Bugs, bugs everywhere
Last Tuesday, I took my children to an exhibition at the Science Centre called Megabugs Return. It was about, well you guessed it, bugs! I expected to have goosebumps but thankfully, or not, they only had bugs of the fake and visual kinds except for a few species holed up in a glass compartment. I was hoping for some real bug interaction, for the kids of course, but well.
Before we went into the exhibition, we watched a 3-D movie called Bugs Alive! that centred on the lives of a praying mantis and a butterfly. It basically showed the life cycle of the two insects, the habitat they lived in, how they survived in the wild and their fellow bugs. The visuals were of course better than watching in your own living room and the fact that you had almost the whole theatre to yourself was a plus. (There were only a few other families besides us as we went during school hours).
The exhibition showed models of insects multiplied many times and equipped with sensors so they'll flap their wings and make their sounds when you pass by. They were supported by some videos on insects and fact boards about them. There was even an area where children could feel what it was like to be a fly on a wall. (Basically putting on a pair of scrubbing brushes on your hands that had the bristles replaced with velcro so you'll stick to the carpeted surface).
I told a friend that I found the exhibition tacky- imagine a movie about giant bugs- but in retrospect the simplicity of the presentation was especially good for a child. (Although I do feel there were a few areas that could have been improved upon?) Take the models- (never in any timeframe would I be even able to make a tiny one) they allow the child to notice parts of the insects that would have in normal situations been left unnoticed and facilitated the learning of the different functions that each part had in a magnified manner.
Then there is the sound effects. I mean, I would have never noticed any difference, except maybe for a grasshopper, about the sounds insects made. Having the opportunity to listen separately to each sound and have a visual and 3-D accompaniment was a major help.
I find going to exhibitions like this helpful in coming up with themes for our homeschool, especially for Science- my weakest link. Putting what you experience together is like putting up a mood board, you take the video, the fact boards, the sensorial stimulation and the activities together and try to come up with a big picture for your own lessons.
For example, from the video; I can touch on life cycles, from the models; the insect system, from the fact boards; the deeper content about insects that an older child can work on. Before you know it, you have a two-week or longer lesson plan.
I am currently trying very hard to read on insects and have started to read Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study as I know I can always come up with reading materials and worksheets the children can work on but I want them to have more 'nature' experience, something this city girl who prefers malls to parks, needs to work on.
Before we went into the exhibition, we watched a 3-D movie called Bugs Alive! that centred on the lives of a praying mantis and a butterfly. It basically showed the life cycle of the two insects, the habitat they lived in, how they survived in the wild and their fellow bugs. The visuals were of course better than watching in your own living room and the fact that you had almost the whole theatre to yourself was a plus. (There were only a few other families besides us as we went during school hours).
The exhibition showed models of insects multiplied many times and equipped with sensors so they'll flap their wings and make their sounds when you pass by. They were supported by some videos on insects and fact boards about them. There was even an area where children could feel what it was like to be a fly on a wall. (Basically putting on a pair of scrubbing brushes on your hands that had the bristles replaced with velcro so you'll stick to the carpeted surface).
I told a friend that I found the exhibition tacky- imagine a movie about giant bugs- but in retrospect the simplicity of the presentation was especially good for a child. (Although I do feel there were a few areas that could have been improved upon?) Take the models- (never in any timeframe would I be even able to make a tiny one) they allow the child to notice parts of the insects that would have in normal situations been left unnoticed and facilitated the learning of the different functions that each part had in a magnified manner.
Then there is the sound effects. I mean, I would have never noticed any difference, except maybe for a grasshopper, about the sounds insects made. Having the opportunity to listen separately to each sound and have a visual and 3-D accompaniment was a major help.
I find going to exhibitions like this helpful in coming up with themes for our homeschool, especially for Science- my weakest link. Putting what you experience together is like putting up a mood board, you take the video, the fact boards, the sensorial stimulation and the activities together and try to come up with a big picture for your own lessons.
For example, from the video; I can touch on life cycles, from the models; the insect system, from the fact boards; the deeper content about insects that an older child can work on. Before you know it, you have a two-week or longer lesson plan.
I am currently trying very hard to read on insects and have started to read Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study as I know I can always come up with reading materials and worksheets the children can work on but I want them to have more 'nature' experience, something this city girl who prefers malls to parks, needs to work on.
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