FIELD TRIPS
Saturday Afternoon
March 28, 2009

The following field trips to local museums have been arranged by Mark Hannum, high school teacher and Einstein Fellow assigned to the GK-12 Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Descriptions of the activities are provided below. Please note that there is a limit on the number of participants. There will be sign-up sheets at the GK-12 Meeting Registration Desk near the Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel. Field trip leaders will be other Einstein fellows at NSF. Anticipated departure time from the hotel is 2:45pm.

Smithsonian American Art Museum / Lunder Center (limit 20)
Educators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Lunder Conservation Center, http://americanart.si.edu/lunder/index.cfm, offer unique ways to bring art into your science classroom. What place does the electromagnetic spectrum have in an art museum? Explore the science of art in David Hockney's amazing room-sized environment, "Snails Spaces with Vari-Lites, Painting as Performance." You will be able to explore the artwork and participate in an interactive activity you can take back to your classroom. Also, you will go behind the scenes at the art conservation laboratories and hear how the museum preserves its artwork.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History / Centers for Oceans Sciences Education Excellence (limit 20)
A majority of Americans do not fully understand the role that the ocean plays in their daily lives. The nation depends on the work of formal and informal educators to strengthen the understanding and appreciation of the ocean and its importance for audiences of all ages. Dive in and discover how the Museum of Natural History, http://www.mnh.si.edu/, and the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE), http://www.cosee.net, can help bring the wonders of ocean discovery to you and your students. Elizabeth Ban, the COSEE/Ocean Science Education Specialist will guide you through the Museum's new Sant Ocean Hall, http://ocean.si.edu/ocean_hall/, exhibit and lead a discussion on how the COSEE Network and its 12 regional and thematic Centers are dedicated to nurturing collaborations among research scientists, educators and informal science centers to improve ocean literacy for K-12 teachers and their students.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History / Forensic Anthropology (limit 18)
“Written in Bone: A Forensic Anthropology Workshop,” http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/forensic_anthro_smithsonian.html, will be an investigation of human skeletons provides intriguing information on people and events of America's past. Learn how educators at the Museum of Natural History are using forensic anthropology to teach students what is evidence: how to collect it, synthesize it, and make inferences in order to learn the history of a person. In this hands-on workshop, you will piece together the clues of a forensic case involving real human bones and other artifacts using the tools, technology and methods of a forensic anthropologist. The workshop will also include an exploration of the exhibition, Written in Bone.

National Air and Space Museum (limit 25)
Help your students to view museum artifacts and exhibits in a new way. National Air and Space Museum, http://www.nasm.si.edu/, educators will discuss strategies for making museum visits successful compliments to science and humanities curricula. They will also discuss how to get your students to think about the impact of science on society, utilize museum resources inside the classroom, and become personally involved with the research and education at museums. You will explore the interactive devices in the "How Things Fly" gallery, take part in hands-on demonstrations and object-based learning, study aircraft in the Museum that illustrate certain technologies and learn how to address these topics in the classroom.

National Building Museum (limit 30)
This self-guided tour at the National Building Museum, http://www.nbm.org/, will explore the new exhibit, Green Community, which looks at how the health of our communities, our planet, and our society depend on how we plan, design, and construct the world between our buildings. Green Community explores the origins of our precarious ecological situation and introduces communities large and small where citizens, political leaders, planning and design professionals, developers, and government agencies are working together for a more sustainable future. Educational materials for this exhibit will be handed out, and discussed.

Marian Koshland Science Museum (limit 25-30)
Visit the Marian Koshland Science Museum, http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/, part of the National Academy of Sciences. You will interact with the Museum education staff, explore the hands-on activities that highlight the science behind the National Academy, and examine the permanent exhibits on Energy, Infectious Disease, Global Warming, and the problems surrounding safe drinking water. Virtual field trips will also be discussed so you can learn how your students can experience the Koshland Museum from a distance. (There will be a charge of $4 collected at the door.)