Minnesota's museums provide educational opportunities of endless variety, from specially designed field trips to traveling exhibits to live performances to overnight campouts. A few examples:
The Minnesota Children's Museum's Museum-to-Go travels to area classrooms to present lessons with fun names like "Dino Dig," "Amazing Antics" and "Rock On!" The programs sneak in health, science and social-studies learning under the guise of play.
At the Bakken Museum, actress Dawn Brodey glides in an out of character as "Frankenstein" author Mary Shelley, entertaining students with the fascinating background story of the writer and her creation, considered one of the earliest examples of science fiction.
In "History Live," educators from the Minnesota History Center use interactive videoconferencing to teach from a distance. The programs explain the scientific method by telling true stories about the lives of Minnesota inventors, such as Rose Totino, who created the frozen pizza.
In the Science Museum of Minnesota's Learning Labs, small groups of students conduct hands-on projects with museum materials. Science educators provide in-depth lessons on topics ranging from light and lasers to dinosaur teeth to the physics of roller coasters.
The Zoomobile travels to schools around the state, giving kids in-person introductions to ball pythons, leopard frogs, African millipedes and other creatures from the Minnesota Zoo. Visits can be tailored to fit specific classroom units, from wildlife of the tropical forest to humans' effects on Minnesota wetlands.
Katy Read
