Weights and measures

URL: http://museum.nist.gov/exhibits/ex1/index.html

1007936

This virtual museum presents the role of the United States government in the development and standardization of weights and measures. Produced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the exhibit displays objects in eight virtual rooms: America Before Standard Weights and Measures; Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler; The Office of Weights and Measures in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1836-1901; The Mendenhall Order; The Founding of the National Bureau of Standards in 1901; From Artifacts to Physical Constants; The Dissemination of Standard Weights and Measures; and A Social History of Weights and Measures. Text as well as images relate the history.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Connections, Education, Length, Mathematics, Mathematics history, Measurement, Measuring, Process skills, Real world applications, Science as inquiry, Science process skills, Systems of measurement, Using mathematics, Weight and mass
Grade level	Middle School, High School, Higher Education, Informal Education, Vocational/Professional Development Education
Intended audience	Educator, General Public, Learner
Resource type	Instructional Material, Reference Material
Resource format	image, image/gif, text, text/html

Found in collection(s)

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Title	Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Link	http://msteacher2.org/
Description	The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. MSP2 is a project of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, National Middle School Association, and Education Development Center, Inc., and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The partners integrate resources, tools, and services across projects, and support multiple methods of resource discovery to meet the needs of this audience.
	Full description and distribution of resources

Content contained within the resource

      The struggle to achieve weights and measures standardization was central to the progress of industrialization in the United States and to the concurrent maturation of national and international markets. The story forms an essential part of our country's narrative of scientific advance and economic development. This exhibit is a small part of that story -- told from the perspective of one of the major players: the Federal Government. The role of the Federal Government was (and is) to insure the traceability of all secondary and working standards to International Standards. The cooperation of the States and the Federal Government toward this end is an example of federalism functioning robustly and efficiently for the benefit of the citizenry. Weights and Measures is a story that is told with objects. Many of the objects are in the collection of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Museum and several others were virtually borrowed for the exhibit. NIST wishes to thank all of the organizations that loaned objects. Thanks also to Christopher Evans, Howard Harary, Zeina Jabbour, Richard Rhorer, and Jack Stone, Jr., of the NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory for their assistance with the development of this exhibit.