Jennifer Boxer
Instructional Materials Developer
California Museum of Science and Industry
"I'm not playing, I'm seeing how it works." Elliot, age 3.
When a transformed California Museum of Science and Industry opens in Fall 1997 under its new name, the California Science Center, children and adults alike will discover an exciting approach to technology.
In "The Creative World," guests will encounter inquiry-based, hands-on experiences about Transportation, Communications, and Structures that demystify our fast-changing, high-tech world. "The Creative World" and the "World of Life" theme areas are the first phase of the museum's major expansion and renovation, which also include an on-site elementary school and science education resource center.
Transportation. Walk into Teacher-in-Residence Judy Boobar's museum classroom and you might find a bunch of windup toys walking around on the tables. "Do you think you could make one of these?" she asks. Armed with a spool with a nail stuck in one end, pencils, and rubber bands, her students create their own wind-up toys. Does she tell them how to do it? "No," she says. "The inquiry approach teaches that it's okay to wonder. It's okay not to have the answer. You end with questions because then there's a reason to go back to the subject to look for the answers. That's the kind of thinker we need today to work with our modern technology."
Communications. Bertha Ugalde, another Teacher-in-Residence at the museum, introduces communications technology using a flashlight bulb, wire, and a battery. They experiment until they can get the bulb to light. "Students have the background information they need," says Ugalde. "I'm just adding another piece to the puzzle." This basic knowledge begins a path of lifelong learning that includes telephones, computers, and the Internet. At the California Science Center, guests will have access to this technology and more. An exciting Video Periscope exhibit will allow them real-time interaction with others in places throughout the city, state, and nation.
Structures. In Teacher-in-Residence Linda Wootan's professional development workshops for educators, the study of structures begins with nothing but newspaper. Roll the newspaper along the diagonal and you can build all kinds of interesting things. What shapes make the sturdiest structures? Find out by attaching different weights to the things you build. "Inquiry promotes thinking, and thinking is developed through doing," she says. "Children and adults find out what something does or how something works, and it leads them to ask `What would happen if...?'"
The California Museum of Science and Industry continues to offer a variety of educational programs for children, teachers, school groups and families during our expansion. Find out how you can participate by calling (213) 744-7444.
