Field Trip Fun (Part 2)

-from the Curator

Sunflower students exploring the mysteries of the desert

Today was our last field trip before major exhibit installation starts.  Over the last two weeks we've had three 6th grade classes and a 5th grade class from Sunflower Elementary, and 7th-8th graders from Westmoreland- a total of 137 kids in just three days!

Making a pot is harder than it looks!

Our Sunflower students came out to do an extended hike through our property and talk about desert biomes.  They learned how different plants and animals adapt to live and thrive in the desert, and how long you can live without water (3 days).  They also got to work with clay and try making pots while finding out how important making a good pot was to living in the desert.

Flint knapping with glass

Flint knapping with glass

The older Westmoreland students helped us pilot a new field trip program- an intense look at archaeology. We looked at artifacts, talked about some of the reasons artifacts are left behind and what archaeologists learn from them, and tried our hand at flint knapping.  That one met with mixed success, but it was a good first try for everyone.

In depth archaeology with reproductions you can touch!

Since January we've had over 330 kids come through the museum on field trips. They've gotten to see some of the behind the scenes aspects of building an exhibit that people rarely see.  They've also discovered how many people are involved with very different jobs to put it all together.  Maybe we have some future exhibit designers in the making?




Hopefully they've come away excited to come back and see our final exhibit and be able to tell their families what changes they see.  They all certainly had fun while they were here, and so did we!

Out of the whole class, 1 successful point was made