I wanted to play right alongside the children we see there.
What makes this experience look like so much fun? It was certainly "educational". Educational, but not boring.
The children were exposed to a huge variety of new experiences and new learning. My feeling is that the day spent at the museum is a day that will stand out in their memories while most classroom lessons will be forgotten.
Why? It was engaging. The students were actively involved most of the time, climbing, investigating, experimenting. They had the opportunity to touch so many things. When there was instruction, it was small group, question and answer, "wondering' questions, "What do you think?" questions.
It was social. They experienced new discoveries with their peers. They talked, discussed. The end of the video brought to mind Bandura, with his Social Behavioral Theory. It seemed most of the experiences at that point were being shared with people who had a close relationship with the child.
It was developmentally appropriate. It was bugs, and icky things. It was construction, make-believe, puzzles and technology.
This was a great example of discovery learning. The Long Island Children's Museum put the students right in the middle of a learning rich environment. I am ready to go!
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