Classics Ancient Science Fair

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  The Iron Claw

  Marcus Allen

  This is a presentation about the ancient siege weapon, the Iron Claw, otherwise known as the claw. The presentation discusses the basic construction of the weapon, and includes a demonstration of the weapon using a fishing pole to show its damaging effects.

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  Finding Pythagoras in the Pythagoreans

  Brandon Barnes

  This presentation for the Ancient Science Fair deals with the Pythagorean Theorem. Since Pythagoras himself did not write down his work, early scholars had to work to find the knowledge and unify it among differing sources.

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  Roman Aqueducts

  Rachel Caughey and Krista Long

  Access to safe, clean drinking water is essential for any city’s survival. This was especially difficult but still necessary for cities in antiquity. Rome was able to construct conduits that provided enough water to supply its citizens and clean the sewer systems. This was an engineering feat that was unsurpassed by other states in the ancient world.

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  Gynecology in Antiquity

  Kristen Cross

  The field of Gynecology has had major shifts through its history. It began with the expansion of duties for Midwives and a wide variety of schools of thought continued to advise its growth. This presentation discusses the ancient thoughts, their origins, and its many outdated beliefs.

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  DIY Archimedes Claw

  Tiarrah Edwards

  This is a video showing the creation of a small scale model of the Archimedes Claw. The video is a time lapse of the build.

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  The Single Arm Torsion Catapult

  Joshua Engle

  This video shows a scale model of a single arm torsion catapult. It discusses the advancements made by the Romans, the basics of how the catapult works, as well as a demonstration of the model unit.

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  The Mechanical and Scientific Significance of the Ships of Nemi

  Troy Frazier

  In 1929 the first of the two Nemi ships breached the waters of lake Nemi, seeing the surface of the lake for the first time in centuries. To recover the two ships, a pair of pleasure ships created under the rule of Caligula, an attempt was made to drain lake Nemi. This proceeded and in 1931 the second ship exceeded the water level as well. Over the course of this recovery of these sunken ships and prior attempts and findings a treasure trove of information was uncovered, expanding the understanding of the mechanical feats accomplished during the Roman Empire.

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  Ancient Aqueducts

  Zachary Helm

  This presentation discusses the science behind the Roman Aqueducts. It discusses a wide variety of advances and updates they developed.

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  Ancient Medicine

  Matt Henson

  The ancient Greek’s understanding of medicine including anatomy was quite rudimentary to begin with. However, figures like Hippocrates and Herophilus of Chalcedon, were aware of certain things others were not, and they utilized their time to research how the human body functions. Much of the study of the human body came from injuries inflicted on people. Physicians would examine the injuries in order to form a better understanding of the human body. This would give a basis to study the human body, but without advanced technology and possibility of autopsies would hinder the ability for the physicians to truly understand or experiment on the body.

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  Roman Medical Instruments

  Mickayla Hite and Kendall Westmor

  This poster presents information about a variety of Roman Medical Instruments. It includes Scalpels, Cauteries, Forceps, Gynecological Instruments, Probes, Bleeding Cups, and Materials.

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  The Roman Toga: Construction and Cultural Implications

  Natalie Houliston

  This poster discusses the Roman Toga, its modern impact, and a wide variety of aspects about the article of clothing. These other aspects range from the various types, process of making one, materials they are made of, and its role in society among other details.

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  Pliny The Younger & Mt. Vesuvius

  Taylor Huxlrey

  Pliny the Younger's letters painted a beautiful picture of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. His letters are thought to have allowed modern volcanoligists to discover information about the eruption and the destruction of Pompeii. This presentation discusses how impactful these letters truly were.

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  The Engineering of Roman Baths

  Rachel Kinder

  The Roman Bath was a engineering miracle that has captured our imaginations for centuries. This presentation explores the history, engineering, and social implications of the Roman Bath.

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  Sailing in the Ancient Mediterranean

  Cody Lawrence

  Sailing in the Mediterranean was no simple feat. The technological advancements took many decades to continue went through many stages. This presentation discusses various stages of these advances and discusses many of the shipwrecks found of the various stages of development.

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  Alexander of Macedon

  Chris Ratliff

  This presentation discusses the many traits of Alexander of Macedon. It discusses Alexander's assault on the island of Tyre. It shows his charisma and ingenuity in terms of his assaults, and invasions.

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  Evolution of Surgery and Surgical Instruments in Science

  Shelbi Royster

  The professionalism of the medical field developed in ancient Greece through the Hippocratic Corpus. This is one of first Greek writings on medical practices and the tools associated with different medical practices as well. Although medicine and its practices were defined from different writers, the medical field was not a popular profession to enter in the Greek world. Educational occupations such as philosophy were more sought after, especially with superstitions of the Greeks.

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  Comparison of Euthytone and Palintone Capabilities

  Gregory Ryherd

  This presentation is a comparison between two different long range siege weapons. The poster presentation compares their usage, practicality, and other various aspects of the weapons.

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  An Introduction to Roman Roads

  Aaron Schultz

  This presentation dives into the impressive nature of Roman roads. Roman roads are incredible feats of engineering. They are still very visible today, and show an impressive amount of advancement to be built to such standards. They were build and maintained by the standing army. T

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  The Cosmos According to Ptolemy

  Benjamin Smith

  In the second century AD, Claudius Ptolemaeus, the astronomer from Alexandria, would provide a geometric conception of the cosmos with the ability to predict planetary motion, in what would be known as the Ptolemaic, or Geocentric, Model of the Universe. Prior to Ptolemy, the notion in ancient astronomy was that the cosmos was ”perfect”; the heavenly bodies must move along the perfect curve (a circle) as the perfect shape (a sphere). Yet, irregularities occur in observing the planets in concentric circles alone. Ptolemy’s answer, building upon Hipparchus and Aristotle, would present an eccentric system in which the heavenly bodies move in epicycles along deferent paths. Though modifications would be necessary, the Ptolemaic Model would maintain a geocentric cosmos and predict planetary movement for the next millennium.

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  Equatorial Sundials in the Ancient World: Construction and Applications

  Alyssa Stark

  Time is an easy concept on the surface. Most people comprehend the idea of a year, month, week, day, and second. This was not the case for the ancient populations who lived before us. One of the earliest methods for determining time throughout the day was utilizing shadows which were cast from objects. Tall trees, due to their sedentariness, were great tools in early time telling. Ancient people would have observed these shadows much earlier than we have record for. However, the idea of time telling using shadows continued long past the ancient world.

  Sundials are the tool created to better use the shadows created by the sun rotating around the earth. Trigonometry in ancient Greece established the math to create much more sophisticated sundials. This poster will explore trigonometry in relationship to sundials.

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  A Philological Examination of Eratosthenes’ Calculation of Earth’s Circumference

  Kelly Staver

  A Greek mathematician named Eratosthenes calculated an accurate measurementofthe Earth’s circumference, that being 250,000 stades orclose to Earth’s actualcircumference of40,120 km,¹ in Hellenistic Alexandria, Egyptcirca 240 B.C.E. To do this, Eratosthenes’utilized the distance between Alexandria and Syeneandgnomon measurements taken in Syeneand Alexandria at noon on the summersolstice.

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  The Corvus, the Roman Boarding Device

  Jacob Stickel

  The Roman's made many technological advancements, many of which were of a military nature. This presentation discusses the creation, use and other aspects of the Corvus, a Roman invention for naval warfare.

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  Pharmaceuticals of the Ancient World

  Jennifer Swabb

  This presentation discusses the various aspects of pharmaceuticals within the ancient world. It begins with discussing the foundations in plants, and analyzes the changes over time. It also discusses some major contributors, and some major plants used in the past.

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  Building a Single Arm Torsion Catapult

  Owen Swigert

  This video details the concept behind the Single Arm Torsion Catapult, shows the building of a scale model of one, and finally the model in use.

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  Recreating Ancient Roman Clothing

  Miranda Taylor

  This presentation is a description of recreating 3 different Roman articles of clothing. The Toga, Chiton, and Tunic are the articles that were made. It discusses the different materials used now as opposed to the traditional methods for the cloth, dyes, and process.