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I have to do a 3 page history report. The theme has to be in one of these areas: Encounter, Exploration, or Exchange in history. I NEED a topic as I can't think of one. Anyone with an idea please post.

Antarctica - that should be an easy one

A fascinating story of exchange happened here in England during WWII. I've learned so many interesting bits of history since I moved here 5 years ago. Anyway, during the war, London was being bombed heavily by the Germans. There was a massive operation to move all the children to safe homes. They (without their parents) were moved to homes all over the countryside, as well as Austrailia to keep them safe. Many children were moved to excellent homes, but others had dismal experiences. I would say this could be a great report on exchange because these parents actually gave up their children knowing they may never see them again if they died in a bomb blast, in exchange for their children's safety. People taking in these youngsters were trading the safety of their homes knowing that they were doing their bit to keep that generation of children safe from the bombs, and to eventually go back to London and grow up helping rebuild the city.

Look in Yahoo Search (www.yahoo.com) under 'London Evacuees' and there are many stories there. This could be of great interest to other young people in your class since you may be able to identify with the horror of being under attack and suddenly having your mom and dad say they're going to move you in with strangers hundreds of miles away to ensure your safety. You can bet there will be little chance of another student in your class choosing this topic. Good luck on your report. Talk the idea over with your teacher and make sure it relates to what he/she considers 'Exchange in History'. It's a bit abstract, but a great story.

A topic you might want to consider is England's imperialistic explorations during the nineteenth century. Britain owned over 1/4 of the entire world during this time and had colonies everywhere. You could concentrate on a particular colony or something more general such as assets that Britain gained due to these explorations. Think about how many new plant and animals species as well as diseases that were brought over from these exotic countries.

Or...Darwin's exploration of the Galapogos Islands! This is the place that inspired him to write his Origin of the Species. This is THE #1 PLACE for evolutionary research and Darwin sure took advantage of this pre-historic environment.

I like the Darwin idea alot, an interesting twist on that is that he was called the armchair anthropologist. He never left his home, all of this research was done through the eyes of others. Fascinating...to me.