Morning at the Mini-Museum

This rotation in the STEM Lab has 4th grade working on a project that combines digital and physical elements to make an interactive display. I adapted this activity from one done by a teacher I know in Virginia. (Link to her project guide is below.) I was overly ambitious in my additions for the first group, so some adjustments and refinements were necessary after the first class completed their projects.

On the first day of the unit, students went on a virtual field trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The "wandered" around the museum recording observations in their journals regarding the things they saw, how the objects were displayed, and anything else that they found interesting. We followed up with a discussion about what the purpose of a museum is. The students gave several great responses including: "so people can learn and discover things", "so people can see things they have never seen", and "so people can learn about life in the past". That day finished with students brainstorming a list of things they would include if they could design a room in a museum.

The next day, I explained the project to the class. They were to plan a museum room that included 3 objects of their choosing. Each person would build a model of their imagined room using the STEM Lab staples of cardboard, glue, and construction paper. Students would work with a partner to use Scratch to program and digital version of each partner's room that used by key press events to switch between rooms. The rooms are narrated giving at least 2 facts about each object included. Finally, the model museum rooms would be linked via the Makey Makey to the team Scratch project so that when the door to each room is opened, it causes that part of the program to run.

I gave the students a fair bit of leeway in what they added to their museums. This was so that they could include objects representing personal interests and passions. The only requirement was that they be able to give two facts about each object in their rooms. It has been interesting to see what objects the students have included. Some rooms are full of fancy cars or sharks, while others have favorite foods and athletes. The attention to detail that several students added to their physical models. As always, I have been really impressed by how the students helped each other to complete the elements of the project on time. For some, the coding comes more naturally and for others it is the building. I love how they all work together to ensure that everyone's project is finished on time.

I try to mix it up each year in the lab and to not repeat projects too often, but I am loving this one so far and can it it becoming a regular part of the lab curriculum.

The guide by Kathleen Fugle is here: Tiny Museum on Instructables.

The gallery of our projects is here (more added soon): Mini-Museum rooms.

Science Shadows

My place in the STEM Lab allows me a certain amount of freedom which I try to put to good use planning engaging learning experiences for my students. This leads to s great deal of experimentation with different kinds of projects and work products. This rotation in the lab for my 2nd and 5th graders is one of those experimental units of study.

The challenge before these classes is to research a science concept using resources appropriate to the grade level. Then to plan a shadow puppet show that teaches about that concept using puppets the students make themselves. They design and test their puppets in concert with their teammates. They write the script and plan who is performing which actions. The first day of class was spent making a shadow puppet of an animal (2nd grade) or a book character (5th grade) so that students could practice and so that I could coach them on ways of creating definition in their work.

Each class that came to the lab got a slightly different set of topics to choose from. I find that giving students a set of choices (rather than choose anything) reduces time wasted by groups floundering around trying to decide what to research. I selected topics that I felt would require some creative thinking, but that were not so complex as to require more than a few puppets. The 5th graders used Brain Pop as their primary source of information and the 2nd graders used Brain Pop Jr. Students took notes in their journals and then worked together to sketch what puppets they would need to make. 

The main problem I discovered during the building phase was students doing really elaborate drawings on the chipboard, but then doing a boxy cut out so that the puppet's shadow resembled a rectangle. Some students are naturally detail oriented and those students needed the least help refining their work, but for a great number, there was some frustration in having to go back and cut their details more finely. Generally speaking, the vast majority ended up being proud of what they made and pleased with the level of detail they were able to create. 

We are not quite halfway though this set of rotations, so only one set of classes has completed their work and presented to their peers. I am excited to see how this unit progresses.