Museum field trips and Habits of Mind

Museums offer children a gateway to a world that is magical. A simple elevator ride can be used to pique young children’s curiosity, as captured during a visit to the Norton Museum of Art, which houses an eclectic collection of cultural pieces and fine art: Senior Docent: “All right, now. We are inside a magical box that will take us to another country. We are traveling to the country of China to look at some ancient, or very old, dragons and horses that were painted on plates or formed out of clay. Now in order for this to work, we must stand against the railing, close our eyes, and cross our fingers really tight. Are you ready to be transported? Let’s close our eyes and cross our fingers. Remember, no peeking.”

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The docent’s initial interaction is important, given that it was the first field trip of a yearlong museum partnership. Appealing to their imagination and utilising purposeful,yet colourful language, created just the right entry point for engagement with various objects from the museum’s collection. Field trips are a vital component of successful museum and school collaborations. They ensure that students become personally acquainted with the collections, character, and “feel” of a given institution. These trips enable them to experience the museum as another type of classroom in which they can explore, make new discoveries, investigate, and respond with wonder.

The success of a field trip is often measured by how much students recall and what they remember about it. What raises the likelihood that a museum visit is memorable and serves as a launching pad for new explorations largely depends on preparation. Preparing for the field trip can involve anything from reviewing museum etiquette to discussing what the children will see and hear.

A language for discovery and reflection

The Habits of Mind approach serves as a powerful and creative strategy for facilitating conversations that result in more purposeful thinking behaviour. Museum field trips are rich with opportunities for exploring topics in more depth and allowing the children’s responses to guide the conversations.

Prior to a field trip to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, known for a serene environment that literally takes you to another place and time, Palm Beach Day Academy (PBDA) first grade teachers talked with the children about ways they could approach this new setting. We focused on two Habits: Responding with wonder and awe and Gathering Data through all senses. These Habits primed the children to pay attention to anything that made them say “wow!” or “hmmm.” Screen Shot 2014-06-17 at 2.54.46 pm

After the field trip, several students shared memorable experiences. For example, one student observed a Pine Cone River during his walking tour of the Japanese Gardens. He commented that he had “never seen” anything like that before. That conversation spurred a whole new discussion on who created the river and conservation. Some students suggested that the “museum people” gathered the pinecones together, while one thoughtful young man stated emphatically that “the trees” created the river.

Other students remarked on seeing a deer chaser and how it was explained to them that this contraption was made to ward off animals that might otherwise damage the gardens. They were fascinated by how water from one bamboo chute would pour into another, causing it to smack heavily onto a rock once it could no longer hold the water’s weight. While some children said the deer chaser made them say “Wow!,” others exclaimed it made them say “hmmm” because it appealed to their hearing, vision, and tactile senses.

Responding with wonder and awe and Gathering data through all senses are useful tools that lend themselves naturally to museum visits. They provide a language that allows the children to articulate how they feel and think when encountering something new or interesting. We are finding them particularly effective as tools for reflecting on museum field trips.

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Rochelle Ibañez Wolberg


Rochelle Ibañez Wolberg is the learning specialist and coordinator of support services at Palm Beach Day Academy. She is passionate about creating powerful learning experiences
for students and colleagues and serves on the leadership team of Collaborate South Florida, a professional learning community comprised of various schools. Rochelle holds graduate degrees in educational psychology and school psychology from Fordham University.