Wonders of the World

Wonders of the World

When people say 'Wonders of the World' they are often talking about The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The list of these seven wonders sometimes varies, but the most common list includes:

• The Pyramids of Giza: In Egypt, only one of these pyramids is considered a wonder of the ancient world. This is known as The Great Pyramid. It is the only wonder that still exists today.

• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon: These ancient gardens are thought to have been located near the royal palace in Babylon.

• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia: This was a gigantic statue made of marble and gold.

• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus: This Greek temple was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was located in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus.

• The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: This tomb was built between 350 and 353 BC in the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus.

• The Colossus of Rhodes: This was a statue of the Greek sun-god, Helios in the city of Rhodes.

• The Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria: This lighthouse was built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom. It was said to be 100 metres tall.

Many other lists have been created including this one, which is known as the New Seven Wonders of the World. All of the wonders on this list still exist today.

• The Great Wall of China: This wall is 21,196 kilometres long and it the longest structure ever built.

• Petra: A famous archaeological site in Jordan's southwestern desert.

• Christ the Redeemer Statue: A statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

• Machu Picchu: An Incan citadel (fortress) in the Andes Mountains in Peru.

• Pyramid at Chichen Itza: A huge step pyramid called El Castillo in the ancient city of Chichen Itza, Mexico.

• Roman Colosseum: An oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy

• Taj Mahal: A white marble mausoleum in the Indian city of Agra.

EPIC resources

EPIC is a collection of online databases that have been put together especially for New Zealand school students

Britannica School Middle

This is the online version of Encyclopaedia Britannica for primary and intermediate school students.

• Enter the keywords 'wonders world' into the search box at the top of the page.

• The first result on the list gives us some great information about the Seven Wonders of the World.

• You can get simpler or more information by changing the article level at the top of the page.

• Select the Images & Videos tab to see videos about the different wonders and about the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, eg wonders world. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Elementary (Gale In Context)

A general information resource aimed at primary school students which includes a wide range of topics such as animals, arts, geography, technology and more.

• Enter the keywords 'seven wonders world' into the search box at the top of the page

• Results are listed under Book Articles, Pictures, Magazines, and News.

• Browse the results to find lots of interesting stuff.

• We like the result Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

National Geographic Kids

Online access to National Geographic Kids magazine, National Geographic Kids Book collection, plus a huge range of educational videos and images. It has information about the seven wonders.

• In the search bar, enter the words 'seven wonders' or the name of one of the wonders eg 'hanging gardens Babylon'.

• Under Content Types select Books.

• These are digital books that have information about lots of different wonders.

• Look at books such as National Geographic Investigates: Ancient Iraq for information about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, or Awesome 8: 50 Picture-Packed Top 8 Lists! for information about Remarkable Ruins.

Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

General websites

The websites below will show you where to find information about the Seven Wonders of the World.

Wonderopolis

This site has fun facts and answers on lots of different topics. It's by a non-profit organisation that exists to help children learn.

• Use your keywords 'wonders world' in the search bar.

• There are two good articles to look at.

• To find out about the new seven wonders select What Are the New Seven Wonders of the World?

• Select What Were the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? to find out about the ancient seven wonders.

• Look at Try It Out at the bottom of the page for pictures and more information.

Tips: Websites that have .org or .net in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the organisation’s mission and values are.

Fact Monster

Fact Monster is an online encyclopedia and homework site. It has lots of basic facts and is a good starting point for all sorts of questions. If you scroll down to the bottom of the site, you will see it’s run by Pearson Education, a publisher of educational books.

• Use the words 'wonders world' in the search box at the top of the page.

• Browse through the different results.

• Select The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to find out about the ancient wonders.

• To find out about the seven wonders of the 20th century select The Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl!

InfoPlease

Infoplease is a reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas and several almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records.

• Enter the keywords 'wonders world' into the search box at the top of the page

• Check out Seven New Wonders which has more information about the new list of wonders.

Tips: Some websites have advertisements (or ads) which ask us to buy something or tell us to ‘click here’. It’s best to ignore these ads and focus on the information we’re looking for.

Books

There are lots of books about the Wonders of the World.

Some recommended titles are:

• Ancient wonders by Iris Volant and Avalon Nuovo

• Seven wonders of the ancient world by Arianne McHugh

• Wonders of the World by Ben Handicott and Lucy Letherland

• Wonders of the world by Tom Jackson

• What are the 7 wonders of the natural world? by Amy Graham.

SCIS no. 1968982