Your old pal Professor Sy Entz has been reworking his Time Travel Machine in the garage. You have stopped by after school and are having a conversation with him about the early Renaissance and Medeval period in Europe (he is a history buff, besides being a science genius!).
You muse half-aloud, "Wouldn't it be great to travel back to the days when people wore those interesting clothes and there were fortresses and knights and damsels and all of that kind of stuff?"
"Of course," mentions Professor Entz, "this was a time of great pestilence, including cholera and the Black Plague!"
YOU have recently been studying bacteria and viruses, and you reply "Professor, do you know the Plague even exists today and may someday again be a serious health problem? Our teacher mentioned something about that in school last week, and I think he found a couple of web sites about it, too!"
Professor Entz is surprised by your knowledge about this topic. He goes on, "It sure would be cool to travel back in time before the Renaissance in Europe, maybe the 1300's don't you think, traveling to a variety of towns and villages on a pilgramage or a trading voyage, maybe be a part a Crusade and all."
But he continues, checking himself, "But, you know that because it is the time of the Pestis Puerorum a form of the Black Plague which was particularly virulent among children and young people, during the mid 1300's, you will want to find out more about the plague before you start. You'll want to take medicine with you just in case and research how to protect yourself from becoming infected. Did you know that the plague of this period was the second great plague to invade Europe?"
"No," you reply.
"Yes! Professor Entz bellows. "This Plague was so deadly that is took until the 1800s before the population again rose to the numbers before the Plague, about 500 years!!"
"Are you still sure you would be interested in traveling back to that time?" he questions.
"Yes," you respond enthusiastically, "I'd like to go on a Time Travel Trip to Europe after I find out more about this disease. I'll keep a journal of what I learn so that I know what medicines to bring with me. Who knows, perhaps I'll be able to treat others who have the plague with these modern medicines, or help in other ways."
"I might even be able to turn in my journal notes to my teacher for some credit! I could really use some extra credit after my last progress report!"
"Oh?" asks the Professor, peering over his glasses piercingly "Haven't been studying so much? That won't do if you are thinking about going on with your education. I know you've got a good brain, but you've got to use it more than every other day, you know!
"Oh, I know" you counter, "I've already been grounded this week. I'm gonna do much better this grading period. Maybe this can help me get started!"
The original simulation was produced by a teacher for teachers. However, I am currently developing a student lesson, which can be done by one person as an internet-based lesson, as part of the S.C.O.R.E-Science project (Schools On-line Resources for Educators)
SUMMARY: You will be a traveler on one of 6 journeys to start, either a Pilgrimage mostly by land or as a trader/voyager, mostly by sea. The plague was spread by these trading and pilgram routes, as travelers went from town to town.
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