EXHIBITION GUIDES

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MUSEUM VISIT

To help ensure a successful visit:

• Prepare your students for their museum visit based on the information in this and other documents available on the museum’s web site and that you receive when you register for your class’s visit.
• Have your students leave backpacks, portable devices and other items on the bus or at school.
• Discuss appropriate behavior with your students ahead of time. Remember, the museum is housed in the Keck Center, the workplace of the National Research Council.
• Refer to the group visits section of the Koshland Science Museum web site for information in motorcoach parking.
• Have enough chaperones for a ratio of no more than ten students to one chaperone.
• Read through the science content of the exhibition you are studying in detail. Think about how the visit will fit into your curriculum.
• Have your class carry out some of the pre-visit activities suggested on the web site.
• Assign students to Expert and Interdisciplinary Groups using the Group Assignment Form prior to the visit. Each group should have a student leader. Each group will tour the exhibits together and become an expert in one of the three rotations of the exhibition you are studying in detail. The student group leader may help delegate tasks where appropriate.
• At the end of your visit, contribute comments on the postcards provided, including one new thing that was learned and offering suggestions to improve the museum experience. After the museum staff use the postcards to evaluate the program offered, they will mail the postcards to your school.