Video Archives

The Look Back

The Look Back is a series made for learners in grades 4-9 that explores eras from Wisconsin’s history through artifacts. The series is hosted by historians who model an inquiry process: sharing artifacts, asking questions, visiting archives and museums to learn more, telling the story of their findings as they go, and making connections to our lives today.

Learning Goals

Explore

Explore artifacts and their context to learn about eras from Wisconsin history.
Understand

Understand historical inquiry by watching historians investigate, infer, contextualize, and make meaning.
Examine

Examine Wisconsin’s history through timelines and primary sources.

Featured Episode

Woman with purple hair next to vintage typewriters and old QWERTY layouts, overlaid with text: “The Quest for QWERTY!”

QWERTY: How Wisconsin Holds the Keys to Typing History

Early Wisconsin, the Civil War, and Reconstruction

Sergio, Cat and Kacie head to Milwaukee to uncover how the QWERTY keyboard took shape in Wisconsin. They explore how Christopher Latham Sholes and a group of local inventors refined early typewriters, experimented with piano-style keyboards and even considered Morse code as they developed the layout we still use today.

Explore the collection

All Eras

First
Nations

Before 1620

Early
Explorers

Before 1800

The Fur
Trade Era

1600–1832

Territory to
Statehood

1787–1848

Early Wisconsin,
the Civil War &
Reconstruction

1848–1877

The Progressive
Era and
World War I

1874–1914

WWI &
the Great
Depression

1914–1939

The New Deal
& WWII

1933–1945

Postwar
Wisconsin

1945–1960

Vietnam
Era

1960–1975

Modern
Era

1975–Present

Partners

I loved how you made the videos educational and fun at the same time!

Wisconsin student

Resource Type: Video

Explore

Understand