The Library of Congress

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This album was found in a museum filing cabinet. It was to be part of an exhibit titled "When Work Is Done," about leisure time activities in the 20th Century. The explanatory data for the album was missing.

Open the Album

Join our museum staff and help us fill in the missing information. As a member of the museum staff you will be expected to examine the album and decide what patterns are present in the pictures. Why did the curator select these pictures? Why would someone have photographed this scene? What do the photographs have in common? How are they different? Record your observations. Please print out the Staff Directions and fill it in as you work.

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Now that you have browsed the Playing Cards Album, feel free to try your hand at collating your own. Using photographs from American Memory, create an album that could be included in the exhibit, "When Work is Done."

1. The album should be related to leisure time activities in the 20th Century and consist of photos and memorabilia such as posters, tickets, and music scores.
2. Title the album.
3. Each entry should have a caption.
4. Research leisure time activities in the American Memory collections at the Library of Congress web site. An annotated bibliography in Resources can help get you started.
5. Topic Suggestions will help you pick your topic and to continue your research.
6. Use Album Guidelines to create your album.

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Bring your album to life for your classmates. Create an oral report with the materials you've assembled that will inform both your classmates and invited parents and guests. See Oral Report Guidelines for details.