The Burke hosted its first ever Homeschool Day on Dec. 4 and it was a resounding success! We had 104 students and 76 parents attend, most staying all 4 hours.
All the education staff came out for this great event. We had a series of staff-led activities in the Burke Room, staff and docents with fossils and artifacts in the exhibits for some hands-on learning, and a variety of experiments, crafts, scavenger hunts, and sketching to deepen students’ museum experience.
Dana led a presentation about giant squid, including building a life-size model of a giant squid, and then Keely led an activity to learn about salmon and make a model fish trap at the same time. Tim finished up the series with a great activity about the challenges of conservation in the context of the Yellowstone to Yukon exhibit. We had a full house for each activity, and parents were eager for more. It was a lot of fun. We can't wait for the next Homeschool Day!
Some comments from our visitors:
"A great field trip! Great hands-on lectures and knowledgeable lecturers."
"The docents were great!"
"To offer this again would be terrific!"
"Offer this from 9-4, there is so much to do!"
See our education website for info on more resources available to homeschoolers.
Photos:
Top: Students learned about salmon and made a model fish trap that they took home.
Middle: Educator Tim Stetter led a conservation challenge based on the Yellowstone to Yukon exhibit.
Bottom: Students made their own Northwest Coast masks in our Pacific Voices gallery.
