How can students design an engaging and interactive activity for the Natural History Museum that children will find both fun and educational?
In partnership with the San Diego Natural History Museum, Mrs. Carter’s sixth grade students created interactive exhibition activities for the Fossil Mysteries Exhibit and the Water: A California Story Exhibit. The activities were geared toward families with children aged six to twelve years old and were used to increase the “stay time” of the families at each exhibit. The Museum recommended the activity use images instead of numbers or a scavenger hunt style game suitable to elementary school age children. The activity boards were available to families that entered the museum to help foster interaction with the exhibits. The Museum was involved in all creative aspects of the project from start to finish, including a behind-the-scenes tour at the start of the project, in person feedback by the curator about the direction of the project game boards, a visit to HTMMA for critique at the halfway point, and receipt of final deliverables at the end of the project. Students exhibited their work at an after hours event at the museum for HTMMA sixth grade families.