Great North Museum Visit

Today's visit to the Great North Museum (Hancock Museum) on Newcastle University campus was really enjoyable. It was great to be there at the same time as a primary school class as well as during a "under 5s" visit. Seeing the museum take such a proactive role in providing engaging educational experiences to learners so young and starting to foster a love for learning through enquiry and discovery was excellent. As a teacher who has been on many a school field trip to museums I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of interactives the museum offered for their visitors of any age. See some of what I captured in the pictures and videos below.

Learn about the animals in the displays before you with this touch screen interactive interface. 

Play a matching game while learning about Ancient Egypt.

By clicking the button on the blue box, you can sit and enjoy a Greek myth via audio player.

Hear the songs of each specific bird.

These reader-friendly posters provide quick, prioritized information, keeping the short attention span of learners engaged.

Another interactive touch-screen medium for students to learn about social roles in Ancient Egypt.

Who doesn't love a dinosaur?

One of many interactives regarding Hadrian's wall.

Digital butterfly wall, design your own and learn about existing butterflies.

Exhibit shows every fort on Hadrian's Wall and includes interactives on many. Click through the information for quick, concise learning.

Learners can see real-life examples about camouflage and animal adaptations at the museum. 

Learn about specific ecosystems and environments local to the area with another touch-screen interactive.

Watch or read a video--enabled with captions and Sign interpreting for learners with disabilities.

Now, one might argue that in an ever evolving world of technology, it is necessary for learning centers such as museums to involve interactives in order to engage young learners; but are these interactives enough? Do they keep students engaged for the duration of their visit? The Great North Museum goes a step further and offers educational materials to help bridge the gap between school and the exhibit. Specifically, for their Ancient Greek exhibit they have partnered with schools and national curriculum developers to produce a booklet of lesson plans the teachers can access to lead up or follow a museum visit, making their journey to the museum purposeful. They also promote the "I see, I notice, I wonder" enquiry experience for classes (see image below).

 

Teachers can also access virtual tours to exhibits not found physically in the museum, but owned by the museum, which can be done at school and integrated into a lesson. To keep up with fast-paced technology development and the call to integrate technology, real-world experiences, and other subject areas educators are needing to be more "creative". In their paper Learning from Creative Teachers authors Danah Henriksen and Punya Mishra state that "teaching practice can only be creative when it's always evolving" (2013). This ties in to a quote by John Dewey who said something to the effect of, "If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." Museums face the same struggles teachers do in maintaining students' attention and engagement. 

One idea I thought of that could potentially add to the learning experience is if museums had a small "classroom" for visiting classes to use during their day-long visit. Students could start or end in the classroom after doing some exploring and discovery learning in the main museum space. The classroom could be utilized to create a craft or art piece, show dramatizations students create, create poems or short stories based on their discoveries, etc. It would break down the day, give students a change (and a place) to reflect on their experience, and give them a purpose. It takes the lesson plan book that is already provided for Ancient Greece to the next level. There are logistical problems such as if supplies are needed does the museum supply them or the teacher, space for multiple class visits in a day, etc., but it could help solve the problem of students losing interest halfway through the trip. 

I thoroughly enjoyed today's visit and think the staff at the Great North Museum are doing a fantastic job!

References:

Henriksen, D. and Mishra, P., 2013. Learning from creative teachers. Educational Leadership, 70(5), pp.123-146.