The Odyssey Theme Park - The Task

A prestigious architectural firm who specializes in multimillion dollar theme parks has come to this class and asked for help. The Disney Company has contacted them and wants them to submit a plan for their new "Heroes" theme park. Their part of the park is to be based on Odysseus and the Odyssey. Since we have just finish reading the Odyssey, and since you all know so much about theme parks, and further because some of the most creative minds in town are right in this room, the architects have asked that the plan be done here. In the end, each one of four groups will present their plan to the class before it goes to Disney. The epic will be divided into four parts and there will be four groups working on individual parts of the park. Each area of the park must have a flag, a slogan, attractions and rides, a food court and a menu, and a list of the characters that will be "live" in your area. The four divisions of the park will follow the chronological order of the epic and so will the presentations. However, Disney has made it very clear that although there is quite a bit of violence in the Odyssey, they want us to concentrate on staying true to the epic but minimizing the violent aspect. Remember, they want their park draw families as visitors, and they want to entertain people of all ages. Remember this is for "The Happiest Place on Earth" not the scariest.

The park will also have a visitor's center/museum that will be divided into four parts, and each group will be responsible for a specific area of the museum. Each member of the class will have an active role in the presentation. The presentation must include a map or some kind of visual representation of your work. Also, group will submit a two page paper that relates the significance of the part of the epic that you studied as well as the reasons why you chose to represent it the way you have. And a two page visitor’s guide based on your area of the museum that could be used as part of the museum's visitors guide.

Your reputation as an Odyssey expert and as a theme park expert is riding on this proposal, so let's get started.

Resources for Group 1

Group 1 will be responsible for the first part of the voyage and any background material on the Trojan War. This part will cover the voyage from “Ships and Men” through “Keeper of the Winds.” For the visitor's center, this group will research Homer's life and his work.

• Keep a journal with daily entries on your progress, your questions, your research, your ideas, and even your ideas that sounded good until you tried to make them work. It is just as important to learn from our bad ideas as it is from our good ones.
• Also in your journal keep notes on what the other members of your group are doing. They are your greatest resource and you need to know who to ask.
• Review and study sources that tell about your portion of the voyage and the park.
• As a group come up with the slogan and the design of the flag for your area. 
• Study and discuss the following jobs necessary for the project.
• Each member of the group will take one of the following roles:
• Project Superintendent: The superintendent will oversee the project, and make sure that all of the individual parts come together to complete the project. The superintendent will also take notes on what everyone is doing and make sure that jobs and topics for the museum are not duplicated. This person will be responsible for keeping the group on task and on time. The superintendent will be the "right hand person" helping all of the other group members. This person is also responsible for working with the other Project Superintendents and making sure that all of the pieces of the larger project fit together and are done in a timely manor.
• Coordinator of Food Service: This person takes the ideas of the group and makes the final decisions about what food to serve and the creation of the actual menu will be done by this person. Disney wants to see the menu exactly as the park visitors will see it. Be creative and stick to the theme.
• Groundskeeper: This person will ensure that the flag and the slogan that the group has come up with are created, and are visible and that a physical representation of the theme is evident either in the lay out of the park or the plantings.
• Attractions Coordinator: This person will turn the ideas of the group into the reality of the park. Remember that you need rides, and shows and games for a variety of age groups.
• Museum Co-Curators: Every person must choose what topic they will research for the groups display in the visitor's center/museum. Each person must research their topic,and turn in a 2 page paper about what they have researched and what they want the visitors to know about their topic
• Decide who will take each role in your group and begin coming up with ideas. Be sure to write down all of the ideas, so that you can use the list to make your final decisions. Then keep the list as you may want to go back to them and rethink your plan as you do the work.
• Review a few maps and get an idea of the topographical qualities of your area.
•  Read a few examples of much abridged versions of the epic. Some of these are quite comical and will help you formulate ideas for your project
•  Review the following sites for ideas for your theme park project. These sites are more serious and deal with the epic in a more serious way.
• Brainstorm with your group and come decide how you area will be laid out.
• Work on you individual responsibilities and get help and suggestions from every member of your group.
• Check out the resources listed below for each section of the visitor's center and gather ideas for that as you work. Make notes about which sites have information that you can use for the museum.
• Be sure to make a decision on what part of the museum you will research for your paper and let the superintendent know so that there are not duplicates.
• Decide how you will make your group presentation and begin creating.
• Be sure to keep the superintendent informed and ask all member of your committee for help. 
• As you conduct your research and work on the project, you should ask the following questions:
• What is the background of the story?
• Who is Odysseus and what are his feelings about the voyage?
• Who are the gods that are involved in Odysseus' life? Do they have a positive or negative influence on Odysseus?
• Do you want to include them in your park?
• What are the most important parts of the voyage that should be included in the park? 

General Resources for Group 1

• A map to get you started
• A much more detailed map
• The short version of the story from Mythweb
• The more detailed version of the epic also from Mythweb
• A Chronology of the travels of Odysseus with lots of links to other sources
• Greek Mythology :From the Iliad to the fall of the Last Tyrant
• Homer's Odyssey from the Perseus Project HomePage at Tufts University
• The Homer HomePage

Research resources for Group 1 

• A Map to the Land of the Lotus-Eaters
• Bulfinch's Fables
• The Land of the Ciconians
• Bulfinch's Mythology The Adventures of Ulysses
• The University of Toronto's Mythnet discussion of Homer
• ThinkQuest's study of Homer for students

Resources for Group 2  

Group 2 will concentrate on the island of Circe, and follow the epic through the encounter with Scylla and Charybdis. For the visitor's center, this group will research examples of great works of art that relate to the gods, the characters, and the events of the Odysseus

• Keep a journal with daily entries on your progress, your questions, your research, your ideas, and even your ideas that sounded good until you tried to make them work. It is just as important to learn from our bad ideas as it is from our good ones.
• Also in your journal keep notes on what the other members of your group are doing. They are your greatest resource and you need to know who to ask.
• Review and study sources that tell about your portion of the voyage and the park.
• As a group come up with the slogan and the idea for the flag for your area. 
• Study and discuss the following jobs necessary for the project.
• Each member of the group will take one of the following roles:
• Project Superintendent: The superintendent will oversee the project, and make sure that all of the individual parts come together to complete the project. The superintendent will also take notes on what everyone is doing and make sure that jobs and topics for the museum are not duplicated. This person will be responsible for keeping the group on task and on time. The superintendent will be the "right hand person" helping all of the other group members. This person is also responsible for working with the other Project Superintendents and making sure that all of the pieces of the larger project fit together and are done in a timely manor.
• Coordinator of Food Service: This person takes the ideas of the group and makes the final decisions about what food to serve and the creation of the actual menu will be done by this person. Disney wants to see the menu exactly as the park visitors will see it. Be creative and stick to the theme.
• Groundskeeper: This person will ensure that the flag and the slogan that the group has come up with are created, and are visible and that a physical representation of the theme is evident either in the lay out of the park or the plantings.
• Attractions Coordinator: This person will turn the ideas of the group into the reality of the park. Remember that you need rides, and shows and games for a variety of age groups.
• Museum Co-Curators: Every person must choose what topic they will research for the groups display in the visitor's center/museum. Each person must research their topic, and turn in a 2 page paper about what they have researched and what they want the visitors to know about their topic.

General resources

• A map to get you started
• A much more detail map
• The short version of the story from Mythweb
• The more detailed version of the epic also from Mythweb
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology
• A Chronology of the travels of Odysseus with lots of links to other sources
• Greek Mythology :From the Iliad to the fall of the Last Tyrant
• The Internet Classic Archive
• Homer's Odyssey from the Perseus Project HomePage at Tufts University
• Bulfinch's Mythology Chapter XXIX The Return of Ulysses This page is also moving. When you get to this page, you must search for "The Age Of Fables" link and then on to Chapter XXX

Resources for research paper Group 2

• A catalogue of images form Greek mythology
• The Image Gallery of the Encyclopedia Mythica
• Temple University's site with links to images in Western art related to the Odyssey
• Tufts University catalogue of references to Greek mythology in the Art and Archeology section

Resources for Group 3

This group will take over at “The Cattle of the Sun” and continue through “Nausicaa.” The third part of the museum will cover references to the gods, the characters and events that can be found in literature.

• Keep a journal with daily entries on your progress, your questions, your research, you ideas, and even your ideas that sounded good until you tried to make them work. It is just as important to learn from our bad ideas as it is from our good ones. Also in your journal keep notes on what the other members of your group are doing. They are your greatest resource and you need to know who to ask.
• Review and study sources that tell about your portion of the voyage and the park.
• As a group come up with the slogan and the idea for the flag for your area. 
• Study and discuss the following jobs necessary for the project.
• Each member of the group will take one of the following roles:
• Project Superintendent: The superintendent will oversee the project, and make sure that all of the individual parts come together to complete the project. The superintendent will also take notes on what everyone is doing and make sure that jobs and topics for the museum are not duplicated. This person will be responsible for keeping the group on task and on time. The superintendent will be the "right hand person" helping all of the other group members. This person is also responsible for working with the other Project Superintendents and making sure that all of the pieces of the larger project fit together and are done in a timely manor.
• Coordinator of Food Service: This person takes the ideas of the group and makes the final decisions about what food to serve and the creation of the actual menu will be done by this person. Disney wants to see the menu exactly as the park visitors will see it. Be creative and stick to the theme.
• Groundskeeper: This person will ensure that the flag and the slogan that the group has come up with are created, and are visible and that a physical representation of the theme is evident either in the lay out of the park or the plantings.
• Attractions Coordinator: This person will turn the ideas of the group into the reality of the park. Remember that you need rides, and shows and games for a variety of age groups.
• Museum Co-Curators: Every person must choose what topic they will research for the groups display in the visitor's center/museum. Each person must research their topic, and turn in a 2 page paper about what they have researched and what they want the visitors to know about their topic.

General resources

• A map to get you started
• A much more detail map
• The short version of the story from Mythweb
• The more detailed version of the epic also from Mythweb
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology
• A Chronology of the travels of Odysseus with lots of links to other sources
• Greek Mythology :From the Iliad to the fall of the Last Tyrant
• The Internet Classic Archive
• Homer's Odyssey from the Perseus Project HomePage at Tufts University

Resources for research paper and visitor's center

This University of Toronto site will let you search for all of these authors.

"To Helen" by Edgar Allen Poe

"Helen of Troy" by Sara Teasdale

"Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

"On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer" by John Keats

Ulysses by James Joyce

Resources for Group 4

This group will study the final part of the epic that takes place on the island of Ithaca and tells of Odysseus' return and his battles to take back his kingdom and his wife and son. Your section of the museum will show references to Homer and the Odyssey film and entertainment in the 20th Century.

• Keep a journal with daily entries on your progress, your questions, your research, you ideas, and even your ideas that sounded good until you tried to make them work. It is just as important to learn from our bad ideas as it is from our good ones. Also in your journal keep notes on what the other members of your group are doing. They are your greatest resource and you need to know who to ask.
• Review and study sources that tell about your portion of the voyage and the park.
• As a group come up with the slogan and the idea for the flag for your area. 
• Study and discuss the following jobs necessary for the project.
• Each member of the group will take one of the following roles:
• Project Superintendent: The superintendent will oversee the project, and make sure that all of the individual parts come together to complete the project. The superintendent will also take notes on what everyone is doing and make sure that jobs and topics for the museum are not duplicated. This person will be responsible for keeping the group on task and on time. The superintendent will be the "right hand person" helping all of the other group members. This person is also responsible for working with the other Project Superintendents and making sure that all of the pieces of the larger project fit together and are done in a timely manor.
• Coordinator of Food Service: This person takes the ideas of the group and makes the final decisions about what food to serve and the creation of the actual menu will be done by this person. Disney wants to see the menu exactly as the park visitors will see it. Be creative and stick to the theme.
• Groundskeeper: This person will ensure that the flag and the slogan that the group has come up with are created, and are visible and that a physical representation of the theme is evident either in the lay out of the park or the plantings.
• Attractions Coordinator: This person will turn the ideas of the group into the reality of the park. Remember that you need rides, and shows and games for a variety of age groups.
• Museum Co-Curators: Every person must choose what topic they will research for the groups display in the visitor's center/museum. Each group must research their topic, and turn in a brochure about what they have researched and what they want the visitors to know about their topic.

General Resources for Group 4

• A map to get you started
• A much more detail map
• The short version of the story from Mythweb
• The more detailed version of the epic also from Mythweb
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology
• A Chronology of the travels of Odysseus with lots of links to other sources
• Greek Mythology :From the Iliad to the fall of the Last Tyrant
• The Internet Classic Archive
• Homer's Odyssey from the Perseus Project HomePage at Tufts University

Resources for research paper for Group 4

• The Odyssey Choose Your Character: An interactive game.
• Wishbone does the Odyssey