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Learning Journeys

Group Visit Guide - Hands-on Learning at CMOM
Spring 2008

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Learning Journeys - Spring 2008

Call 901-458-2678 for program details. Tell a colleague about our newsletter!

Tennessee Curriculum Connections for exhibits at The Children's Museum:
Curriculum Connections

Your House, My House

Through May 26

        

Your students take a fantastic journey into the homes of people around the world in this exotic, hands-on traveling exhibit in the Van Vleet Gallery. See large houses, portable houses, small houses, apartments, houseboats and many other types of houses. Learn how geography, climate, tradition, culture, personal preference and availability of materials all influence the kind of house we live in.

In the “My House” area, step inside three model homes: a Mongolian herder’s ger, an m’bure from the tropics of Fiji and a stilt house from a Malaysian fishing village. Fun activities in the house settings help children make connections between what happens in their own homes and what happens in these houses. “Houses, Houses Everywhere” shows that houses with similarities can be found scattered all over the globe. In the “Design Center” visitors design houses by putting house parts together on a computer. In “Build Your Own” children build tabletop houses from materials provided and also a timber house they can enter!

Your House, My House was designed and built by The Children’s Museum of Memphis for the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative (YMEC).

MLGW Energy IQ Lab Travels to Your School
Grades 2-5

Presented by Memphis Light, Gas & Water

The Children’s Museum of Memphis (CMOM) and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) have partnered in the development of an energy education program targeting children in grades 2-5. The Energy IQ Traveling Lab is now available to teachers for loan. Each lab includes a curriculum guide and one week’s activities related to concepts of saving energy. Concepts for the labs are aligned with existing curriculum as outlined in the Tennessee curriculum standards in language arts, math, science and social studies. Children learn where energy comes from and how it works, how to become a smarter consumer, and how to estimate and better control their family’s energy usage in order to save energy and help to lower their family’s utility bill. The materials and supplies needed for each activity are included and ready to use, and there's a take-home piece for participating children to share with their families. All activities included in the lab have a hands-on component and address multiple learning styles.

The lab is available for loan to Memphis City Schools, Shelby County Schools and any other school located in Shelby County at no fee. All other schools outside of Shelby County may rent the lab for $25 per week. Reserve your lab now at 901-458-2678.
 

Financial Literacy Made Fun: AG Edwards Money Game!
 Grades 4-5

Presented by AG Edwards

This giant board game is a unique and engaging way for students to learn about the realities of day-to-day finances. Students form "families" and make "life" decisions related to money while moving about the city on the giant game board. The accompanying unit teaches financial literacy concepts such as earning, budgeting, saving and investing. All materials and assessment tools provided. The program content is linked to Tennessee curriculum standards in math, social studies/economics and English/language arts. A complete list of related standards and SPI’s is provided with the unit.

The game is available for loan to Memphis City Schools, Shelby County Schools and any other school located in Shelby County at no fee. All other schools outside of Shelby County may rent the game for $25 per week. Reserve your lab now at 901-458-2678.
 

I Spy SPIs

We now offer SPI links for all our exhibits and Learning Labs.

The Children's Museum of Memphis offers a high-quality selection of  exhibit-related Learning Labs and curriculum guides that are directly connected to academic standards and Student Performance Indicators (SPIs) from the Tennessee Curriculum Standards to help support curriculum requirements. When planning your visit to CMOM, visit our website for detailed standards, SPIs and great ideas for related activities you can do with your students before, during and after your visit.

Tree House Opens March 7!

Presented by International Paper

This new permanent exhibit promotes saving natural resources and conservation through everyday living. The Tree House engages students in the life cycle of a tree and the important role that a tree plays in the Earth’s ecological environment. The exhibit also touches on ecosystems, sustainability and tree products. The use of camouflage netting, wood flooring, mixed foliage, a large tree structure, a joist ceiling and wood walls makes children feel like they have walked into the forest. There are seven areas inside the Tree House: Collaborative Mural (children work together to draw a forest scene); Slat Block Table (children use hundreds of hardwood slats to build an amazing diversity of structures); Stump the Stump – Grandma Willow (a gnarled old willow character plays "20 questions" with visitors); Tree Slab (display of a 700-year-old Sequoia slab with rings labeled with famous dates in Memphis history); Acorn Ball Play (a tree climbing environment where children find, collect and horde large plastic acorns); Tactile Trunk Holes (visitors reach into various holes in a "trunk" to feel the hidden objects mounted there); Paper/Packaging/Cardboard Activity Area (children make their own paper airplanes and try to "fly" them through holes in the walls).

Plan Ahead

Summer 2008: Curious George
Fall 2008: Color Play

Learning Labs

Your students will love these exciting, dynamic and memorable learning experiences. A variety of Learning Labs are available to match the learning needs of your class. If you need more information about any of our Learning Labs, please call Emily Cutliff, education manager, at 901-458-2678, ext. 250, or Email Education Manager.

Learning Labs are $5 per student with a minimum of 20 students. A $50 nonrefundable deposit is due two weeks prior to the program to confirm your reservation. Adult chaperons are required in a ratio of 1:5. To add a museum visit, see Group Visit Basics below.

*NOTE: If your group is larger than the maximum allowed, it will be divided into two sessions. Groups that have two sessions must also pay for a regular group visit to the museum.

Preschool & Primary Learning Labs:

Air Heads
Grades 1-3

You can't see it or touch it. Are you really sure that air exists? Students will conduct experiments that explore the properties of air, prove that it exists, that it has substance, weight and power.

PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 30 students maximum*
SPI Links
Physical Science: Forces and motion: 3.11.spi.1, 3.11.spi.3.
Mathematics: Numbers and operations: LE, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.1.spi.3. Algebra: 3.2.spi.4, 3.2.spi.5. Measurement: LE. 4.1, 4.2. Data analysis: 3.5.spi.4, 3.5.spi.5, 3.5.spi.6.

Glovebox Science
Grades 2-3

Do you know what microgravity is? Ever wonder how scientists perform experiments in space? Students become space scientists and explore the uses of the microgravity science glovebox by performing fun and challenging experiments.

PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 30 students maximum*
SPI Links
Science: LE 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 5.1, 5.2. Earth and space science: LE 7.2, 10.1, 10.2. Life Science: 3.2 spi 3, 3.5 spi 3, 3.7 spi5. Physical Science: LE 12.1, 13.1, 14.1, 3.11.spi.1, 3.11.spi.2, 3.12.spi.4, 3.13.spi.1, 3.13.spi.3.

Hello, Stuffee!
Pre-K - Grade 3

An inside-out look at our anatomy. Learn about the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems from Stuffee, a seven-foot-tall rag doll that unzips to reveal what's inside our insides.

PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 50 students maximum*
SPI Links
Healthful living: Personal Health and Wellness: LE 2.1., 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2. Nutrition: LE 4.1, 4.2, 4.3. Substance Use and Abuse: LE 14.1, 14.2.

Rat-A-Tat-Tat
Preschool-Grade 2

Experience fun and funky rhythms while learning about patterns. This handclapping, foot stomping escapade uses percussion instruments and everyday objects to thump, drum and bang the way to an exciting learning commotion.

PROGRAM LENGTH: 30 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 50 students maximum*
SPI Links
Mathematics: Algebra: 2.0. LE. 2.1, 2.2. Geometry: 3.0. LE. 3.1.
English/Language Arts: Reading:1.0. LE. 1.04. K.1.04/1.1.04/2.1.04.
General Music: Singing: 1.0 LE. 1.2. Playing Instruments: 2.0. LE. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4. Improvising: LE 3.1. Reading and Notating: 4.0. LE. 4.1, 4.2. Listening and analyzing: 5.0. LE 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6.

Intermediate Learning Labs:

Animation Station
Grades 4-6

Ever wonder how your favorite cartoon characters come to life? Learn the basics of animation and the science behind how animation "tricks" they eye. Explore early animation techniques like zoetrope, and create your own animation to take home.

PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 40 students maximum*
SPI Links
Mathematics: Number and Operation: 4.1.spi.3, 4.1.spi.8, 4.1.spi.14, 5.1.spi.4, 5.1.spi.7, 5.1.spi.9, 6.1.spi.3. Geometry: 4.3.spi.3, 4.3.spi.4, 5.3.spi.4, 6.3.spi.4. Measurement: 4.4.spi.3, 4.4.spi.4, 4.4.spi.5, 4.4.spi.6, 4.4.spi.7, 4.4.spi.9, 5.4.spi.2, 5.4.spi.4, 5.4.spi.5, 5.4.spi.8, 6.4.spi.2, 6.4.spi.3, 6.4.spi.4, 6.5.spi.8.

Build-A-Bridge
Grades 4-6

Students become engineers for a day and work in teams to build a bridge using K'Nex pieces. They must follow specific design criteria regarding dimensions and strength and stick to a schedule and budget.

Access the Build-A-Bridge Curriculum Guide

PROGRAM LENGTH: 50 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 50 students maximum*
SPI Links
Physical Science: Forces and motion: 4.11.spi.2, 4.11.spi.3, 5.11.spi.1.

Pollution Detectives
Grades 4-6

Click this logo to get the traveling version of this Lab for your classroom!

Become a P.I. (Pollution Investigator) and apprehend some of the most notorious polluters known to the ocean. Use the scientific method to nab such nasties as Oily Oliver and learn how to fight Six-Pack Ringo. Join other scum sleuths to help clean up a polluted “ocean.”

PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: 30 students maximum*
SPI Links
Language Arts: 4.1.spi.10. Science: 4.10.spi.1, 4.10.spi.3.

Permanent Exhibits

        

Art Smart
Discover great opportunities to create art while improving your art IQ! Access the Art Smart Curriculum Guide

Bank
Write a check or use an ATM card to withdraw play money.

City Friends
Hop on a police motorcycle, dress up as a firefighter or "drive" a sheriff's car.

Football Lockers
Dress as a football player in real sports gear.

Garage
Climb into a mini-van, take a virtual driving tour of Memphis or change a tire.

Going Places
A hands-on, minds-on discovery of the science of flight. Access the Going Places Curriculum Guide

Growing Healthy
Learn about exercise, nutrition and lifetime wellness through fun, lighthearted activities. Access the Growing Healthy Curriculum Guide

Honeybee Hives
See inside two live honeybee colonies, take apart an indoor hive and learn about this fascinating creature.

Kid's Market
Shop for grocery items in a kid-sized grocery store.

Lighthouse
A miniature outdoor lighthouse is a fun addition to the museum's landscape.

Playscape Park
If you're four or younger, this is a place just for you!

Skyscraper
Climb up through the eight stories of this vertical maze.

Smiles, Inc.
Pretend to be a dentist and learn about tooth health with a science lab, dentist's office and diner.

Time Square/Sir Dance-A-Lot
Go under the giant clock tower to a disco to dance and sing along with a variety of music.

Your House, My House/Windows to the World
Be an architect, interior designer or construction worker. Then explore the world “traveling” to six other countries.

WaterWORKS!
Get your hands wet as you discover the essential role of water. Access the WaterWORKS! Curriculum Guide

Here is a full tour of all the museum's galleries and exhibits:
Exhibits Tour

Group Visit Basics
 To Make a Reservation

  • Call 901-458-2678 Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.

  • Group Rate: $4.50 per person for organized groups of 10 or more children. Organized groups include schools, churches, daycares, camps, etc. Advance reservations are required in order to receive the group rate! Learning Labs require additional fees.

  • Adult chaperons are required in a ratio of 1:5 and are admitted free of charge with an advance group reservation. Adults over the 1:5 ratio are $4.50 each.

  • Museum visits for groups are two hours and are scheduled during the following time slots: 9:30-11:30am, 10:30am-12:30pm, 11:30am-1:30pm, 12:30-2:30pm, 1:30-3:30pm and 2:30-4:30pm. Please arrive 15 minutes early for a brief orientation.

  • If you make a reservation seven days in advance, you will receive a written confirmation including a packet of important information for your group.

  • You are invited to use our grassy front lawn for brown bag lunches (picnic tables are available on a first-come basis). Food and drink may only be consumed in designated areas and outside the museum buildings.

  • We are proud to offer a smoke-free environment both inside our buildings and on our grounds. Please inform all adults in your group. Thank you for your cooperation!

  • The museum is accessible to all. So that we may better serve you, let us know if anyone in your group requires extra assistance or accommodations.

In order to make a reservation, please provide the following information:

  • Date, time slot and any special program for which you are making your reservation.

  • Name and title of group leader.

  • Name, complete address and phone number of the school or group.

  • Number of children and adults in your group.

  • Age(s) and/or grade(s) of children in your group.

  • Any special needs.

Book your group reservations today! To reserve by mail or fax:
 Group Form

To make a group reservation online:
Online Group Form

For information on groups or to ask specific questions about reservations:
Email Reservations

If you are a teacher, get more information on educational programs available for classrooms as well as curriculum guides:
Teachers Page

For information on educational programs or curriculum guides, or to ask education related questions:
 Email Education Manager or call 901-458-2678, ext. 250