My Trip to a Science Museum: Excellent Inquiry

After visiting The McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama, I was amazed at all the exhibits that I witnessed and all of the physical knowledge that was being used inside the building. Before before visiting this museum, I did not fully understand the concepts of physical knowledge. I simply thought the kids I observed were playing around. After being learning about inquiry and physical science, I went back to the museum and acknowledged that these children were not just playing around, but gaining knowledge through constructivist methods of teaching.
The first exhibit, which I immediately connected with what I am learning through my methods courses, was right when I walked in the door. I was surprised to find a water playground with all kinds of different funnels, filters and other manipulative obstacles that children can use to play with the water throughout the room. This McWane Center water exhibit, took experiments and took it to a whole new level. Children were allowed to shoot out water from the guns and could also try adjusting the guns to obtain different water pressures. By doing this, the children could make various blocks move around in the water. Changing the pressure that they used either caused the block to move faster or slower and sometimes it did not move at all. Since I took my cousin who is in Kindergarten, I was able to practice what I had learned with her while she played with the water guns. I asked her what would happen if the water was going faster, or if we used a smaller floating block, if she thought that the block would move faster. They also had items that children could experiment with by seeing if they floated. These water “building- blocks” allowed the children to have fun, but to also try to complete a task. This activity seemed to stir up curiosity among the children because everyone wanted to see if they could build a house or castle on the water. Not only did they have to decide which items would float, but they also had to be able to tell which blocks would balance and not fall over and crash into the water. Some of the children were successful and some had a little trouble. The kids that had trouble actually seemed to be learning more. When they would mess up they would have to try a different route of construction which provoked learning and knowledge.
Another display that I found interesting and that I could relate back to what I have read and learned in my primary math and science class was the chaotic pendulum that was on the second floor of the building. The Chaotic Pendulum contains a deceptively simple set of pendulums in a steel and Plexiglas case. A central, T-shaped bar supports three mounted bars from its ends. The “T” is mounted at the intersection of the upright and the cross arm. I watched as the little kids would twist the knob to start the pendulum moving. Intuition says that the resulting motion of this system should be, if not simple, at least predictable. Intuition, however, does not work with this device since its motion is chaotic, extremely complicated and long-lived. Children have to experiment and play with the chaotic pendulum in order to figure out where it will go and what will happen. Just like in the Physical Knowledge for Preschool textbook this pendulum can be used for children to construct knowledge. Since this is different than a normal pendulum it encourages interest and the students are likely to ask more questions about the display. However, this pendulum is limited to materials that you can add to make it more appealing and interesting to a child. This doesn’t help the students continue their curiosity therefore; I witnessed several children, including my cousin, get a little bored with the display and move on.
Another game that I noticed older elementary school children playing was the Giant Lever game. In this game the kids play a game of tug-of-war. However there is a catch to this tug –of- war game and these students are not just playing a game but constructing knowledge. These kids soon realize that the lever arm distance influences who wins the tug-of-war. Dynamometers on each side of the lever allow the children to see the force exerted, while a victory signal reveals the mechanical advantage of this simple machine. It is important for students to understand simple machines and how they work. There is not, in my opinion, a better way to teach kids than through the children experimenting with how simple machines work. Through this exhibit the kids can see how a lever works. Whoever has the heaviest amount of weight on their side automatically wins. Strategy becomes a factor when students start to figure out this information. They may have to swap up teams or add people to their side. It was very entertaining to see the children try to work it out and also fun to see them learning while having a good time.
I think this museum sets a good example not only to students, but also teachers. It shows how students can learn through observation and experimenting. Unfortunately, not all teachers use this type of constructivist learning in their classroom and this museum gives the kids an opportunity to learn through touch and manipulating objects. It also allows students to fail and create new routes to success on their own. Some teachers use direct instruction of how to do an experiment. This method usually does not allow the student to explore the entire learning process, but to simply always have a successful result at the end. Children need the opportunity to work things on their own. From water, to pendulums, and even simply machines The McWane Science Center provides hands-on activities for learning in a fun manner. I have never seen children more excited to discover new ideas and different concepts. The children that I witnessed had such intense curiosity. Seeing the museum in through my new “teacher light” made me excited about doing physical knowledge activities in my future science classes.