ELT Field Trip Report:
By: Lani Yap
Smithsonian Trip
On February 12, 2005 I took a trip to the Smithsonian Museums with my ELT class. I went to the National Museum of Natural History where I learned a lot about the natural historical sciences. It was good to be able to visit the museum as an adult since the last time I was there I was younger and didn’t really have much of an appreciation for all the history and artifacts the museum has to offer.
I explored the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals where I was able to see many rocks and minerals and learn about their formations. There were several computer interactive sites that are there for the purpose of enriching one’s trip to that exhibit. Most of them seemed to be very informative but some were not.
There was one called “Mining a Car”. This program showed many of the elements used in the making of a car and the mining products necessary for its function. It is based on a 3,000lb car. You can touch the different piles of chemical elements and some information will come up showing what part of the car that element is used for, and what part of the world it comes from. I clicked on a few elements and found that 2,124lb of iron is used for the fuel tank, brakes, and pumps of a car. Aluminum is used for the frame, wheels, wiring, and transmission. Lead is necessary for the battery and seat belt weight pendulums. This computer site helps people to relate how mining has an effect on our everyday lives. It is effective and helps in making connections as to what role these chemical elements play in the makeup of things we use everyday.
The second computer site I looked at was one called “Hot Spots”. This interactive site had information about volcanoes and how they affected the formation of the Hawaiian Islands and parts of Yellowstone National Park. There are trivia questions to see how much you learned and if you understand the concepts behind these natural occurrences. I learned that Hawaii was produced by a hot spot beneath the Pacific Ocean. It marks the active tip of a much longer volcanic chain that started growing over 80 million years ago. Magma erupted repeatedly above a hot spot causing volcanoes to grow. There are videos that come with this site counting back in time and showing how Hawaii formed as a result of plate motion. This computer active site was also very interesting, informative, and effective because of the videos and colorful effects intertwined with factual information.
The third computer site I tried was called “Making an Impact”. It was about impact craters and allowed you to form your own crater and see what affect it would have when it hits the Earth. You are asked to select the size of your meteorite. It can be the size of a baseball, bus, or building. Next you select how fast the meteorite is going. You also have to choose whether you want to view the impact with or without the atmosphere. This site did not prove to be as effective as the other two. There isn’t much information to learn. All the site does is form a meteorite for you, throw it at the Earth, and show an explosion. You can’t really get much out of this one.
The second part of the museum I chose to visit was the Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals. This exhibit had many aspects that make it easy for children to appreciate. There is a colorful wall with lighted pictures greeting you when you walk in. It reads, “Welcome to the Mammal Family Reunion! Come meet your relatives.” There is a picture of a baby with lots of other mammals around it. The baby picture has a caption reading, “Your physical traits, hair, milk, and special ear bones – make you a mammal, your cultural traits – such as language and art – help make you a human being.” Below there is a map telling you where in the exhibit you can find your other relatives. There are a lot of hands on things to help children understand different aspects of their relatives’ lives. I found a model asking, “How does a lion grab its prey?” The child squeezes on a lever and the claws are extended. A third feature for kids are the footprints on the floor that tell you where to go. If you’re short and can’t see exhibits because people are blocking you, you can look on the floor where there are TV screens showing videos. There is even one thing in the floor that asks you who you think made the footprints underneath you in the sand and tells where you can find out. The exhibit tends to use simple words and relates a lot of the facts about the different mammals to your human relatives. This exhibit has a zoo-like ambiance with all the stuffed animals. Another great thing about this exhibit for kids is that everything is lower and at a kid’s level. There are lots of pictures and easy concepts and the descriptions of the displays are low so that kids can read up on what they see in front of them.
If I were a university student trying to use the museum as a resource to study the phylogeny of different types of mammals I wouldn’t be able to get that information from this exhibit. This is because the exhibit doesn’t go to enough detail for a college student. It only provides enough facts for a basic understanding of human ancestors and relatives. All the ideas given are on an elementary level so a different exhibit geared toward a more mature audience would be better.
This was a fun trip and I learned a lot even after answering the required questions. I went to all the exhibits and learned more about different cultures and history. After I was finished with this museum I even visited the Air and Space Museum. I learned a lot on this trip and was happy to have the opportunity to see the exhibits as an older person with a greater appreciation of the history of the world.