Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi has always been fascinated with the wonders of the world. When we think "wonders of the world", we usually think of the seven ancient wonders of the world described by Philo of Byzantium and the ancient Greeks. We might wonder why these were chosen when we think of other wonders that seem more, well, wonderful. Why did they not include the much older and super cool Great Wall of China for example?
Why Those Wonders?
Because the Greeks had only traveled around the Mediterranean, they only knew of the wonders they had seen. And like most every civilization, they believed that their culture would survive forever. They had no way of knowing that none but one of their original seven, ironically the oldest and not even located in the region of what was Greece, would survive into the medieval years. ( I find this sad. I'd quite liked to have seen Pharos, the Colossus of Rhodes and the others.)
The Wonderful World of Wonders!
As time went by, travelers, historians, scientists and average citizens around the world speculated on other wonders of the world. Below are lists of the original seven wonders, plus other lists compiled over the years. Many places that that didn't make the lists have not been forgotten. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites list includes other places the deserve our respect and preservation. Here are downloadable UNESCO kits to help students learn about these wonders!
Resources for Teachers:
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
The Great Pyramid at Giza
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Pharos of Alexandria
7 Wonders of the Medieval mind
Stonehenge
The Colosseum in Rome
The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
The Great Wall of China
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing (Omi's personal favorite)
The Hagia Sophia
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
7 Wonders of the Natural World
Mount Everest
The Great Barrier Reef
The Grand Canyon
Victoria Falls
The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
Paricutan Volcano
The Northern Lights
7 Wonders of the Modern World
The Empire State Building
The Itaipu Dam
The CN Tower
The Channel Tunnel
The North Sea Protection Works
The Golden Gate Bridge
7 Wonders of the Undersea World
Palau
The Belize Barrier Reef
The Galapagos Islands
The Northern Red Sea
Lake Baikal
The Great Barrier Reef
The Deep Sea Vents
Forgotten Medieval Wonders
Abu Simbel Temple
Angkor Wat
Taj Mahal
Mont St. Michel
The Moai Statues
The Parthenon
The Shwedagon Pagoda
Modern Forgotten Wonders
The Clock tower (Big Ben)
Eiffel Tower
The Gateway Arch
The Aswan High Dam
Hoover Dam
Mount Rushmore
The Petronas Towers
Forgotten Natural Wonders
Angel Falls
The Bay of Fundy
Iguacu Falls
Krakatoa Island
Mt. Fuji
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Niagara Falls
Other Forgotten Wonders
The Aztec Temple
The Banaue Rice Terraces
The Borobudur Temple
The Inca City
The Statue Of Liberty
The Mayan Temples
The Temple of Inscriptions
The Throne Hall of Persepolis
Petra
The Suez Canal
The Sydney Opera House
Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!
A Fun Omschool History Note
I wrote this original article in 2007, 19 years ago when homeschooling my own children! Back then, I guess I could have called it "Momschool" 😊.
Now, almost two decades later, my kids have kids and I'm Omi (grandma!) Some of the information has changed, but wonders never do! In 2007, we had wonderful opportunity to engage globally and vote in a new 7 wonders reflecting. 600 million people voted! We actually ended up electing 21 new wonders in categories of World, Nature and Cities. And now the votes are in (including two I voted for back then)—click the links below to see who won!
💖
Why seven?
Seven is a holy and sacred number in many of the world's religions. In Christianity, we think of seven days of creation (and of the week), seven virtues, seven deadly sins. Other religions use seven in their worship and practice. Seven is believed to be a perfect number. So the ancients used seven and so we keep the tradition.
Free printable lesson plans on the Wonders of the World
Engage Interest
Time Travel: Tell students they are going to time travel. Ask children what they think a "world wonder" is, then ask what they think are the most wonderful things in the world and why. Group these into categories (Man-made, natural, newer, older).
Visuals: Show images of the famous 16th century
engravings
Assess prior knowledge
- Print the list of 100 top ranked wonders from hillmanwonders.com and assess which sites have been visited by students.
- Students should check which they've visited and which they've heard of and which they'd like to visit.
Active Learning
Scribe Activity: Give each student a tablet and stylus (or, for a tactile experience, a piece of clay rolled thin—the original notebook and pencil). Tell them they are scribes and must engrave or draw for posterity what these lovely buildings might have looked like. Display when dry.
🏛️ Wonder Workshop: Ancient Crafts
1. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Living Terrarium
The Goal: Recreate the lush, tiered greenery of the ancient gardens.
Materials: A clear plastic container, small pebbles (for drainage), activated charcoal, potting soil, and small moisture-loving plants (like ferns or moss).
The Process: Layer the pebbles, charcoal, and soil. Plant your greenery and add a few "steps" using stacked flat stones to mimic the terraced structure of the ancient gardens.
2. The Colossus of Rhodes: Clay Sculpture
The Goal: Capture the massive, heroic scale of this bronze giant.
Materials: Air-dry clay, toothpicks (for structural support), and a base (cardboard).
The Process: Use the toothpicks to create a "skeleton" for your statue. Build up the clay around it. Focus on the posture—traditionally depicted with legs straddling the harbor entrance!
3. The Pyramids of Giza: Architectural Model
The Goal: Explore the engineering behind these perfect geometric shapes.
Materials: Foam blocks, cardboard, or sugar cubes, plus small figurines for workers and ramps.
The Process: Construct your pyramid. Don’t forget to build a "ramp" out of cardboard leading to the top to demonstrate how historians believe the massive stones were moved.
4. The Pharos of Alexandria: Illuminated Lighthouse
The Goal: Build a beacon that warns ships away from dangerous shores.
Materials: A paper towel tube (the tower), a small box (the base), and orange/yellow tissue paper.
The Process: Cut windows into the top of the tube. Use the tissue paper to represent the fire at the summit. If you want to be extra fancy, place an LED tea light inside the tube to make your lighthouse actually glow!
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: Recycled Crypt
The Goal: Design a structure that combines Greek, Egyptian, and Lycian architectural styles.
Materials: Recycled shoe boxes, small craft boxes, and construction paper.
The Process: Stack boxes of decreasing size to create the tiered roof. Decorate with paper columns to give it that grand, tomb-like appearance.
6. Temple of Artemis: Column Construction
The Goal: Learn about the "Forest of Columns" that made this temple famous.
Materials: Recycled boxes, paper towel tubes (cut to uniform lengths).
The Process: Attach your paper towel tubes as columns all around the perimeter of your box "temple." How many columns can you fit before it looks like a forest?
7. The Statue of Zeus: History in Costume
The Goal: Visualize the scale and opulence of the original gold-and-ivory statue.
Materials: A doll (like a Ken doll), fabric scraps/felt, and yarn for a beard.
The Process: Create a toga from fabric scraps and style a yarn beard. Research what Zeus was holding—place a miniature "lightning bolt" or "scepter" in his hand to complete the look.
🌍 The "Omschool" Master Activities
The Global Mapping Project: Print images of the wonders and pin them to a large wall-mounted map. Use string to connect each wonder to its location to visualize the breadth of the ancient world.
The Timeline Challenge: Generate a horizontal timeline on a long strip of paper. Have students place the wonders in order of their completion to see which came first, second, and so on.
Modern Day Mirrors: Create a "Then vs. Now" comparison chart.
Example: The Colossus of Rhodes (Ancient beacon of freedom) ↔️ The Statue of Liberty (Modern beacon of freedom).
Thematic Snack: Serve dates, olives, grapes, feta cheese, and pita on a flat dish or basket.
Wrap Up:
Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Lalibela rock-hewn churches in Ethiopia
Oh and I can't leave out the giant Buddha statues around the world, like Wat Pho. And the Prachov Rocks in the Czech Republic. Or the beautiful Plitvice National Parks, Croatia or the forgotten city of Matera in Italy. Or Mount Etna in Sicily or Pompeii or Herculaneum, so many amazing places...All of these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and so very vital to our global community.
- Interactive Exploration: Check out the Britannica Kids World Heritage Site Guide for a kid-friendly breakdown of what these designations mean.
- Classroom Resources: Download the UNESCO World Heritage Education Kit for fun, interactive lessons designed specifically to teach children about global heritage.
- CNN use the clickable map to explore and locate wonders of the world
- NOVA Students can explore this website for all sorts interactive activities
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