For live links, click to: riverhouses.org/2019-apollo-11-film
The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing is this month (Saturday the 20th), and one of the best commemorations that has so far appeared is a full-length documentary called simply Apollo 11. It’s showing in some theaters and can be purchased online — I’ve seen it, and I recommend it highly to all homeschool families.
This documentary is based almost entirely on never-before-seen footage of the Apollo 11 mission that is stored in the U.S. National Archives. For this Homeschool Books & Libraries post, here’s a three-minute background video from the National Archives that shows some of the materials that went into the creation of the full-length film, and how the Archives staff cares for and processes those materials:
Every homeschool student should know the story of the Apollo 11 mission (and of manned spaceflight in general), and this 50th anniversary documentary is an excellent way to teach about it.
“Crafted from previously unseen 70mm film footage and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, [this] new documentary transports moviegoers to the heart of NASA’s most celebrated mission — Apollo 11, the one that first put men on the Moon and forever made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin into American icons.
“Newly digitized footage discovered at the National Archives and Records Administration plays a major role in the new documentary that allows viewers to experience the perspectives of the astronauts, the Mission Control team, and the millions of spectators on the ground. The film showcases the days and hours in 1969 when American astronauts took “a giant leap for mankind” into the future.“ (National Archives)
Here’s the commercial trailer for the full-length documentary itself:
Do you have a moon party planned for the 20th? 🌕
What educational discoveries have you made at your library lately? 😊
❡ Dukedoms large enough: Have you found all the local libraries in your area? There may be more than you realize, and there’s no better homeschool field trip than a field trip to a new library! The WorldCat Library Finder will help you find all the library collections near you — public and private, large and small — and the WorldCat catalog itself will help you locate the closest copy of almost any book in the world. 😊
❡ When in doubt, go to the library: This is one of our regular Homeschool Books & Libraries posts. Add your name to our weekly mailing list (riverhouses.org/newsletter) and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 📚
