was this invention called?
(see http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledisondiscphpgraph.htm )
16. A popular form of music was ragtime. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragtime
Scroll down to the section on Historical Context. Where did ragtime originate?
17. Scott Joplin wrote the Maple Leaf Rag, which became one of the most
recognized pieces of ragtime music in the country. Go to
http://www.last.fm/music/Scott+Joplin/_/Maple+Leaf+rag , click on the play
button, and listen to this popular work. What do you find interesting about this
type of music?