| MUSEUM VISIT
Visiting The Franklin Institute was like putting
icing on a cake. It was a great ending to a fun unit. The exhibits,
displays, and lessons that we saw helped make connections to concepts learned
in the classroom. Students enjoyed the hands on experiences in Electricity
Hall and The Franklin Gallery. They loved the interactive lesson
called "He's Electric" in the Franklin Gallery where they saw demonstrations
on static electricity. It was especially fun having some of the students
from our class participate. Students remembered some of the experiments
we did on static electricity using balloons and combs. They were able to
relate to what was going on in this lesson. This lesson was so age
appropriate.
While we were at the museum, we visited the
Planetarium. There we had a lesson called "The Sky Tonight"
which prepared us for our next unit on space. We learned about the seasonal
constellations and explored the weekly phases of the moon and planets.
Students were engrossed with this journey through the night sky.
After leaving the Planetarium, time was of
the essence. We had little time left, and I wanted my students to
visit the Changing Earth/Weather Center. Here, again, the students
could be active participants at this exhibit, making connections to ideas
learned in the classroom.
Students went totally crazy in the "Sports
Challenge" exhibit. It was like recess indoors. The children
could be more physical here and let some energy out. The interactive
devices and virtual reality experiences in this exhibit was thrilling to
the kids. They never before made a connection between sports and science.
The children really enjoyed their trip to The
Franklin Institute. When we got back to the classroom, students enthusiastically
brainstormed all the things we saw and did at the museum. As a follow-up
activity, I asked the students to make a four paneled booklet of the four
exhibits that they liked the most and to write and draw a picture about
them in each frame. we had fun sharing these booklets with each other.
Students and chaperones were exhausted from this day filled with so many
exciting activities. |
