A surprise gem of a visit was going to the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź. You may wonder why I am so excited about a textile museum. Teachers within my museum group all teach the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a time of new ideas and technology that changed how goods were produced. We could touch and view the products and machines used in this process for the first time. Our photographs captured the size and complexity of these machines to share with our students. Currently, my students are under the misconception that people in the past did not have any technology or that existing technology was not that complex. Our photographs will dispel that belief.
At the Central Museum of Textiles, we discussed “best practices” or how we engage and educate our students about the Industrial Revolution. My colleagues and I discussed how to incorporate these new materials and ideas into our existing lessons to make them more impactful.
The way Łódź grew from a small agricultural village to an industrial center mirrors the development of factory towns and cities in England and other countries. We discussed the development of cities and how housing, sanitation, and other factors associated with the growth of cities impact their development. The museum traces history from this time until the end of Communism. This follows our curriculum guide on the fall of Communism including the loss of manufacturing jobs and the switch to capitalism and its toll on ordinary people. I left the museum with new materials, lesson ideas, and an appreciation of how Łódź was reinventing itself once again to fit into modern times.
