Scientific Data: Observing, Recording, and Communicating Information

This Library of Congress Student Discovery Set is here to put history into your hands. It brings together historical artifacts and one-of-a-kind documents from the collections of the Library of Congress. Interactive tools let you zoom in for close examination, draw to highlight interesting details, and make notes about what you discover. There's no single right answer, only new discoveries to be made.


For centuries, scientists have used words, numbers, and drawings in many different ways to record and communicate their efforts to make sense of the natural world.  Reports, maps, notes, letters, diagrams, sketches, and more provide rich opportunities to showcase those thinkers' efforts to document their investigations, and also offer glimpses into the nature of science.


This set is intended for open-ended primary source analysis by students. A Teacher's Guide with background information, teaching ideas, and additional resources is available on the Library's Web site for teachers, loc.gov/teachers.