Movable Museum Gives Budding Paleontologists at King ES an Exhibit They Can Dig
Students from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School step onto the American Museum of Natural History’s Movable Paleontology Museum during an Oct. 22 visit to the Southeast school. | Photo by Fred Lewis
An educator with New York City’s American Museum of Natural History talks with six graders at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School about dinosaurs and fossils during an Oct. 22 visit to the Southeast school. | Photo by Fred Lewis
The American Museum of Natural History’s Movable Paleontology Museum gives visitors a glimpse of the exhibits they would find on a trip to New York City’s world-famous museum. | Photo by Fred Lewis
Students at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School got a slice of the Big Apple last week that was too big to fit in the school and too cool to forget.
In its first trip outside of New York City, the American Museum of Natural History’s Movable Paleontology Museum made a stop at King Elementary en route to the inaugural U.S.A. Science and Engineering Festival, held Oct. 23 and 24 on the National Mall.
The size of a tour bus, the Movable Museum offered students a chance to sample exhibits they would find at the world-famous American Museum of Natural History. Classes took turns walking through the mobile museum. And two educators who tour with the massive museum vehicle met with students to discuss dinosaurs, fossils and paleontology.
“We’re bringing real world exhibits to kids who don’t get a chance to go to New York,” said Netosha Jones, science co-chair at King Elementary. “We bring [these experiences] to kids so they can improve their understanding of the world.”
Dr. Valoria Baylor, principal of King Elementary, said exhibits such as the Movable Museum enhance students’ learning because they are “hands-on with a purpose.”
“Science activities reinforce what’s being taught in the classroom,” Baylor said. “They feel special. … They love it.”
The event included a visit from Michael Yudin, U.S. Department of Education deputy assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, as well as Ruth Kiefer, co-director of the U.S.A. Science and Engineering Festival.
“Our goal is to show kids how much fun science can be,” Kiefer said.
King Elementary sixth grader Genesis Pittman, 11, said the movable museum was a fun way of learning more about dinosaurs.
“I want to see what we can learn and find out,” she said. Pittman added that she likes science because it gives her a chance to “find out different things, put things together and see what comes out of it.”
Brenda Green, 11, another sixth grader at King Elementary, said she got a chance to experiment with science during a summer camp held at Penn State University and learn more about college life.
“I like experimenting with stuff,” she said. “I just like science.”
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