Before Dr. Robert Moore (RIGHT) became an educator at Washington University in St. Louis, he was a historian who worked for the National Park Service for 40 years. He enjoys doing historical research and using architectural drawing programs to create 3-D computer models of past buildings and landscapes. He also spends time hiking in the woods and watching animals and birds in their natural habitats. Dr. Moore shared his thoughts about life on the westward trails and his long career at Gateway Arch National Park. The park was founded to commemorate the role of St. Louis in the westward expansion of the United States during the 1800s.
What got you interested in history?
I was born in Utica, New York. The Oriskany Revolutionary War battle happened not far from where I lived, and my family visited the battlefield and the museum. You could almost imagine the conflict that happened there. I also spent a lot of time with my grandfather. He was a soldier in World War I and a carpenter who was interested in old buildings. All those things made me curious about people who lived a long time ago. What did they eat? How did they dress? How were the times they lived in different from the times I was living through?
What made you focus on westward expansion?
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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Eye in the Sky
An interview with Joe Piotrowski
Airborne Animals
Humans have taken to the skies in balloons, gliders, and airplanes-but we're not alone among the clouds. Animals of all sorts have evolved to harness wind power.
TAKING OFF
The Wright brothers expected airplanes to “take off,” but even they might be amazed at the way the airline industry has become big business. In the past, it was expensive to send something by plane.
GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRY
After their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright returned to Dayton, Ohio. They spent the next few years making adjustments and building additional versions of their powered aircraft in their bicycle shop.
WHY KITTY HAWK?
The Wright brothers searched carefully for the best place to test their gliders and flying machines. Their main concern was for good, steady winds. But they also hoped to find a remote location to allow them to perform tests away from the public eye.
Two Brothers From Ohio
Most people do not realize that the Wright brothers—Wilbur, born in 1867, and Orville, born in 1871—performed various scientific experiments before inventing their aircraft. For as long as anyone in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, could remember, the Wright boys had worked on mechanical projects.
A Helping Hand
May 6, 1896. A group of people who had gathered beside the Potomac River, just south of the U.S. capital, grew quiet. Then, it erupted in cheers as a small, unmanned aircraft took to the skies and flew for more than half a mile. The flight came seven years before the Wright brothers’ first manned, powered flight. The inventor of the aircraft was Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley.
THE IDEA MEN
People dreamed of flying thousands of years before the Wright brothers found success near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These dreamers, such as Leonardo da Vinci, studied birds flying and imagined how humans might do the same—if only they had wings. Other men developed a more hands-on approach to the topic. Early inventors made wings of cloth, glue, and feathers and tied these creations to their arms in an attempt to imitate nature.
Da Vinci's 4 Designs
Have you ever wondered how a bird flies? Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) did. He thought that understanding how a bird flies would provide the key to human flight. So, what did da Vinci learn from birds?
Silken Wings
Seven hundred years before the Wright brothers began experimenting with human flight, the Chinese had already mastered its secrets—with kites.
