Friday, February 8, 2013

Way to Go, Next Generation!

I just came back from a great visit to Next Generation School in Champaign!  The Spurlock Museum has been working with teachers from Next Gen for a number of years now, but our most elaborate collaboration is with the fourth grade class, led by Mr. Han and Ms. Spencer. As part of their World Religions unit, the students visit the Museum twice in one week. During the first visit, we discuss the artifacts on display related to their studies. The second visit is an introduction to our related Teaching Collection artifacts--items that will be taken back to the classroom on loan.

Later in the unit, I visit the classroom and present the program Create Your Own Museum. At the end of 90 minutes, the students have learned the fundamentals of creating an exhibit and used that knowledge to create a mini-museum made of food containers. They then use that practice as a base for creating their own world religions museum.  The students give tours of the museum to special visitors and members of other Next Gen classes. 

The room where the museum was installed was bustling with excitement when I arrived this morning.  The students were so happy to share with all the visitors everything that they had learned about the artifacts, and I was thrilled to see how much hard work they had put into their excellent exhibits. Not only were there groupings of artifacts (including some family pieces brought from home) with informative labels, but each exhibit had an interactive component, like making a bookmark or doing a word search puzzle. I'm grinning from ear to ear as I write this...There is nothing like the experience of seeing knowledge, research, creativity, and teamwork coming together with such energy and thoughtfulness.  THIS is why I love my job!

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